Has someone ever bought you a brand new appliance? Remember that time when some shiny new toy was promised to make your life easier, faster, better, and longer? How many times have you caught yourself leaving the magic machine on the counter and using the same old method you’ve always used?
Change is tough, isn’t it?
There are so many reasons we don’t change our habits. Maybe we feel like the new machine is too complicated. Maybe it’s just too much work to even figure out how to turn it on! Maybe we’re nostalgic. Maybe we just truly enjoyed doing our own thing. Maybe we straight-up don’t like change.
Whatever the reason, we have a bunch of amazing appliances that do nothing but take up precious counter space. For instance, when I got married my friends gave me the glorious Nutribullet! Perfect for making smoothies, hummus, bisques, cocktails, and more! I was really excited, and I made a smoothie. One. Then I remembered that I’m not really a smoothie person. I’m sorry to say that, if it were up to me, our Nutribullet would sit in our cupboard – a very sad and lonely appliance (thankfully, my husband loves protein shakes).
You might be surprised at how many times we see this in our branding process. Companies contact us because their current brand and marketing efforts aren’t working. We work with them in discovering their values, personality traits, brand story, etc.. Together, we develop consistent visual elements, logo designs, and verbal guidelines. But sometimes—with their very own “Remarkabook” in hand—they go back to business as usual.
Maybe it’s too overwhelming to begin using the guidelines, or maybe it’s just too unfamiliar, but guess what? Your company’s brand won’t do anyone a bit of good if it sits on a shelf.
When You Don’t Change
We can’t tell you how many small businesses we’ve walked into where every piece of content or design was completely different. The business cards were different than the pricing menus, and those were different from the sign on the window. The website looked completely different from the email templates, so on and so forth. Maybe they had an agency write copy for their website while a part-time intern wrote their social media posts and they ended up with inconsistent voices like this:
Facebook post: Hey guys! Come on down to our community BBQ on Sun. We’d love to see ya!
Website: Guests must call ahead for reservations on the following nights: Friday, Saturday, Sunday.
Maybe they had a print shop designing their brochures, while the manager cooked up their business cards and their menu. Pretty soon it starts to look (and sound) like their business suffers from brand dissociative identity disorder. That’s why it’s so important to actually (and fully) implement your new brand.
This is where Resound’s next step comes in: Amplify Your Brand. It’s time to amplify your brand consistently through all your platforms.
Many times, this looks like a new or refreshed website. This could also mean new printed materials (business cards, pamphlets, menus, signs, etc.), social media graphics and icons, and new email templates. This might seem extreme, but customers will remember you so much better if your design is coherent. Think about it: If you see a tagline once, you might notice it. If you see it twice, you might think about it in a little more detail. By the third time, you’d be more likely to associate the tagline with its surroundings.
However, when businesses fail to use the same style in their written and visual communications, they present five different messages to their customer instead of one message – five times. In addition, when all the communications look, sound, and feel different, the customer will be confused and won’t know what to remember.
Be Consistent
When your presentations are complementary to each other, you’ll stand out from your competitors. You’ll also increase your brand value in the minds of customers. It’s professional, and it’s memorable.
Want to learn more about Amplifying Your Brand? Let us get in touch with you!
