Why brand consistency is crucial in your business.
What makes a good brand? What makes a memorable brand? I'll let you in on a little secret.
It all comes down to Consistency.
Consistency is one of the 3 C's to a great brand. Read about the other two here.
It seems so simple to be consistent but it is one of the hardest things you can do as an entrepreneur.
Why? Let me explain.
As an entrepreneur, you are idea-driven. You may also be trying out many things in many different ways, as you should. However, by constantly changing ideas or directions your brand may be getting harmed by being inconsistent. Now, why is this a big deal? Because consistency builds trust. As a small business, the best asset you have is your reputation. By constantly changing up your visuals, services (to an extent), website, etc. Comes off as flaky and no one is gonna trust flaky people with a lot of money.
So where do we draw the line between being in a rut and pushing your business forward? Well, this can fall into two categories.
1 - Operations.
What is your business about? Who are you serving? Why are you serving them? These things should remain relatively consistent. As a new business owner you will be able to hone these questions in a bit more as you discover more about yourself as an entrepreneur, your services/products, who your audience is, and WHY you do this.. and "for the money" is not the answer. More on that later.
Ex: Imagine if Starbucks started selling laptops in their coffee shops. This would confuse you. "Is this a coffee shop? Is this a high-end best buy?"
Creating this sort of confusion is BAD.
You want your clients to know exactly what you do and this is built through CONSISTENCY.
However, If Starbucks started selling a new type of cold brew coffee we wouldn't bat a lash because that is following the consistency of their brand.
2- Visuals.
What are your brand colors? What are your brand fonts? What style of imagery do you use on your website and on your social?
These visuals are the things that most entrepreneurs keep changing because they get bored with their look. If that's you, read this very carefully.
By consistently breaking your own brand you are breaking trust with your established client and your potential clients.
Especially if the changes are extreme. Ex: If Nuevo Studio suddenly changed our primary color from Hot Pink to Mustard Yellow. It would confuse a lot of people. Leading to people thinking Nuevo Studio shut down, that we don't do branding anymore, any array of ideas.
"But Naoma, I love to be looking different. I love all the colors and the fonts!"
I get it. So do I! Yet, to become memorable you need to be consistent. Why do you want to be memorable? Because you want to remain top of mind when people think of your service or product. Keep in mind it takes people 3 times to see something to remember it. So while you may be tired of your colors and your fonts your audience is not.
Still not convinced?
You may have a problem that you have limited yourself too much. You may have only 1-2 colors in your brand and 1 typeface (font) in your visual system that is making you feel too constrained.
Read our blog on What Is A Robust Visual Identity System and Why Do I Need One? to help you not feel so bound to your visual identity system.
Have questions? Drop them in the comments!
