“Your brand is the single most important investment you can make in your business” Steve Forbes, Editor in Chief of Forbes Magazine

Brand consistency in your online and offline marketing is the ultimate goal. It helps to convert potential clients which ultimately leads to increased sales. According to research, creating a consistent brand can increase revenue by 33%. Consistency in visual identity, message, and tone of voice accounts for a strong customer experience and helps them understand what they should expect, how to interact with a product, while encouraging them to come back and purchase some more.

No matter the channel you operate on, brands should aim at providing a unified experience in line with their branding elements, including core values, visual elements, and messaging. This helps brands create a strong bond with their audience, leading to long-term benefits for the company’s success.

But why is it so important? Why should brands invest time and effort in creating “consistent” customer experiences? Here are a few reasons:

First impressions count

When looking to attract new customers, consider the impression they get when they visit your website, social media or app for the first time. According to research, it takes only 0.05 seconds for users to get a first impression of a brands website or product, even before navigating or interacting. Brand marketers or designers should make sure they provide an impactful and consistent experience across all the channels - from social media ads to website presentation or in-app purchases. This means creating a user journey with a unique experience - from colours to visuals and messaging. Imagine a brand that advertises a product as fun and trendy, but the actual user journey is boring and dull! It sends out a confusing message to potential customers, who will probably leave without purchasing what they were looking for!

Consumers trust brands they recognise

Many designers invest time and energy to create a solid brand that users will remember, but brand recognition is not just about getting your name out there, it’s about creating a set of elements that users can find everywhere, with which they can connect on a personal level. Starbucks is a great example of that: customers can enjoy the exact same experience no matter where they are located - the menu is the same, the waiters make the same spelling mistakes when they write your name on a cup! Apply that rule to your digital touchpoints - customers will be more likely to come back as they will start to identify with your brand as you market to them in a consistent way via visual images, colours, messaging - this all goes to create trust, build a community which will ultimately lead to sales.

Brand consistency is not just important to help users remember a brand or company, it is also useful to help create what is known as “Aha moments” - feelings of delight that reveal the product’s true value as remembered by the human brain. Research has long shown that purchases are more often driven by emotions than logic. In fact, according to Harvard Professor Gerald Zaltman, 95% of purchase decision-making takes place in the subconscious mind, driven by emotions and past positive experiences.

Why establish brand consistency?

Brand consistency is about establishing trust.

In order for customers to trust you, they have to feel they know you. In order for them to feel like they know you, they must be aware of you, recognise and remember you. In order for people to recognise and remember you, you must always ‘show up’ in a consistent way.

It takes time and constant repetition for customers to go from being aware of you to trusting, remembering, and considering you.

Maintain brand consistency by creating brand guidelines

Consistent branding is easily achieved by creating rules to follow and it ensures that your brand will not be diluted or altered when working with outside agencies.

Brand guidelines should include:

- How your logo should be used (what you can or cannot do with the logo).

- Your colour palette.

- Your brand fonts and how they should be used e.g. headings, body text, quotes etc.

- Photography, graphics, and icons.

- Brand voice and messaging e.g., the tone of voice, phrases, and personality of your messages.

- Rules for social media graphics and messaging.

Never underestimate the importance of your brand. Your brand is important and key to making your business a success or not. Hiring of a graphic designer to create your unique brand is key and not to be taken lightly in your business journey. Always seek professional help from a graphic designer or brand specialist. When deciding on who to work with, it is important to do your research, take a look at examples of their work, who they have worked with and go through any testimonials that you can find. Once you are comfortable that they might be a good match with what you are looking for, book an introductory call with them to discuss your project.

If you’d like to have a friendly chat with this graphic designer, please do get in contact via email laurenne@hounddogcreatives.com

Are you a good listener? Do you feel heard?

Most of us are probably a mixture of being on the receiving end of poor listening and also at times the perpetrator.

I became very aware some time ago that I wasn't being heard, that people weren't listening to me. In fact, I started to write poems about it and it was those poems that reflected how distressing it can be when it seems that no one is willing to give you space and attention to explain something or to recount an event.

For example. It might be how you're feeling about something that happened or was said, or it might be as simple as how you like your egg to be boiled or when the thing you asked to be added to the shopping list just somehow got left off. It may not sound like much but when it happens frequently It can have quite an impact.

Waiting To Talk

I have a friend whom I have known for years. We recently had a conversation where I told her some long-awaited good news about my son. Instead of expressing interest she ‘topped’ my news by immediately recounting something about her son in great detail. Of course, she then went on to tell me every aspect of how her son had done it quicker and better, and, needless to say, we never got back to my son and his story.

That was not the first time.

This friend is a major culprit in the not listening stakes, and it makes me not want to tell her anything because she seems to not be interested; it’s as if everything is turned into a competition – my dad’s bigger than your dad kind of thing.

And what about ‘mansplaining’?

That is butting in and taking over. This is not exclusive to men, by the way! For an example that might be familiar, perhaps you have heard something on the news and started to tell someone about it. But, instead of listening to you, they take over the conversation by ‘man-splaining’ the same thing back to you in great detail.

You have to wait until they’ve finished before you can make your point or complete your sentence.

And how about ‘heated agreement’

Lengthy arguments where you are both saying the same thing but expressing it differently and neither of you is listening, so that sounds as if you are arguing different points of view. Once you get into those discussions it’s hard to stay calm. They’re unnecessary and exhausting! In my opinion, listening is an essential tool for all of us. In essence, effective listening is all about communicating successfully.

Relationship Breakdowns

Poor communication is responsible for many break-ups and misunderstandings, both in the world of business and in personal life.

In business, you want to be able to truly listen to your customers or clients, and I think it is fair to say that the happiest customers are those who feel they have been heard and understood by you and that you have then delivered what they wanted, when they wanted it and how they wanted it.

So, listening effectively can be a big factor in customer satisfaction as well as good relationships with the important people in your personal life.

What is it that stops us listening?

The list is long! It includes daydreaming, wanting to find solutions, and interrupting, to name just a few. We're not necessarily talking here about a good or a bad thing but are simply getting to understand how blocks get in the way of effective listening and, therefore, communication.

If you’d like to know more about how to listen effectively and get heard, please check out my website www.mindshiftcoaching.org, or email me on judy.hoskins@gmail.com.

Photo credit Canva April 2022