Same Look Everywhere: Why Consistency Sells

Let me describe a business I see all the time. The sign out front is blue. The business cards are green, with an old logo. The work van is plain white with a magnet on the door. The website uses a different font and a stock photo of people in suits.

Every one of those pieces might look fine on its own. Together, they look like four different businesses.

I own The UpScale Tech & Print, so I have a stake in this topic. The advice holds no matter who you hire.

Recognition is how people remember you

Think about the brands you recognize without reading the name. You know them by their colors, their logo and their style. That didn't happen by accident. They showed you the same look over and over until it stuck.

Small businesses can do the same thing on a local scale. If your van, your sign, your yard signs and your shirts all look the same, people start to recognize you around town. The third time they see your van, they already feel like they know you. That's when the phone rings.

There's money in it, too. Marq, which makes brand management software, surveyed brand managers about this. As they describe in their article on brand consistency, companies estimated that keeping their brand consistent could lift growth and revenue by 10 to 20 percent.

What consistency looks like in real life

The van in the photo above belongs to a heating and air company. Look at what's there: the company name in big, bold letters, the services in a simple list, and a phone number you can read from the next lane. That same look shows up on their other trucks and their paperwork, so customers know exactly who pulled into the driveway.

For a small business, being consistent mostly comes down to a few simple rules:

• One logo. Not the old one on the cards and the new one on the sign. One.
• Two or three colors. Use the exact same ones everywhere.
• One or two fonts. Don't let every printer or designer pick their own.
• One clear message. What you do and who you do it for, said the same way each time.

How to get there without starting over

You don't have to throw everything out tomorrow. Try this:

1. Gather everything with your name on it: cards, flyers, shirts, sign photos and screenshots of your website and social pages.
2. Lay it all out on a table. Circle anything that doesn't match.
3. Pick the version that looks best and make it the standard. Write down the colors and fonts.
4. As things run out or wear out, replace them with the standard version.

Within a year, you'll look like one solid business everywhere people see you.

For more on why this matters, read Marq's piece on brand consistency. And if your table full of materials looked like a yard sale, book a time with me. Pulling it together is what we do.

— Pierre