There are few things more comforting to a business than consistency. A consistent stream of revenue, a consistent employee, a consistent sales funnel, a consistent set of goals. The list can go on. When we know what to expect, it allows us to now just do the good work.

One of the most important elements of your business’s progress is having a consistent brand message and aesthetic that you, your team, and your audience can rely on. Think about it from the consumer’s perspective. Every single brand that you love has a style and a language that is somehow undeniably theirs. Whether it’s a giant corporation like Apple or the hottest bakery in your hometown, what they are sharing with the world is always spot-on and on-brand. Always.

Of course, most consumers might not necessarily pay attention to how consistently on-brand it is. However, they will most definitely pay attention to when it’s not.

These companies we all look up to make brand consistency a core part of their DNA. As you continue to grow your business, remember the rule of “Say what you do, and more importantly, do what you say.”

Here are some tips to improve on your consistency:

  1. Get the words and tone right. First: If you haven’t already, write out exactly what you do, how you do it, why you’re different and why it matters. Your team needs this as a guiding light for talking with others, and your customers need it to help them make an informed and delighted decision. Second: Know your language style and stick to it. Are you assertive, but helpful? Light and snarky? Slick and upscale? Once you’ve locked down all of these elements, share it passionately with your team and the world!
  2. Beware of logo abuse. Pay attention to the brands you look up to. Not only is their logo typically well done, but it’s also used well. No blurry, squashed, off-brand colored logos here. If you see logo abuse in your company, make sure you have your best wooden ruler trusty brand style guide at close hand with anyone who’s in charge of handling your logo assets.
  3. Fonts, Colors, Textures…oh my! When building out your brand style guide, make sure you lock down your secondary font families, colors, and textures. Your secondary fonts are the worker bees that are used for every bit of copy that markets your brand. Your additional colors and textures are there to expand on your logo when you need just a little more pop.
  4. Build out a content strategy. Once you’ve got all of your core brand assets created, you can now start to build out a strategy for spreading the good word about your business. Work with your team to develop a plan that can be executed on a (yes, you guessed it) consistent basis. The right amount of content to create and share might take some time to get right and you definitely don’t want to overwhelm your team or your audience. Whether you start small (1 blog post a month) or large scale (multiple posts a week on various platforms), make sure you work to hit your schedule! Consistency is more important than being overly ambitious.
  5. Don’t let Perfect be the enemy of Good. Even the greatest brands out there miss the mark sometimes. If you slip and a blurry logo gets printed on a banner, don’t start flipping tables. Producing consistent, quality content is like working a muscle. At first, you’re sore for days and may want to give up. But, eventually, it does get easier, and you start to realize you’re actually enjoying yourself. What a novel concept!

If you’re feeling to get stuck or overwhelmed, drop us an email and let’s chat about how to get you in the right spot.

Mike.