Set your core values and live them through
It doesn’t matter if you work for a start-up or an established industry player. As a marketing specialist, your job is to thoroughly think about what your company stands for.
Don’t do it by yourself: enlist the help of your coworkers, at any level. Then, invest in top-notch branding material. Not just a logo and company slogan: you’ll need a proper content strategy, one that repeats your core message over and over again. Repetition is the key to retention.
Get everyone on board
You won’t find an Amazon product listed with blurry pictures, nor you’ll come across a grumpy Apple Store employee. Neither should any of your customers live an experience inconsistent with what you promise, through any touch point.
Everyone in your company should be informed and trained properly. More: they should be involved, as to feel part of the brand – and support its strengthening.
Listen
As a customer, you could actually come across a grumpy employee in a fancy computer store. You are entitled to communicate your experience to the store manager, and if he cares about consistency, he will listen. And so should your company.
Everyone who comes in touch with your brand can provide precious feedback about how it is actually perceived.
Feel free to evolve
Companies often struggle with strict consistency when thinking: “I have a strong identity now, but what if I want to enter a new market? I need to change!”
This is when you should remark to management the basic principle that a brand is not a product.
Apple didn’t change its branding when they started selling phones – nor does Virgin any time they kick off a new venture, it doesn’t mind if we speak about gyms or space travels.
Your brand is the way you do whatever you do. Just stick to it.
Being consistent is hard work – and so is spreading a consistency culture – but it pays off. In the short run, your company will stand out among its peers. And in the long run think of Nike’s “Swoosh”: they don’t even need to put a name anymore.
