Branding by association is a proven strategic process for building a memorable brand. If engaged strategically, it can catapult a brand to success and generate a great deal of revenue.

However, with the opportunity to add value to your brand, this process also can damage your reputation and brand. Most of the mistakes result from poor management of the process or poorly researching the expert with which the association is made. All of which can be avoided.

Here are seven of the most costly mistakes to avoid:

• Associating with an expert that has a questionable reputation - The first rule is to research the expert. Find out everything you can about how they do business, how they are regarded by your peers, what products they sell, are they reaching your target market?
• Recommending products you have not tried or used - This is your reputation on the line. It is always best to buy the product and test it thoroughly before recommending it to your prospects and clients.
• Associating with too many experts - these strategies require time and energy. So it is best to be selective and limit your list to three to five experts.
• Associating with too few experts - The flip side of too many experts is too few experts. This process works best when focusing on three to five experts. You never want to associate with only one - you could lose your objectivity.
• Not creating a system for the process - These strategies take time and energy. Therefore, it is necessary to set up systems that you can manage quickly and easily. You can outsource some of this process to an assistant.
• Not including these strategies into you business plan - In order to maximize these strategies, they need to be included in your annual business plan.
• Trying to do too much too fast - It is tempting to try to do everything at once. However, it is much better to start small and grow. Begin with one expert with whom you want to establish a relationship. Then add another one and another one.
• Not capitalizing on related opportunities as they appear - As you implement branding by association strategies, opportunities will come your way. Often, these opportunities will come directly from the experts you most want to associate with. When an opportunity is presented, by all means, take advantage of it.

Branding by association capitalizes on the idea that your reputation is closely linked with your known associates. Never has it been more important to strategically manage the branding process and protecting your reputation.

This article is part of a series on branding by association.