4 Reasons Why Brand Consistency Connects With Customers

The barista at your favorite coffee shop is in a bad mood and gets your coffee order wrong or even worse - makes your coffee undrinkable. It’s not the first time this week.

Part of the reason why you are coming back to the same coffee shop is hoping that you will get the same quality product and service as a time before. How long would you be willing to experience inconsistency before you switched to a different coffee shop?

These days, competition for customers is fierce within most industries. Branding is the way to stand out from your competitors, but if you don’t build your brand promise around reality or consistently live up to it, your branding efforts are meaningless. Brand consistency; is the delivery of brand messaging in line with the brand identity, values, and strategy over time. Consistency means your target audience is being exposed to core messages, visual branding, and other brand elements repeatedly, which can help to solidify brand recognition.

Don’t leave your brand open to a variety of interpretations and customizations. Your brand should develop trust, build awareness and loyalty with customers. A constantly changing brand personality just doesn’t do the job. That’s why it’s so important to develop standards for brand consistency, on and offline. Every interaction customers have with your brand should embody the brand promises and values dependably and understandably. Here’s a closer look at brand consistency and why it’s important for brands.

4 Reasons Why Consistency is So Important

1. It's Marketing on the Next Level

Lets look at Coke. First and foremost, without me showing a single slogan, sale price or logo you're already thinking about buying Coke and drinking Coke. They have carefully cultivated a brand image that is so consistent and memorable that just saying Coke, which is not even their full brand name, makes you want to buy a drink.

Brand consistency takes you to the Higher level in marketing. Imagine no longer convincing consumers to stop into your store or buying your products. Through consistency your brand is so synonymous with your product experience that when a consumer sees the logo of your brand they are already thinking about making their next purchase from you without you even having to ask.

2. Consistency Makes Your Brand Feel More Dependable

When you're getting to know a person, you start to develop assumptions, ideas and opinions about them based on your interactions. If they are dressed in a business suit one day, flip flops and an old T-shirt the next and the day after that, for no reason at all, a dinosaur Onesie, it may be hard to understand who exactly they are and what they are all about.

Now consider the idea this same person is someone you are considering doing business with. Wouldn't you be concerned about their consistency in their work based on their inconsistent appearance? Wouldn't you think twice before bringing them into your business because they're unpredictable? If you aren't careful your consumers can feel the same about your brand. If your social media voice is silly and fun but your product packaging is sterile and plain, you're sending mixed signals that will confuse consumers and leave them doubting if they can trust your brand.

3. Consumers Trust Brands They are Familiar with

Brand recognition is not just about getting your name out there. It's about helping consumers get to know your brand on a personal level. It's a long-standing concept that purchasing is more an emotional decision than a practical one. Part of engaging the right emotions with your consumers is creating a sense of proximity and trustworthiness, in other words make them feel like they know your brand and that your brand can be trusted.

4. Brand consistency is a tool to trust building

Why do you always buy the same brand of milk or the same brand of pens? Because it's predictable. You know that you will get what you expect and you know you will be happy about the outcome.

Putting a consistent brand message in front of consumers works along the same lines as always putting out a dependable product. Developing a seamless and consistent look for your brand across your website, across all social media channels, even in your store and on your product packaging will make consumers feel more familiar with your brand, and will make them more likely to purchase from you again.

To sum up, interacting with consumers through a consistent brand voice and aesthetic is a stepping stone towards letting consumers get to know you as an organization. If they feel like they know you, they will identify with you and your purpose. Making them more likely to purchase from you and more likely to recommend you to their peers.

Giving consumers a dependable experience across all your channels of communication is one strong step in the right direction to attracting new and keep existing customers.