Many years ago, when I worked for a big corporate bank in London, every piece of marketing whether it was being printed, published online, or emailed (this was before social media) had to go through approval from the Brand Compliance manager. Her job was to check that all brand guidelines were adhered to – and these guidelines were strict. Everything from the margin width, minimum and maximum font sizes, style of photos, logo placement and size, and of course colours, along with a whole lot more was checked for compliance and consistency with the overall brand.

Small businesses don’t have the resources to have a dedicated Brand Compliance manager and despite all good intention brands can quickly turn into ‘franken-brands’. That’s where brand guidelines have only been loosely followed, people (both in-house and external providers) want to give the marketing project their own special touch, you’ve got bored and want to shake things up a bit and Shiny Object Syndrome has reared its head, so new elements, patterns and styles have edged their way in because it looked great on another business’s socials. This can quickly get out of control and before long no one really knows what your branding should look or sound like, and all sense of brand consistency spirals further out of control.

So why does having a consistent brand matter? Surely if you are bored, so is your audience. Nope, unlike you, your audience is bombarded with 100’s of brands and their visuals every day. They don’t need to be further confused with an ever-changing brand from you.

Brand consistency helps to establish trust and loyalty which in turn will create customers

• In order for people to trust you, they have to feel they know and like you

• In order for them to feel like they know you, they must be aware of you, recognise you, and remember you

• In order for people to recognise and remember you, you must market yourself in a way that’s consistent.

When your branding isn’t consistent it makes being remembered very difficult – you’ll be introducing yourself to your audience for the first time – every time you market yourself.

Imagine you’ve followed a business for a while and their distinctive and refreshing leafy green brand with soft feminine fonts on their social media posts and website has attracted you. You want to know more, so sign up for their newsletters. When those newsletters arrive, they are a bright red and orange with serious fonts – you’re not even sure if it’s the same business and all of a sudden, the trust and the interest are gone.

CONSISTENCY INCREASES RECOGNITION
The more that you consistently repeat your brand messaging using the same brand visuals, the more that people are going to recognise your business. Everything that your share, print, or publish should have the same brand style, tone of voice, and brand vocabulary. The more that you are recognised, the more that people will stop to read or listen to your message.

CONSISTENCY makes you memorable

The more that you are recognised both online and in the real world, the more you will be remembered for what you do. When people need what you do, they will automatically think of you.

CONSISTENCY builds TRUST

Consistency will help your audience really get to know you. If they like you, they will continue following you, opening your newsletters, and noticing your sign-written vehicle, and therefore their trust in you and your products or services will grow. Only once people trust you, will they purchase from you.

CONSISTENCY creates LOYAL fans

Loyalty is the big goal here. It’s much easier and cheaper to keep and nurture existing clients and followers than to always be finding new ones. Loyal clients not only make repeat purchases, but they tell their friends how awesome you are too.

So, stop chopping and changing your brand and start using it to send clear and concise marketing consistently.

If you need help auditing your brand you can download my free Brand Audit Checklist or contact me to do an in-depth review. If you find your brand has gone rogue and ‘franken-branded’ itself, I can help you get it back under control.