How a consistent brand helps build credibility.
It’s tough building a business. You have to find clients, secure funding, scale your business and your workforce, all in a landscape where there are more established competitors.
First and foremost, it’s important to look like you mean business. A professional approach to running your business, from the finance to the product, is essential; any investor is going to want to know that you have a realistic plan for growth. So you knuckle down and crunch the figures, source suppliers, establish your customer base, and come up with a framework that looks grown up.
And your approach to your brand needs to be just as level-headed. The brand is the skeleton for your whole marketing strategy. And if your tone of voice or your visual language is inconsistent, it comes across as amateurish. Which is a real turn-off for investors and customers alike.
Instead of thinking of branding as a logo, some colours and a typeface, it’s really worth taking the time to establish a fully-fledged brand identity. Creating principles and a promise that you can stick to, and build all your messaging around.
A clearly defined brand will create differentiation between you and your competitors. The more consistent you are, the more established your unique position becomes in the eyes of your audience, giving you a vital head-start in the consideration phase.
Consistency also helps to build trust. When your messaging is reliable, it gives people a sense that you are too. Which helps when you’re trying to convince someone to invest, or even just to buy what you’re offering.
A consistent brand promise also gives you the opportunity to prove yourself. When you then follow through on what you’ve promised, it reinforces your message - so make the most of the opportunity and be sure you can deliver on what you say. Satisfied customers spend more, come back for more, and are more likely to recommend you on to friends - and recommendations are like gold dust for sales.
A solid brand identity is a long-term strategy. It may be difficult to measure any immediate results, but it helps make your business resilient - companies with strong brands are more able to weather stormy waters. So make the investment in your brand early, and be on the right heading for years to come.
