3 Reasons Why Brand Consistency is So Important
As a small business owner, you’ve likely heard a lot about brand consistency and how essential it is to build a strong brand. But why is brand consistency so important?
The internet has gotten extremely crowded, and it’s getting harder for people to remember brands or businesses. Can you imagine what it would be like if a brand used different styles or visual elements? What about if they changed their message frequently? The audience would not only end up confused, but they would have a hard time remembering the brand as well.
In this article, I will explain why brand consistency is so important to grow your business.
What is brand consistency?
Brand consistency is communicating or expressing all of the elements of your brand (your voice, messaging, and visuals) in a consistent manner. When your brand is consistent, it has a strong impact on how people perceive your brand. Are you energetic or calm? Is your style minimal or decorative? How do you talk to your clients, in a funny way or serious way?
Whatever way you choose to express yourself to your audience, it needs to stay consistent. It’s very much like a relationship. Imagine for a moment that you’re dating someone who seems really funny one day. But, then the next day, he’s really serious. The day after that, he’s angry. After a while, you wouldn’t know what to expect of this person and it will keep you on edge.
The same is true for your brand. The more consistent your brand messaging and visual identity are, the stronger your brand will be and the better you’ll be able to connect with your audience.
Why is brand consistency so important?
Brand consistency consists of not only the visual elements of your brand but also the brand messaging and behaviors. It’s hard to grow your brand without consistency.
Here are 3 reasons why:
1. Brand consistency builds trust
A strong brand lets your clients know what to expect from your brand. One of the fastest ways to break the trust between you and your clients is by having an inconsistent brand.
For example, let’s say that you’re a vegetarian and only eat healthy natural food items. You normally go to the organic store that sells natural food items. You like their brand visual images which all have a clean and natural look. One day, they start selling beef and unhealthy food items too. Their logo and package design changed as well. What would you do? I am sure you would be disappointed and you may not want to go back to the store. The end result is a loss of trust.
To establish strong bonds with your clients, you need to ensure that all of your services and marketing materials send the same message. Ultimately this gives your clients the comfort they need and reinforces their belief that you will come through for them. According to Forbes,
“brand consistency can increase revenue by up to 23%”.
2. Brand consistency builds awareness
Your visual identity - your logo, fonts, images, colors, and any other visual elements associated with your brand, play an important role in building brand awareness.
A consistent visual identity establishes a visual standard for your brand. In other words, every time a person experiences your brand visually, you want them to see the same thing because you are building an association in his or her mind. Repetition helps people remember things much the way we learned our multiplication tables with constant repetition. According to Forbes,
“Color improves brand recognition by up to 80%”.
For example, Whole Foods built a brand with a strong brand identity. What color can you see in your mind when you hear the name, Whole Foods? The color is green probably came to mind and that is their brand color. You always expect to see green not yellow or red. That is how brand awareness is established.
3. Brand consistency builds authority
Once your target audience begins to get comfortable with your brand, you can then use that relationship to build authority by demonstrating your subject knowledge within your industry. To build your authority and further develop your relationship with your audience, you need to be strategic about your content. Share your expertise with them and help them solve their problems and the bond you have with your audience will strengthen.
This is also a great opportunity to introduce your brand story to your clients. A brand story is not only engaging, but it provides a powerful way to get your message out.
Create brand consistency with a brand style guide
Once you understand the value of a consistent brand, you will see why a brand style guide is an essential business document. Even small businesses should have a complete brand style guide with sections related to:
Your ideal clients
Your brand core ( purpose, vision, mission, values, etc. )
Your brand personality ( voice, tone, etc. )
Your visual style ( logos, colors, fonts, typography, imagery, etc.)
A brand style guide serves as a valuable resource for people who work for you.
For instance, I find it very helpful when my client provides me with a style guide; this allows me to complete his/her project much faster and create brand consistency.
If you are a one-person business and you don’t need a brand style guide with all the details, you can start by creating a one-page basic brand style guide. You can always add more details as your business grows.
Conclusion
Your branding has a great emotional impact on your clients and it’s often the reason why people make the decision to buy your products and services. Building brand awareness takes time and you need to keep it consistent, but eventually, your efforts will pay off with a larger, more engaged audience who are able to easily identify your brand.
I hope this article helps you understand why brand consistency is important. If you have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment below.