How To Build Consistency with Communication

The Relationship Between Consistency and Communication

Consistency is a measure of how much people feel your brand delivers, every time. People want to know that they can depend on the brands they choose. Communications plays a key role in this – building trust with people by being cohesive over time and across touchpoints.

Brands who have established who they are and communicate regularly should have a strong Consistency score. However, whenever the brand introduces a new creative idea, changes objective, or launches a redesign, it’s natural for there to be a slight drop in this Driver. What’s important is that people come to understand who the brand is, and all communications become different ways of expressing the brand’s “DNA.”

Think about the following to help people feel that your brand is Consistent: 

1. People should know who you are. People come to trust what they see as reliable over time. They want to know what kind of brand you are, and what they can expect you to do. It’s important to have a well-defined tone of voice and visual identity, so people understand who you are. Once this is in place, it’s easier to play with activations and creative ideas, as the tone of voice and visual style will hold everything together. Your friends tell all sorts of stories, but you still know who is telling each one because you know them and their style.

2. Build a trusted reputation. Being a consistent part of people’s lives will mean that they return to you time and time again. Make sure that people know how much others trust you by amplifying reviews and leveraging testimonials. Paid social is often a good place to start to hero people’s positive feelings towards you and create an immediate sense of confidence in the brand.  

3. Be who you are, everywhere. No matter the channel or the creative idea, your brand should feel cohesive and authentic. It should be instantaneously recognizable – whether it’s on the side of a bus, on social, on TV, or in a magazine. 

What should you do next?

• Make sure that your brand is presenting itself clearly and consistently across all touchpoints. Pay particular attention to social media, as it’s the most likely to diverge. 
• Make sure that people know who your brand is and build that perception over time. The more people feel they understand you, and the more this is continually reinforced, the more you will build trust in the relationship.
• Amplify the voices of your users: how can you make people hear how much your customers love you? 

How to determine if it’s working.

• Building the Consistency Driver takes time. It’s a driver that is about proving yourself, so people need to see that over time. Watch to see it rise as you employ the guidance above.   
• You should start to see more positive reviews and testimonials as people believe in what you’re telling them.
• Don’t worry if your Consistency score goes down when you make a fundamental change to your brand – that's normal and to be expected!
  
  
  Guidance from:
  Searsha Sadek | Head of Brand Partners, ProQuo AI
  
  Searsha has always grown brands in advertising agencies: from haircare and frozen food to spirits and streaming services. She focussed on how communicating explicitly and implicitly is key.