Branding is defined as the marketing practice of creating a name, symbol or design that identifies and differentiates a product from other products. It defines who you are and what you stand for as a business.
Brand consistency is defined as the pattern of expression that affects what people think about your company. The more consistent your messaging, the more consistent your branding, whether via words, design or perspective. Your brand should build awareness and develop trust and loyalty with customers.
Brand consistency is where a business attempts to communicate messages in a way which doesn’t detract or wander away from the core brand strategy, values and foundation. Maintaining brand consistency is vital to the image of your company and its products. Brand consistency is keeping the core brand intact throughout the inevitable company and product changes. Employees come and go; processes and products change; and even logos are altered but the brand is the backbone.
All companies have a brand. This brand distinguishes them from their competitors in the market. It encompasses everything about the company from its market position to its culture. A solid brand is selected over time and requires creativity, planning and periodic evolution. Maintaining brand consistency is vital to the image of your company and its products.
Brand consistency goes beyond the product itself. The brand promise must be clear with every interaction each shareholder experiences. That means every part of the organisation has a role to play in branding from research and development to finance to talent development.
Brand consistency is crucial because it enables companies to drive customer perception and engagement from initial contact through to the purchasing process. Potential customers who understand a brand, including its evolution, are more likely to buy its products. It also provides the trust that underpins marketing efforts.
Consistent branding allows marketers to differentiate their product, deliver key messaging, and encourage loyalty by driving authority and trust in their product or business. By keeping a tight rein on brand consistency, marketers can drive customer perception from the onset of the engagement all the way through the buyer decision making process. You want your customer to feel good about your product, so if branding encourages a sense of trust from your customer, then it is important to build it into your marketing framework and deliver on it regularly.
With brand consistency, potential customers will feel that your brand is highly trustworthy, recognizable, and culturally relevant.
Important branding questions:
- Does your brand use consistent graphic styles and imagery characteristics?
- Does your brand arouse the same emotions and is the language style always the same?
- Does your brand repeat its core message in a recognisable way?
- Does your brand deliver the same memorable experience across all touch points?
Being consistent doesn’t mean that you cannot change. In fact, consistency gives you a firm foundation for evolving into offering even more options for even more people. Once you have built a reputation through the consistent delivery of your brand promise, you can go ahead and evolve and expand. What freedom!