3 Reasons Brand Consistency Is So Important (+ 3 Bonus Tips)

The truth is today's consumer — whether an architect, a DIY or a contractor — cares a lot about the brands that they interact with. They may care more or less based on how and when they interact with them, as well as depending on what the product and the value they give to them, but at every step of the project, they are making millions of micro-decisions.

Whether or not they know it, how a brand feels and makes them feel plays a big part in their purchasing decision. It's psychology — it's marketing. (After all, if it didn't matter, companies like Venveo wouldn't be here.)

Think about your personal favorite brand — something you buy for yourself, not work. I bet you could pick out one of their social media posts or TV commercials with no sound on and no logo showing.

That’s because they’ve used brand consistency to create awareness. You’ve seen the same message told in the same style enough times that you know exactly who is talking to you.

We want you to take the same principle and apply it to your building materials company. You want your target audience to know who you are from font or imagery alone.

Awareness is essential because it’s the first step in the buyer’s journey. Customers need to know you exist and recognize your name before they’ll even consider buying from you.

Your customers know who you are now — great! The next question is: Do they trust you? If you’re constantly changing your messaging, colors, fonts or imagery, the answer is probably no.

Would you want to work with a company that can’t make up its mind about its primary color? If you can’t decide that, how can they trust that you’re not constantly changing your products, too?

Customers want to buy from someone they can rely on. By staying consistent with your branding, you are proving to them, over and over, that you can be relied on and trusted. It’s amazing how much you can say without actually saying anything at all.

The biggest mistake building materials companies make is assuming that their audience will take one look at their newest eye-catching advertisement and immediately make a purchase.

The truth is that the customer journey takes time. It won’t be the first ad that gets you the sale. You need to create awareness and strengthen their trust — then you get that sale. Research shows that 71% of consumers say they’re more likely to buy a product or service from a brand they recognize.

As the old rule says, it takes an average of seven interactions with a brand before you get the sale. If you can nail awareness and trust, getting those seven interactions will be easy — and your revenue will prove us right.

The very first question you have to ask yourself is: “How do I want my target customer to feel when they interact with my brand?” When they encounter your website, your collateral, your social media or even your packaging, do you want them to know you’re an industrial, utilitarian and durable brand, or do you want them to feel like everything is possible because you’re dependable and long-lasting?

The main goal is to pick keywords that are going to feel authentic, reach your audience and stay within your budget. Then, you can build the rest of your brand around those keywords. Take Cambria, for example. They are a luxury countertop company, and so their branding exudes luxe, from their imagery to their font.

Every choice they make supports their brand, and it’s carried onto every single page on their website, every piece of collateral and every social media post.

Again, for those in the back, once you pick your branding, you have to stick with it everywhere. And we do mean everywhere:

• Website pages

• Product descriptions

• Social media posts

• Marketing emails

• Print collateral

• Sales team language

That’s right, even your sales team needs to be on the same page. The words they use when selling to customers need to support and strengthen your brand as well. That way, when the customer looks your company up after your salesperson has left the store, they receive the same message again.

First, ask yourself if you’ve really misbranded. Or, are you just bored with your current branding because you’ve seen it day in and day out and want a change? If it’s the latter, do not change. Other reasons not to change include brand envy or a desire to “keep up with the trends.”

When you change your brand, you may lose all of the customers that have only had one or two touches with your company and haven’t committed your name to memory yet. They simply remember you as “that brand who shares cool installation videos.”

Before you start changing things up, look to see how long you’ve been using the same brand. If it’s only been a few months since your last rebrand, you may not have created enough traction yet.

If you still think you’ve chosen wrong, get a second opinion from an expert in the industry. If they agree, it may be time for a change.

Tip #1: Use the same font in all of your branding. This includes on your website, in your social media images, on any print collateral and even on your packaging. (Speaking of font: Make sure you pick something legible, clean and not over-characterized.)

Tip #2: Use the same messaging everywhere. If your value prop is that your product makes installation fast, use it in your hero message on your website, as a hashtag on your social media posts and in your product descriptions. Hit your message hard, and hit it everywhere.

Tip #3: Use the same photo style. If you use a filter on every single social media post, use that same filter on the images on your website. If you use all in-progress images on your website, make sure the majority of your images on social media are in-progress projects as well.

A great example of brand consistency is FastenMaster.

Their website features a modern, easy-to-read font with clean, sharp lines. Their messaging is also excessively clear — it tells you who it's for (pros), what they’ll get out of using FastenMaster products (more done) and how that will happen (through fast, efficient systems).

Then, they carry that same branding onto their social media.

Their Instagram is full of in-progress projects, featuring professionals who are getting their job done fast — the perfect example of consistent branding.

Now that you understand the importance of brand consistency and how to achieve it, the next step is to start putting that consistency into practice.

If you’re looking for guidance to help your company create brand consistency across every advertising channel, Venveo can help. Start a project today and learn how Venveo helps building materials companies succeed.