One of the themes of the Be Informed video series so far has been that your real estate business is a BUSINESS, and needs to be run as such. We’ve already talked about creating your brand, and making people aware of it; in this video, Tom Iovenitti talks about the other side of this coin – brand consistency. You may have a thousand different ideas for your brand, but, as is discussed in this video, it’s more important to keep your brand consistent than it is to chase every new idea you come up with.
The world is always turning, but not everything needs to change. This is especially true in the marketing arena. Marketing professionals want to change the logo or create a new tagline constantly on new products. They might want to add a decorative icon, or even create a new name for the entire organization. Some marketers feel the inclusion of a new product means they have to scrap everything that is known and loved by the customers of the organization. This goes starkly against the idea of brand consistency, that is to say, the recognizable nature of your business to those seeking your services.
People need to be able to find your business. Brand inconsistency reduces the visibility of the business. People will remember the first time they interact with the business and they will flock to it as long as it has a good reputation in their minds. Creativity and out-of-the-box thinking is a good way to start the business. Find your niche and create based on that, however, changing the brand name after the business has been established can severely hurt the business prospects. Marketers may want to attract a new clientele, but consider the existing clientele. If the business changes, they might feel less connected and move on to another provider.
Yes, the younger generation is drawn to graphic based advertisements and products, but while you cater to them, you can still appeal to your existing customer base. The logo of the brand is likely programmed into loyal customer’s brains as familiar in look and feel. People’s brains best remember when they can link a brand to a logo (which is why logos are effective). Even if a company wants to install a new logo, it should look familiar when compared to the original logo and the original logo should not disappear from the business. Consistency says to customers that the business is reliable and can always serve the needs. When this consistency breaks down so will trust in the business.
The best way to make sure brand consistency is a part of your strategy is when you start the business you have the aspired strategy and identity set. This strategy should be based on your insight of the customer base, whether intellectual or with market research. Your business strategy should allow for fluidity with products and advertising methods, no business is perfect, but a business with brand consistency can still adjust as the market permits.
Hopefully you’ve learned something from this video. Make sure to check back next week for our next video in the same series, Be Informed. I’m Tom Iovenitti, reminding you to be informed, and be brilliant, and thanks for watching.