Brand equity is the value and power of the brand that determines its worth. That value is determined by the collective consumers’ perception of, expectations of, and experiences with the brand. So branding is creating a perception in the minds of the customers, and consistency is the key to branding.
If people think highly of a brand, it has positive brand equity. When a brand consistently under-delivers and disappoints to the point where people recommend that others avoid it, it has negative brand equity.
Building brand equity is a long-term strategy. But if done well, it can provide many benefits to a business. Branding requires consistency and time. You cannot build brand equity overnight.
So, the “simple” secret to success to business is consistency.
One way a brand can be consistent is through being consistent through critical areas of focus such as brand identity, brand guideline and customer experience.
While the first two areas are relatively straightforward, customer experience can be seen in a way that you might not have considered in terms of consistency. A quote from the movie “Burnt”, starring Bradley Cooper, as a chef spells it out perfectly:
“A chef should strive to be consistent at experience, but not consistent in taste”
The above quote is powerful and can be applied to many businesses, especially services or creative products.
Your product or service should be inconsistent in experience for your customer, but the service itself should not be entirely consistent. Otherwise, it would just feel like a robotic replica of activities carried out. While the exact nature of the execution of the service may be different, the experience and level of service should be consistently high.
Consistency also means being prolific in your output.
Patricia Urquiola is a multi-award-winning architect, interior designer and furniture designer who no doubt is extremely creative and understands what the market needs. However, one of her critical keys to continued success is that she consistently puts out new designs each season. Over her career, she has a staggering several hundred designs that have reached production. Her consistent and prolific creative output has resulted in her being sort out to collaborate with numerous major high fashion and luxury brands.
Stephen King is one of the most prolific writers of our generation and maintains his high-quality consistency by setting a daily quota for himself. According to King, he writes about 10 pages a day; which equates to about 2,000 words, seven-days a week, every week. Even holidays.
Consider the following, a single penny doubled every day for 31 days results in a whopping $10,737,418.24. A single penny doubled every other day for 31 days yields just $163.84. That’s less than 1/100th of 1% of the ten million you would get if you doubled it every day! That is what consistency can do.
Are you consistent with developing new marketing ideas or innovating on the products and services that you offer?
One way to keep you on track and remain focused is to engage a business consultant. A management consultant can offer a different perspective and is an expert in identifying big-picture issues as well as provide strategies to achieve your successful business goals.
A business consultancy firm such as Evolve & Adapt comprises of certified management consultants and marketers that possess the unique hybrid skillset and experience to help clients succeed.
