In this article, you’ll learn:
Consistency is the most important factor when building a strong brand that will set you apart from your competitors.
Without it, it's impossible to build a foundation for your company's reputation that defines who you are and directly influences buyers' decisions.
But, why is consistency so important to the process of developing a brand?
Read on to discover everything you need to know about the critical role of consistency when building an iconic brand.
What is Consistency?
Consistency can be easily defined as regularity or steady continuity which is free from contradiction or variation.
In relation to your brand, it means always doing things that agree with your values, are compatible with your mission, vision, and your overall brand.
The more you are consistent as a brand, the more clients will know who you are and recognize your products and services straight away within your industry.
People will soon be encouraged to engage with you or buy your products when your brand is well managed and consistent.
Does Consistency Matter?
Have you ever walked into a room and then thought to yourself, “Why did I come into this room?”
This often happens when we are removed from an original context and is commonly known as context-dependent memory.
Well, in relation to branding, the goal is to keep showing up in a consistent manner and become recognized and remembered so that clients don’t have those “Why did I come into this room” moments.
Clients shouldn’t have to ask “who is this brand again?”, or “why am I seeing them along my Facebook feeds?” because you would have been consistently sending them high-quality content and marketing messages like branding an impression on them through consistency.
Many people make the mistake of assuming that marketing means getting in front of a large, widespread audience, hoping that a percentage of them will agree or say “Yes, sign me up”.
Awareness is a process, and it may take people seeing you in the industry over ten times before they’re really aware of your brand.
So, now you will need ways to be in front of people to prove your credibility four, five, or ten times over until they begin to trust you.
Focusing on consistency will help you grow your revenue because by getting people to come back to your business, remain loyal, trust you, and recommend you to others.
So yes, consistency does matter, and is, in fact, a key element.
No matter how amazing your first impression may be, if people do not know you, they’re unsure if they can trust you. You will find people going out and possibly considering more options or simply waiting till they’re ready to commit.
Benefits of Consistency
We already know that clients look for reliability and if their experience is different each time they interact with you, then they probably won’t recommend you to others.
So let’s have a look at some positives that consistency displays to your clients:
- Increases recognition - It’s important to have guidelines you follow for consistency. Let’s say your logo is green stars with block lettering on Pinterest and your website. The client looks for you on Facebook and your colors and lettering are different, red stars with fancy lettering. There’s a possibility they will scroll past because they don’t recognize you.
- Differentiates from competitors - In today’s highly competitive marketplaces, customers often make decisions based on appearance. When your brand delivers consistently, it delivers a clear message that your brand stands out in the crowd.
- Fosters loyalty - When clients consistently have good experiences with your brand, they will likely continue using it. Consistency reinforces their idea that you’re reliable and that you’ll live up to their expectations.
How Can You Achieve Brand Consistency?
Repetition mostly. On average, before someone remembers your brand, it takes five to seven brand impressions.
You should remember that it is not just the number of brand impressions but the relatability and quality of the interactions.
It’s important to know that brand consistency is mainly about trust, and building it is something like this:
- For people to trust you, they need to feel like they know you.
- For them to like you, they have to recognize and remember you.
- To be remembered and recognized, show up in a manner that is consistent.
Sounds simple enough doesn’t it?
Set Brand Guidelines
In the early stages of setting up your brand, you need to decide on consistency for:
- Logo and brand name
- Tone and voice
- Colour palette and theme
- Fonts and copy
- Images and videos
- Frequency in marketing and communication
There’s no need to get too fancy with all these but be sure that you have made a guideline and follow it. A great example of a brand that does this exceptionally are HIMS with their landing pages and general site design.
Organize Your Marketing Assets
This is where digital asset management (DAM) tools come into play.
Let’s say you have a marketing team working on your brand, having an brand asset management system keeps all your marketing content in one organized place and controls what creatives can use, when they can use it, and where.
Design team creating content can easily align their campaigns to maintain consistency and even use other campaigns in progress to reference their work against.
Plan Ahead
This is easily achieved by using planning tools. Failing to plan ahead can lead to falling behind and shifting away from your core goals.
There are tools, like Movavi, that allow you to create content and schedule it for publication on different platforms. You can also choose among many different email platforms to schedule newsletters ahead of time to keep your audience informed about upcoming events or updates on your brand.
And remember, keeping consistent does not mean you cannot evolve. So schedule reviews annually or bi-annually. Styles and trends are continually changing and you need to keep in the loop.
Take Away
So you’ve got a vision about your brand and now you’re ready to dive into it.
Your aim should be to maintain consistency by repeating things that fall in line with your idea of an iconic brand.
Soon clients will come to know who you are, and recognize your tone, color palettes, and imagery, and trust you as their go-to brand.
Do you think consistency plays a critical role when building your brand? Share your opinion on our social media! Meanwhile, don’t hesitate to schedule a call with Pics.io to get to know about Digital Asset Management more.
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