Imagine your marketing efforts as a symphony orchestra, each instrument playing its part in perfect harmony. The conductor guides them with a well-defined strategy, ensuring there’s no discord or confusion. The result? A melodic masterpiece that captivates your audience with its clear, authentic communication.
Now, I know what you might be thinking. Does consistency in brand identity really matter that much? As tempting as it is to reactively get stuff out there without proper consistency protocols in place, in the long run, this approach will dilute your brand power and erode the trust of your customers. A few psychological philosophies behind this include:
- The rule of repetition: You have to repeat your messaging several times before it takes effect with your audience. Studies show that number is 7 times.
- Mere-exposure effect: audiences develop a preference for familiar messages over novel messages… up to a point (the habituation-tedium theory is a strong case for being artful in your repetition).
- Frequency illusionor bias: audiences notice and pay attention to what they’ve seen before (also called the Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon)
- Context-Dependent Memory: Context-dependent memory refers to the phenomenon where the context in which information was learned enhances the recall of that information. This means if you want to become recognised and remembered (in order to earn your customers’ trust), you must show up in a way that’s consistent so you can be put back into context.
Or in simple terms:
- In order for people to trust you, they have to feel like they know you, so you need to be seen;
- In order for them to feel like they know you, they must be aware of you, recognize you, and remember you, so you will want to be seen across various touchpoints;
- In order for people to recognise and remember you, they must see you show up consistently, so you will want to be seen across various touchpoints in a way that is similar and consistent.
So, how can you ensure that your business stays consistent and true to its essence? Let me share some insights that will help you:
Know thyself and be authentic – The Oracle of Cohesiveness:
Once you are clear about the many layers that make up your brand and you define a brand identity, your brand becomes more relatable to your audience and dare I say – more human. When you know this identity everything falls into place. In a world brimming with marketing noise, the secret sauce is simple: Just be yourself and cut through the chaos with ease.
Creating a meaningful brand is an inside job. The same as when you deal with someone who is really nice to you, but you know deep down they don’t have the capacity to think beyond their own needs, the same goes with branding, it starts by getting the heart of your business right first, then radiating it outwards.
To find this clarity within, participating in a Brand Alignment workshop can help you peel back the layers to discover the story that is at the heart of your business and the core messaging that surrounds it.
Having an authentically human brand defined before you begin marketing is the difference between a mediocre brand and a meaningful brand that people care about.
Research and empathise with your customers:
Fully understanding your customers is the cornerstone of a successful marketing strategy and it isn’t just about knowing who they are on a surface level. You will want to dig deeper and understand their needs, pain points and motivations. A good place to begin is to interview your customers directly with objective questions that uncover the quality data you need to transform your business. To ensure leading questions are omitted, this research is best done by an external consultant like Whisk Creative.
Create your Brand Strategy:
Imagine building a house without a solid foundation. It wouldn’t take long for the whole thing to crumble, right? Well, the same applies to your marketing efforts. To ensure cohesiveness, you need a robust brand strategy as your guiding light.
Your brand strategy is where you bring your brand story to life and create a consistent message that resonates across all your marketing channels. It’s the blueprint that ensures your brand is presented in a unified and impactful way.
Style Guides: The Guardians of Consistency:
Consistency is key in cohesive marketing, and style guides are the gatekeepers of that consistency. These rule books outline how your brand should be presented across all your communications. From your brand’s tone and voice to its visual identity and overall vibe, every element is defined, ensuring that your brand speaks with one coherent voice.
Develop a 12-month strategy:
Once you cement your brand identity and core messaging, you have stable building blocks to build a marketing strategy that can structure all of your marketing outputs to work together for greater returns.
Measure, adapt, excel:
As the saying goes, “What gets measured gets improved.” Tracking the success of your marketing efforts through data analytics is crucial. It provides valuable insights that allow you to gauge your performance, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions for future campaigns. By continuously evaluating and adapting your strategies, you can stay ahead of the game and achieve remarkable results.
Conclusion:
Cohesive marketing is the key to attracting your ideal customers and building a profitable business, but it isn’t a matter of spraying your customers with adhoc promotions.
To stand out from the crowd, you need to differentiate your offerings, clarify your purpose and articulate all the elements that encapsulate your brand into a style guide and brand strategy. Only then can you execute a marketing strategy that is built on firm foundations that work together to deliver the most return on investment.
If you need a guiding hand, Book a free 30 minute discovery with Whisk Creative and they will point you in the right direction.