Brand Consistency: Why It Matters & How to Get Started

Jump Links:

• What Is Brand Consistency?
• Why Brand Voice Is Important
• How to Make Brand Voice Consistent
• Examples to Get Started
• Free Website Assessment

Earning Customer Trust

A consistent brand experience helps your brand earn customer trust. It’s the reason they’ll choose you over another competitor. Earning customer loyalty can be a nuanced endeavor, but a cohesive brand will help them along the way. 

What we’re seeing in increasing amounts is the importance of an authentic experience for users. In fact:

• 83% of consumers say authenticity is important when deciding what brands they like and support
• 65% of customers say they are emotionally connected to a brand in a way that makes them feel like the company cares about them. 

While a consistent brand experience does require diligence in upkeep, it can generate great results. According to Marq, the average revenue increase attributed to consistently presenting a brand is 10-20%. Furthermore, it could increase your ROI significantly. 

Your brand reputation isn’t just a nice-to-have for the growth of your business – it’s vital.

1. Audit Your Brand

This includes your website, social media pages, internal and external deliverables, internal communications, packaging, etc. Making a list of everything your brand touches will help you track where to make changes to reflect your brand better.

2. Create a Brand Style Guide

When you create your brand style guide, make sure you include the following elements:

• Mission/Vision Statement: If you don’t know who you are, how do you expect your customers to? Check out this article from Hubspot for some inspiration on the topic.
• Who We Are: Describe your brand in five words: Who are you? How do you serve your customers? What’s unique about your brand?
• Who is Your Audience? Knowing your audience or typical client will help you choose how you speak to them. Is your typical client a middle-class male in their 20’s or an upper-class 50-something female? Your audience will shape your message.
• What Do We Want to Convey? Pick five things you want to get across to your audience. For example:
  • “We get it done right the first time.”
  • “The highest inventory of auto parts in the US.”
  • “Our customer satisfaction is priority #1. We’re not happy unless you are.”
  • “Our innovative approach to HR helps your business operate smoother.”
• How Do We Talk About Ourselves? This question is easy to overlook. Often, businesses try to tell customers who they are on their own terms, but in doing so risk losing various groups of visitors based on their knowledge and/or interest in a topic. For example, talking in jargon about medical supplies will be off-putting to an audience new to or at a low level of understanding of your product. Meeting customers where they are should always affect how you talk about yourself.
• Include style tips in this section. Create everyday examples of how to speak about your brand in various areas with “Do’s” and “Don’ts.” For example:
  • DO — Show Our Fun Personality
  • DON’T — Sound Cold or Sterile

3. Get Your Team to Rally Around Your New or Updated Guidelines

Having a guidebook with referenceable materials will help your team incorporate your new or updated guidelines. As your biggest brand ambassadors, it’s important to help them feel comfortable and excited about your branding. With documented materials to reference, they’ll be much more likely to comply with a new or updated branding initiative.

4. Incorporate

Here’s the golden moment to watch all your planning and dreaming pay off. Incorporating new styling is a significant undertaking, but it will pay off in dividends over time.

• Mailchimp: Design & Brand Identity and Writing Principles
• Optus: Brand Identity
• Skype: Brand Book
• Medium: Brand Development