Written by Marnie Berga on the 10/06/2009
These days, it's easy for customers to pick and choose who they buy from with such a saturated marketplace. To try and win over these customers, businesses are producing marketing material left, right and centre. Often, the material going out is not well thought out, has not been planned properly and is inconsistent with the messages they're trying to convey and the brand they're trying to build.
Consistency is the key to upholding the image your customers have of your business, and swerving from that consistency can let your brand down.
For example, a long-established and classy real estate agency might send out a glossy 10 page brochure each month to showcase their premium listings. These brochures send a message of refinement and elegance to the people that receive it, and they help begin to form an image of the agency in the minds of those receiving it.
What happens when someone considering selling their home decides they might like to look at using this agency and browses to their web address, only to find it's inconsistent with the image they had built up in their minds? A mistake like this could cost your business its reputation with this person and cause them to go to elsewhere, because yours is clearly not the classy agency they had considered listing with.
In order to build the brand that you want, it's crucial that everything from your identity and your website to your TV ads and Facebook pages are consistent. This requires time and effort and often money, however the results will be much more positive than if you opt for the quick and easy option, or the experimental one.
Experimenting with marketing material is something I find happens often with small businesses, as they're not quite sure what will work for them and what won't. While some experimentation with your marketing early on can help work out what works for you and what doesn't, it's also important to know the limitations of your brand.
If you're trying to build a brand that consumers associate with professionalism, honesty and high quality products or service, it's probably best to maintain a strong, professional and serious image along with consistent messages that convey the honesty and integrity you want people to believe in.
Think of it this way, if Allianz tried to market to you with cartoon characters, would you take them seriously? Would you trust them with your insurance needs?
Pushing the boundaries a little bit can help position you differently and make you stand out – just look at Bankwest - but it's important to know the limitations of what you should and shouldn't do, and these limitations will be different for each brand.
Some things to avoid if you feel the need to experiment are:
Experimenting with your identity is often the result of unprofessional beginnings which, although cheaper in the beginning, can cost you more in the long run.
Remember that the time and money you're spending on ensuring all communications are consistent is an investment. You're investing in creating an emotional connection between your brand and its customers. Chopping and changing your identity, your messages, or even the tone of your copy can break that connection which can result in a loss of credibility – and sales - for your business.
Please click here to go back.
