Your brand is not just what you call your company. It is how customers view the company through all your points of contact. When a business is unaware that its branding is not consistent throughout its channels, it causes the business to lose money.
From inconsistent branding on social media platforms to conflicting brand images on the website, this inconsistency has a direct impact on how well customers can recognise and remember you, as well as destroying trust in your company.
Lack of consistency leads customers to be confused about your brand
Customers may go to your website and find a different tone than what they see on your social media accounts, or see a completely different visual identity when they come into your retail store.
Due to this misalignment, there may be the perception from potential customers that your company is untrustworthy or unprofessional.
Inconsistent branding can result in the following negative effects on a business
Many companies with inconsistent branding do not convert leads into loyal customers due to non-reinforcing messaging and visual branding that does not create a strong brand identity.
How to Identify Inconsistency in Branding
To address branding problems, you need to find the areas of inconsistency in your branding elements. Consider the following examples of branding inconsistency:
- All your communication channels (website, social media, email campaigns, etc.) share the same logo, color palette, fonts, and the look and feel.
- Your communication tone is the same across social media posts, email communications, and the copy on your website.
- Your customers have the same experience when they interact with you online and off-line.
Once you’ve found the discrepancies in your branding, you can develop a comprehensive brand strategy that will unify the visual, messaging, and customer experiences.
At Reach More Digital, we help companies create a cohesive, recognizable brand from inconsistent or weak branding.
We perform a brand audit, where we evaluate every communication platform where your branding is represented, to identify gaps in your branding or any inconsistencies that may exist in your branding.
We can also design your visual identity, which includes designing a consistent and professional logo, color palette, fonts and imagery, so all elements of your visual identity coordinate and complement each other.
We also make sure to assess the alignment of your messaging by creating a cohesive tone of voice and messaging framework for your business, so that it is consistent across all communication channels.
Finally, we will produce a set of brand guidelines documenting the elements of your brand so that every member of your team and every partner aligns, allowing for continual consistency in how your brand is represented.
Tech and AI are continuously evolving, and brand consistency is no longer optional. Businesses that fail to present a clear, unified identity struggle to attract and retain customers, even if their products or services are excellent.
With the right guidance from branding experts, small and medium-sized businesses can ensure their branding sends a clear, professional, and trustworthy message, every time a customer interacts with their business.
You may also like: Why Consistency Is the Secret to Building a Recognisable Brand
Image source: elements.envato.com
