Picture this: You are at a trade show where your team is getting ready to capture some all-important leads. You are setting out your brochures and you notice that you have new and old ones next to each other in the rack. They look very different--the old one is tried and true, but looking a little tired and dated. The new one looks much sharper and tells a different, more streamlined version of the company and product. As you are thinking this, you look across the aisle. Your competitor has been diligently working on their branding and messaging over the past several years. You always hate when you land near them at a show. They have a formidable booth, staff is all wearing matching attire, and they have consistent messaging and branding on all of their literature and media. Which company do you think is going to have a greater lasting impact on the customers, moving 60 miles an hour, at a trade show--or online? The company that is consistent, is going to get the first look.
During the discovery stage, one of the best ways to instill trust with a customer or clients, is to maintain consistency with your branding and messaging. Sometimes a company has several years' worth of brochures and other branded collateral. Some of these showcase a newer, sharper, and on-point brand. However, there are also older brochures and videos that still have "relevant information" on them. We will put good money on the fact that the sales team is still handing them out. They have outdated logos, obsolete photos or the video show their age. Generally, some of your collateral may need a face-lift. This situation is not ideal because you are disrupting the branding process in the buyer. Inconsistency is chaotic for customers, time consuming for sales teams, and disorganized in the eye of the market. We see it all the time, companies undergo several different mismanaged brand rollovers over the years, and yet, they continue to use different logos interchangeably--or there are multiple variations of messaging and design. All of which the customer is being exposed to, before they ever get to talk to you. It all impacts the impressions that a customer makes. The power of consistency is immediate and lasting. Some companies have made it their lifetime mission to master this strategy. Ever hear of GE or Boeing? They are masters of brand consistency. It is partially because of this diligence that they are so successful. Doesn't it seem like it would be important to keep your brand consistent? The good news is, it doesn't have to be a permanent problem. Just make sure you are using the most current, branded, collateral. Redesign those old brochures, remake the grainy and dark videos, ensure that anything the customer is exposed to is consistent with the current brand strategy--consistency is key.
Please contact Nesbit Marketing with questions on how to be more consistent: