If every communication you receive from a brand looks completely different, how would you remember them? Could you conjure up an image of what that brand looks like?
The chances are you probably can’t, and this inconsistency damages brand recollection significantly. Diminishing customer trust, perceived lower quality and worsened credibility are just a handful of consequences of inconsistent branding. As a digital marketing agency in Sheffield, we know this can be make or break.
What is branding? The age-old question…
Many small businesses get this wrong, thinking branding is just your logo, but there’s so much more to it. Branding is the backbone of your business’s identity. It is the set of associations a consumer makes about your products or services based on how you decide to present them. But if your presentation is unstable, the memories associated with your brand will be too…
Read on to discover ways inconsistent branding could be killing your brand without you even knowing.
Visual identity
Think of the red hue of a Coca-Cola or the iconic blue and yellow pairing of Ikea. Even when the logo is nowhere to be seen, their strong brand identity makes for instant recognition by just the colour alone.
Colour is one of the best tools small businesses can use to psychologically summon emotions and recollections of a brand. Studies have shown that up to a hefty 90% of initial judgment on a product or a brand is based solely on colour, and that initial judgments are made within 90 seconds. So when you use a huge selection of colours, with no consistent guideline or theme, you’re reducing that chance of brand recognition significantly.
This isn’t just through colour; however, your entire visual identity could be at stake. Think of the fonts you use, the graphics, and even how you size these visuals. Are they consistent? Do you have guidelines in place to ensure your identity is consistent? Now might be the time to get one going…
Messaging
Would one of the ways you come across on one platform cringe at the way you come across on another? Now we understand that different platforms call for tweaks in your tone of voice; however, if your brand sounds entirely different, it may be time to rethink how you want to come across.
Your brand should be recognisable by its tone and key messages. Yep, the way you communicate isn’t all; the type of content you communicate about matters too. Your messaging should consistently reflect your core values across the channels you use, as inconsistency harms recollection.
Customer experience
Are your customers undergoing the same experience regardless of what platform they are interacting with you on? Every touchpoint contributes to your brand perception, from chatting on customer support to emails to browsing your website. If these don’t feel cohesive, your brand will slowly feel far less recognisable.
If these interactions feel fragmented, take a step back and evaluate. Ensure employees are kept in the loop and encourage feedback to spot weak points in your communications.
Don’t let inconsistent branding hold you back
Ultimately, consistency builds familiarity, and if your brand isn’t familiar, then it will be forgotten. Audit your current strategy and if it’s looking a little shaky, now’s the time to switch things up.
At Daffodil Marketing, we offer various packages that can fulfil these. Your brand is more than your logo, so show people that! If you need help with brand messaging, creating guidelines, assets, and more, we can help!
Get in touch for a no-pressure chat today.
