You have seen Nike, Adidas, Coca-cola, H & M, Puma, and similar other gigantic brands. Do you recognize what is common among all of them? It’s brand consistency.
A tick mark with the slogan “Just Do It” is always a tell tale of Nike, a yin yang sign is the signature of Pepsi, and the black leaping cat is invariably symbolic of Puma. Irrespective of the location, situation, and intention, these brands never move an inch away from the raw values that constitute their identity. This is what makes them exceptional as compared to their competitors.
Successful brands never stray from the core values that define them, staying true to the essence of what makes them unique. When building an online business for passive income, keep these fundamentals in mind: establish a clear identity, deliver consistent value, and ensure every aspect of your brand aligns with your mission. A strong foundation helps build trust, credibility, and lasting impact in the market.
Read further to know various aspects of brand consistency.
What is brand consistency?
In the current times, brands depend highly on marketing. Successful marketing strategies are the key to enhanced audience engagement.
Brand consistency means the unification of all the components of a label in one shade. Brand logo, visual appearance, slogans, website layout, graphics, fonts and texts, notification format, advertisement tone, and most importantly, their products must be in sync with the ground-level design of the label. Higher the synchronization in all these components of the brands, better are its chances of gaining visibility in the rat race.
In a world where shopping decisions are based on the popularity of the label, brand consistency helps in their immediate identification and aids in establishing clear communication lines with the customers. Remember how Bata rules the Indian household despite being a foreign brand.
History has already witnessed the advantages of brand consistency. From 1917 to 2015, BMW has progressed, but their basic architecture of blue and white shade remains the same. Dairymilk has introduced a plethora of Cadbury products in the last decade; however, their wrapper color, raw taste, and core ingredient remain as luscious as ever. Last but not least, you can identify the large yellow legs of the logo of Mcdonald’s from miles away; yes, that’s exactly what brand consistency is.
Besides, visual appearance, efforts, and marketing campaigns also account for brand consistency. One of the best examples of this is the remarkable statement made by Calm, the mental health advocating platform, in 2021. It stood alongside Naomi Osaka’s decision to quit the French open, citing mental health issues. Besides this, Calm also decided to pay $15,000 for the fines imposed on her by the sports authority for skipping a press meet.
Why does brand consistency matter?
Design is said to be the silent ambassador of a brand, and that’s more than enough to understand the gravity of brand consistency. A statistical survey was done by LucidPress in 2021 estimated that brand consistency directly impacts a business’s ROI, expediting it by 10-20%.
Another report stated that 90% of consumers choose brands based on their invariant features. Brands that put up constant efforts are 5% more likely to achieve visibility in the market as compared to their competitors.
In this cut-throat market where marketing strategies are evolving enormously, it is the stand-out effort that increases the chances of acing the race. For example, the Indian food-delivering company, Zomato is always known for its food-related memes. Recently, it offered a full-term job offer to its intern, owing to a successful engagement over an Instagram post created by him. This indicates that Zomato cares about the validation granted by its audience to their social media endeavors, the foremost marker of a brand-consumer relationship.
Brand consistency establishes authority. Remember Kleenex, the tissue brand? Although there are tons of tissue companies around the globe; nonetheless, when you refer to a pack of tissues, it comes out as a habit to say, “hand me a pack of Kleenex.”
It assists in building loyalty. Brands that show dedication towards their customers have more chances of staying in the haul as compared to others. Apple, the trillion-dollar company, launches a new mobile every year. It’s a globally accepted fact, once an Apple user, always an Apple user. That’s brand consistency.
A survey conducted by Sell.com evaluated that 90% of Apple users upgrade to newer versions of their mobile phone within 1 month of its launch, without batting an eyelid. That’s commitment blended with the fidelity of a victorious brand-consumer relationship.
How to maintain brand consistency?
Sticking to foundational ethics is the most important step to maintaining brand consistency. Companies can begin by setting up brand guidelines to standardize the protocols of marketing, releasing products, and a sophisticated code of conduct.
Build a repository of branding resources. Employees will leave, and a new force will join. However, this should not affect the branding strategy. Therefore, it is advised to assemble various elements involved in maintaining uniformity in the brand content. This includes fonts, graphics, website configuration, logo designs, color variations, traditional brand statements, and numerous templates.
Maintain coherence in communication. Be it on social media, offline events, or a regular press conference; it is necessary to speak out of the beliefs of the brand that reflect its devotion towards the customers.
Appreciate your customers. Besides warm greetings in outlets, it’s mandatory to engage with the audience regularly. For example, Netflix is widely known for its global outreach. But, have you thought about how it replaced the age-old DVD system? It’s because of its wonderful communication.
The platform engages with its audience on social media sites on a day-to-today basis. It takes a stand on societal issues, comments on the sarcastic side of humorous matters, and persuades its subscribers with the not-so-revealing spoilers about series and movies.
Regular mails, newsletters, personalized messages, exclusive offers are some other ways to maintain communication.
COVID-19 pandemic has been a testing time for brands. Nevertheless, it’s also been a golden chance to build relationships. This is another hallmark feature of brand consistency, standing with the customers in tough times.
Microsoft, Google, and the iconic Tata offered sick leaves to their employees during the pandemic. LinkedIn opened up more than 16 courses for free to leverage learning for professionals during the lockdown. Vicks, the famous ointment company, donated $1 million to public funds for the welfare of healthcare workers, a generous effort to show that the brand cares about its consumers.
Conclusion
Brand consistency matters at all fronts. Investing to construct a persistent public image is a profitable measure to achieve resilience and tremendous growth in the coming times.