Imagine yourself doing your weekly shopping at the store. If all the names and logos were removed from their products, which brands would you recognize? You might immediately identify the bright orange laundry detergent bottle as Tide, the red soda boxes accented with a white ribbon as Coca-Cola, or the perfect chocolate brown candy bar packaging as Hershey’s. However, there are probably dozens of other brands you see each week that you would never remember without its name.

Has your business struggled to stay on-brand on all forms of media, despite offering a consistent and dependable product? You’re not alone. Even at large companies, out-of-date logos get displayed on apps, social media posts sound disjointed, and a variety of different slogans show up on advertisements. If your brand is inconsistent, it leaves a confusing taste in consumers’ mouths – as confusing as if you unwrapped that Hershey bar and it tasted like dog food.

Many brands struggle with consistency because it requires a great deal of organization, communication and training across many different groups of people. However, when done correctly, brand consistency will help your business generate more customers, sales and overall success.

Why Brand Consistency Matters

How exactly does staying on-brand help your company find more success? As a whole, people love to make purchases they don’t have to think about. If your brand is very familiar and consistent, you can turn your customers into creatures of habit who recognize your brand without another thought. People see consistency as a sign of trust, and they tend to make purchases based on their emotions rather than facts. If they view your brand as trustworthy, they are more likely to choose you over other similar choices. When you back up someone’s beliefs of trustworthiness with a truly reliable product, customers will develop a purchasing loyalty that is hard to break.

One of the biggest advantages of brand consistency is that it can differentiate you from your competitors. Most companies today still don’t do a great job of keeping consistent branding in their interactions with customers. A unique brand applied consistently makes your company look very put-together and professional, setting you a step above less polished competitors.

There is also something reassuring to consumers about a company that is intentional and well-thought-out. Take Apple’s MacBooks, for example. When you purchase their laptop, the package is sleek and clean, just like the product. Inside the box, each piece of equipment has a place intentionally carved out of the packaging to fit its specific shape. The customer’s mental image of Apple’s business is confirmed by thoughtful and on-brand details, ultimately leaving them feeling confident about their purchase and the brand as a whole.

Achieving Brand Consistency

Brand consistency is your key to earning and retaining loyal customers who will purchase from your company again and again. It involves keeping all brand elements, including colors, business values and language, coordinated across all forms of communication. Those elements should incorporate both depth and width – include the brand’s history, current goals and future plans, but also make sure they are applicable to all aspects of the business. With those considerations in mind, consistency can only truly begin with a firm grasp of your company’s long-term goals and purpose.

Brand consistency is only successful if it aligns to your company’s overall mission and values. Before you revise all your business materials, first dive in and make sure you have a deep understanding of your brand’s purpose and company-wide vision. This ensures all the consistent messages you create send the exact right message and will be useful for many years to come. Plus, if you can’t easily define your company’s values and brand, how can you expect your customers to understand it?

Once you’ve nailed down the key values of your brand, you will need to create a set of brand guidelines. Establish official taglines, brand statements, colors and overall presentation, so that you have a complete understand of your brand’s visual representation. Guidelines help create consistency across different groups, including those who may run your company’s social media pages, website and advertisements. Be sure to include set color codes, fonts and language to use for any and all branded materials. Small discrepancies may not seem like a big deal, but they can create a big disconnect in your overall message.

You know how we said customers often make purchase decisions with their heart? Creating a consistently authentic and human brand voice is your opportunity to further establish an emotional connection with your audience. Identify your brand’s specific traits, characteristics and overall “personality,” and stick to them any time you create new materials. Not sure how to develop a brand personality? Check out this infographic to learn about all the dimensions to consider.

If you’ve recently re-branded, it’s especially important to make sure all of your materials have completely transitioned. When your audience sees two different logos and brand identities for one company, it can be confusing and make your company look like it’s stuck in the past – which is the opposite of what you want.

Lastly, keep in mind that being consistent does NOT mean being boring. There is always room within a consistent brand for innovation, creativity and new ideas. As long as you keep your overall mission, values and voice in mind, you’re free to explore new creative directions within your brand. In fact, you definitely should be innovating and furthering your brand all the time – that’s what keeps business fun, right?