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<\/div>Why is brand consistency so important?<\/h2>\n
The goal of any brand strategy<\/a> is to provide a recognizable, positive brand identity<\/a> people will remember.<\/p>\n Without a consistent brand presentation, you cannot achieve that goal.<\/p>\n A phenomenon known as context-dependent memory<\/a> states that people remember information best when they are in the original context in which they encountered that information. However, brand messages usually occur in various places (online ads, business cards, outdoor signage, product packaging, emails, etc…).<\/p>\n This means that your brand messages often lack the context to make it easy for people to remember them.<\/p>\n So, consistent presentation is necessary to bridge the gap and reinforce brand recognition.<\/p>\n This is especially true for new and younger businesses. As we emphasized in our guide on how to start a business<\/a>,<\/p>\n A strong brand identity is the most effective way your new business can gain a competitive edge in an increasingly crowded marketplace.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Brands that can’t settle on a consistent presentation or voice project their confusion to the world. This undermines people’s confidence in their company.<\/p>\n Consistent brands build confidence by showing that your business can reliably manage its affairs. This is especially important for brands with multiple products and services. Those brands need to develop a brand architecture framework<\/a> that helps prospects and customers recognize the common nexus between the products and services.<\/p>\n People trust businesses that practice what they preach.<\/p>\n If your brand consistently delivers on promises, presents itself in the same way, and acts per the identity it presents, it proves the authenticity of your brand.<\/p>\n People value and trust authentic interactions.<\/p>\n Like any relationship in life, it takes time to build strong relationships with your customers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Consistent branding allows your business to be perceived as the same business they met the last time they heard from you. After enough consistent exposure to a brand, customers begin to feel as though they know you – and the relationship begins to grow.<\/p>\n As we explained previously<\/a>,<\/p>\n The more customers are exposed to something \u2013 a product, a service, or your brand \u2013 the more inclined they are to like it.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n This is a psychological phenomenon known as “mere exposure<\/a>.”<\/p>\n So, marketing science<\/a> indicates that the more frequently customers… 1) interact with your brand and 2) recognize it due to consistent presentation, the stronger your brand\/customer relationship will grow.<\/p>\n It’s impossible to faithfully repeat something if you don’t know what you did in the first place.<\/p>\n And, that’s the challenge many businesses encounter when trying to present a consistent brand.<\/p>\n If you haven’t given any deep thought to your brand – your values, your inherent and projected brand personality, your unique selling proposition<\/a>, and how those elements will manifest visually – then you simply cannot expect to achieve a consistent brand presentation.<\/p>\n If you don’t know your brand yet, how could anyone else?<\/p>\n So, start by self-reflecting. Determine the values that drive your business and the traits that define it and make it unique.<\/p>\n The best time to do this self-reflection is when you start writing a business plan<\/a> for your business. That’s the perfect time to think about ways you’ll differentiate from your competitors. Most one-page business plan templates<\/a> have specific prompts that force you to consider such differences.<\/p>\n Then work with talented designers (ahem – maybe the amazing team of talent at crowdspring<\/a>?) to develop a visual design that embodies that brand. This will be the foundation for all of the visual elements that customers and potential customers will associate with your brand.<\/p>\n Conduct an inventory if you already have a logo and visual branding elements. Ask yourself if these elements properly represent your brand. If not, it may be time for a logo refresh or a complete visual rebrand<\/a>.<\/p>\n Image courtesy of Shakeupid<\/p><\/div>\n A style guide is the one source of truth<\/em> for your visual brand. This document outlines a set of rules to follow whenever a member of your organization wants to publish, present, or promote your brand’s content.<\/p>\n As we previously explained<\/a>,<\/p>\n If your brand isn’t captured in a style guide, it can quickly drift into an inconsistent experience for your customers and employees.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And, as you know – inconsistent equals bad<\/em>.<\/p>\n But, a comprehensive style guide will provide all of the information needed for an employee to accurately create consistently branded content:<\/p>\n This includes visual info such as fonts, brand colors, logo, signage specifications, typography style, and any other commonly used branded graphic elements. It should also cover less tangible items like ideal voice and tone, your branding mission and company philosophy.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, once you’ve clearly defined your brand and developed visuals to support it, make them official in a style guide you can share with every team member.<\/p>\n As we mentioned earlier, relationships of any kind take time to build.<\/p>\n And it’s estimated that it takes between 5 and 11 interactions (depending on the source) before a customer is ready to make a purchase.<\/p>\n So, when executing any branding strategy, plan to give it enough time to sink into the public consciousness.<\/p>\nConsistent branding improves brand recognition.<\/h3>\n
Consistent branding communicates to the world that you know who you are.<\/h3>\n
Consistent branding shows that you stand behind, and live, the identity you’ve shared with the world.<\/h3>\n
Consistent branding builds customer relationships.<\/h3>\n
How do you build brand consistency?<\/h2>\n
Create a style guide<\/h3>\n
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Give brand messaging time to work<\/h3>\n
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