Have you ever heard a brand's messaging and rolled your eyes? Or witnessed truly impactful messaging (and headed straight to the checkout counter?). As you may have noticed, there's a pretty stark difference between the two, and hopefully your brand lands in the latter camp. One of the worst options of all is when people have no opinions on your brand.

If you're concerned that your brand may be in the former camp or at risk of being forgotten, then this article is for you. This article will detail the telltale signs of brand cliches, bad messaging, and more so you can avoid being relegated to a dusty corner of the Internet.

If your brand partners are constantly misunderstanding what you stand for or broadcasting the wrong messaging, then it should raise some alarms. If you hear customers praising or denigrating you for something you don't want your brand to be known for, that is another sign of disconnect. A strong brand is unmistakable in what it stands for, how messaging should be conveyed, and its targeted public perception.

According to a survey from InnerView, only 1/3 of B2C marketing executives indicated that they were "very confident" that their brand messaging was making its way down to the customer properly. This is extremely concerning coming from internal sources. It indicates that brand messaging implementation fell awry somewhere along the way. If customers are being sold a half-baked story that no one fully believes in, then chances are it isn't going to be successful at converting folks in the marketing funnel.

This one is straightforward. If customers are abandoning you and are going to your competitors instead, then chances are something isn't resonating. If you've been in business for a while and are struggling to retain customers or garner enthusiasm for the brand, then chances are there's an image misalignment. Afterall, if customers aren't raving fans, then chances are you're not attracting the right ones.

Now that we've alerted you to some common issues, here's what the bad messaging practices look like and what to do instead.

This is a recipe for disaster. Your strategy and brand messaging should always align. Take, for example, your values. If your core brand values are to be sustainable, transparent, and forward-thinking, but that isn't stated in your brand mission, that would be a misalignment.

If your core audience is 30-somethings with an interest in learning homeownership finances, but that isn't incorporated into your messaging as a target audience to reach, that would also be a misalignment.

Do Instead: Look for gaps in your messaging. Is the way you portray yourself on social media accurate? Does your thought leadership tone of voice stray from the guidelines in place? Could it be that there are no guidelines, to begin with?

Once those are identified, it'll become easier to figure out a plan of action that tackles these areas.

Are people confused or seem ambivalent when you pitch them your message? Is the ad funnel not converting any customers? Are members of your team struggling to spit out what it is that the company does and its mission? Then this is an indication that the current messaging is weak and/or unclear. There should be no question of whether customers and employees are advocates. They should be raving fans and know exactly what you do, who you serve, and what you believe in.

Do Instead: Get perspectives on what is missing/or the part that is unclear from third parties and employees. If there's a common consensus on various missing areas (i.e. no one can name the brand vision), then it's time to do some brand strategy revamping.

It's not all in the looks, is it? Unfortunately, sometimes it is. If your LinkedIn, website, social media, and blogs are all different from each other, then it may make your brand look disorganized from a messaging perspective. Customers notice patterns when they engage with your brand at various points of the customer journey.

Being one step ahead and making sure all your ducks are in a row will keep them in the funnel and decrease your dropoff rate. Utilizing a 360-degree brand strategy, and taking into consideration all brand goals and strategies as an ecosystem will do you wonders.

Do Instead: This ties back to Point #1 about alignment with brand strategy. Making sure that the same messaging framework is applied to all company channels is not only a logistical must but will do wonders for your brand's overall consistency.

A step further in misalignment is being rigid about how the brand presents itself. For example, if your company's response to a PR situation is extremely boilerplate with no room for the brand voice to shine, that's an example of a no-no. If your company's social content is the same thing each and every time without a chance to evolve and demonstrate your dynamic brand language, then its an issue.

Do Instead: There are clear distinctions in whether it's clear your messaging is inconsistent and then there is just limiting the brand preemptively. It's ok to take creative liberties with design and execution; there's still a multitude of ways to show up as an authentic brand and stick to the established values.

Bad messaging misalignment creeps up when you see signs of the following show up.

1) Disloyal customers

2) Misrepresentation by partners and customers

3) Customer disloyalty

These are bad messaging practices to avoid.

1) Strategy misalignment

2) Unclear messaging

3) Inconsistent language

4) Having an inflexible ecosystem

The goal is to capture all of these signs before hard launching brand messaging and strategy and having a cohesive plan to back up your vision. Stay close to these areas and you will be able to maintain a healthy brand image.