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The Value Of Consistent Brand Messaging
Consistent brand messaging can be the difference between a successful brand and a failed one. Here's your ultimate guide to winning it!
Imagine you meet a person at a restaurant for the very first time. You both order your meals and then you get talking. It turns out that this person is the funniest human you have met in a long time. They say all the right things, laugh at your jokes, listen to you, and you even share a birthday.
So, you schedule a meet-up for next Thursday. Who wouldn’t? But this time, something’s off. They seem tired of the convo already, texting throughout, and things just seem to be the opposite of your first impression. They’ve left you quite confused and feeling awkward…
In the “brandverse”, this would be the equivalent of winning a lead over with one article only to turn them off with the next, saying you’re a 24hr service when you’re deep down a 9-5, communicating across your digital elements that you’re one thing and your salesperson positions you in an entirely different way.
Quite tragic.
This is what makes consistency in brand messaging very relevant for a brand to be successful.
What Is Brand Messaging?
Brand messaging is simply using the right words or phrase that properly communicates the value proposition of your brand to your target audience. A proper brand message should be informed by your company’s vision, mission, voice, and audience.
What Is Consistent Brand Messaging?
Consistent brand messaging is the pattern of communicating the same image, voice, tone, and personality of a brandacross all touchpoints (online and offline).
Examples of Brands With Consistent Brand Messaging
Hubspot’s Digital Marketing Stronghold You cannot be in the 21st-century marketing space and not have heard of Hubspot. They live true to their desire to “Help millions grow better”. They have done a great job of positioning themselves as thought leaders of all things digital marketing.
They’re positioned in such a way that at every encounter, you are learning something or given a chance to learn something, the colour orange is on all things Hubspot and they have maintained this for 17 years and counting.
Nike’s Emphatic Statement
When I think consistent branding, the sports brand with the swoosh comes to mind. The phrase “Just Do It” which could have been another English phrase has become synonymous with the brand Nike. They have managed to maintain this message for 34 years and counting. You also see that push to do more and be more across their marketing efforts.
Why Should Your Brand Messaging Be Consistent?
1. It builds trust
As a brand, you should seek to build a relationship with your audience that transcends just making sales. Consistently communicating who you are across your touch-points helps your audience feel safe with you whether they are active consumers or not.
Trust is easier to build when you are not contradicting yourself. As a brand, your audience are so much more than prospects and consumers. They are crucial parts of your marketing arsenal. They can become your brand ambassadors driving organic publicity for your brand. But none of this can happen without trust. When they trust you, they can boast of you.
2. It allows for easy brand recall.
Your audience do not need to be active listeners for their subconscious to take note of your brand and bring it to mind when next they come in contact with it. This is the power of repetition. Staying consistent in your messaging keeps you from remaining a stranger or worse-being unreliable.
3. It aids Top-Of-Mind-Awareness (TOMA).
TOMA is achieved when your brand is the first that comes up in a customer's mind unprompted. It is directly linked to brand loyalty. Your consumers will easily remember the brand they trust when it counts.
It starts from your audience being able to recognize your brand, to being able to recall your brand to mind and then becoming the top brand of your category in their minds. At every stage in this cycle, consistent brand messaging is key.
Final Thoughts
Take this with you- the end game of every marketing effort should be brand loyalty. There can be no loyalty without trust. You cannot trust who you can’t rely on and you can only rely on someone who has repeatedly proven that they are who they say they are.
First impressions are not that big a deal where brand consistency is concerned.