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Brand consistency: 3 secrets why it’s the key to success

3 reasons why brand consistency is an essential marketing practice.

Brand Consistency

Brand consistency refers to going above and beyond for your consumers, in ensuring that your identity and set values for your brand are easily recognizable and as the phrase goes ‘consistent’.

Branding is not just important for big name companies like Coca-Cola, small businesses should focus on the practice of repeatedly exposing their target audience with messages that align with your brand, presented through the forms of visual elements.

What does Brand Consistency do for consumers?

Consider a successful brand, let’s take Nike as an example. As consumers, we know what to expect from their logo, tone of voice, imagery and use of colours.

This has been embedded in our minds, in every interaction and experience with Nike overtime.

Their consistent brand image allows them to place themselves in a position where they are easily recognizable.

CreditL The Branding Specialist/Nike
Credit: Medium/Nike

An article by Merlin One states that, “Not only does it help to build a strong association between your core messages and values and the visual elements of your brand, but it also sets your brand apart from the competition.”

In this article, we’re going to assess 3 significant aspects as to why brand consistency is an industry rule of thumb, leading to success.

  1. Building trust & loyalty

Regardless of how great your first impression may be, general consumers are skeptical and the purchasing decision-making process often requires a need to purchase, evaluation of substitutes, which then if successful can lead to purchasing.

One great impact that keeping consistent with your branding is that you are allowing your audience to get to know you.

Transparency and communication are integral aspects of marketing communication, and this overtime leads to gaining trust.

If you establish yourself or your business in a manner that depicts it’s very clear as to who you are and what you represent, you have effectively built an ‘impression’ in the minds of your consumers.

On the other hand, if you use multiple tones of voice in your marketing campaigns, or various font types you use on your packages, people aren’t going to be able to recognize your brand as easily and won’t have the same level of confidence – knowing what to expect.

Leading back to the Coca-Cola example, regardless of where in the world we may be, their products are simple to recognize and we trust the brand, knowing exactly what it will taste like.

Overtime, trust works so well because it elicits the right emotions and this leads to consumer loyalty and repeat purchase in the long-run!

Another article puts it this way “when customers see brands as interchangeable, they make purchase decisions based primarily on price, which inhibits a company’s ability to command premium pricing. This translates to lower product margins and reduced profitability”.

2. Stand out against your competitors

Brand consistency is a key factor in differentiating and setting yourself apart from the rest.

If you are operating in a highly saturated market, like fashion or beauty for example, brand consistency comes into play when consumers need to choose between a number of similar products.

The Ordinary Skincare brand

The concept of differentiation is nothing new, however added elements now can help gain traction to reach broader implications.

Key elements of brand consistency to set you apart:

  • Logo
  • Colours
  • Tag Line
  • Fonts
  • Packaging
  • Photography
  • Brand voice
  • Music
  • Types of Influencers/ambassadors

Another less obvious, but an equally crucial element of brand consistency is the customer experience you create.

The same way Starbucks does effecient drive-thrus, Nobu is known for offering premium in-house dining, the way consumers get to experience your brand and products/services should be consistent and optimal.

3. Increasing marketing ROI & Revenue growth

According to a conclusive study by Lucidpress the average revenue growth due to keeping branding consistent on marketing ROI is around a 33% increase.

By maintaining cohessivity at all parts of the customer journey, you can achieve increased revenue, gain more inbound leads and repeat purchase from existing consumers (linking back to establishing trust and positioning).

Lucidpress explained “Ultimately, brand consistency has an extensive trickle-down effect that, when implemented correctly, can boost your bottom line, brand status, and employee morale. But unfortunately, inconsistent branding jeopardizes all that”.

Coca-Cola

Takeaways

Brand consistency is required for any company that wishes to build brand recognition and foster trust within and between their target audience, which signifies that brand consistency is required for all businesses.

Your target audience will not identify your brand without it and therefore, they will not correlate your brand with positive emotions or feel confident to trust your product.

It is useful to incorporate this marketing practice throughout your products, storefronts, Instagram and other social media pages and the experience you offer consumers.

Credit: YouTube

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