Your brand isn’t defined by you, it’s defined by the perception of others; it’s what people say about you to their friends. In order to align your brand, you need others to perceive your brand in the way you intended. Great branding shows your customers what they want, even if they don’t already know it yet. Everything you put out for your brand should go towards reinforcing the perception you want to put out and building on trust.

Spotting inconsistencies

Let’s say you are browsing on your phone and you see an ad for a new sustainable product claiming to help the environment. This has captured your attention, so you click through to their website and you see the product is wrapped in single-use plastic. You’ve suddenly lost trust as there’s an immediate lack of consistency. You then turn your attention to their ‘Meet the Team’ page and you see their CEO is renowned for flying everywhere by private jet. You’ve very quickly uncovered the brand and seen that it’s not worth the risk. You quickly click away and look for a brand that’s worth your attention.

Flipping the narrative

So, what if you had clicked on the link and immediately saw the business was animal welfare approved? If you were led to a video explaining their plastic packaging was actually 100% compostable? That their CEO had pledged to donate 30% of their profits to save the rainforest? Equipped with these facts, you would have been much more likely to trust the brand and buy their product – because they’ve taken steps to gain your trust and align your perception with their own.

Considering your touchpoints

Think about the different touchpoints where customers will experience your brand for the first time. Not only do you need to consider all your social media channels, but also your website, e-shots and printed collateral. Are all these different modes of communication speaking the same language? Could a potential customer come across any of the messaging that you put out and have the same perception of your brand? If you can’t answer yes to this, there’s likely some more work to do.

Avoiding confusion

If you specialise in more than one thing, or you’re looking to diversify your offering, it can be very easy to confuse your existing audience. For example, if you specialise in shoes and this is what you’re known for, but you want to start selling coats, it will be difficult to advertise these both effectively in the same campaign. Your audience’s focus will be split between both the coat and the shoes and in this confusion, they may very easily dismiss both your offerings very quickly. If you are known for one thing and are looking to add something else into the equation, your brand alignment may well take the hit.

It’s important to remain consistent when it comes to your branding. Take the time to gain and build trust and ensure to focus on quality over quantity when it comes to what your offering. To talk to the team at Skein about better refining your marketing strategy and aligning your brand, get in touch here.

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Photo by Daniil Kuželev on Unsplash