If you are new to starting your own business or have been doing it for some time, you will have heard of the term "Brand" or "Branding." A Brand is more than just a logo; it's a predefined set of ideas and ideologies set out to guide your brand on how to conduct itself aesthetically, perceptively, and verbally to relate to a targeted demographic, which is your customer!😀

Having consistency across your brands' marketing platforms is one of the most important things you can do to help your brand grow. It's what gives your brand the voice it needs to speak to your customers by relating to them on a conscious and subconscious level.

Today we will discuss what a brand voice or blueprint is and why you should have one. I will also give you five practical tips that you can implement right now to keep your brand consistent and build customer loyalty.

For most people, when they hear "branding," the very first thing that comes to mind is a logo. A logo is a graphic mark, word, or symbol used to identify your business. Your logo is the cherry🍒 on top of your brand, BUT it is not everything, AT ALL!

#1 Establish your Mission statement and positioning in the market to come up with your content and give your brand direction. Build a foundation of who you are and who you are not by answering questions like: Who are we? How do we look? What do we offer? What do we say? How do we say it?

Think of a core tagline or motto that defines your brand. An example of a well-planned Mission Statement would be: The Red Rose Boutique is a quaint boutique located in the heart of Houston that caters to the sophisticated, vintage-minded woman who enjoys tailor-made experiences and is passionate about quality and style.

#2 Presentation - Perception, and self-presentation go hand in hand; it's a natural human tendency to pass judgment as part of everyday life. Different self-presentation strategies may be used to create different emotions in other people. This is where you get to define the "look” and how your brand interacts.

#4 Take the customer journey yourself. Look at all the areas in which you interact with your customers and make sure at each one of those points your voice/ message is clear and concise. From when they first enter your website, what do they see, how long does it take them to see that, are they delighted by it, are they interacting with it, and what is the ultimate goal you are trying to achieve?

Knowing these details gives you the ability to convert everyday customers to loyal VIPs. Using Call-to-Actions allows you to lead your audience to your various platforms, all matching your brand's blueprint. And finally, any physical or digital marketing materials you put out need to be well thought out and correspond to that blueprint, which will ultimately allow your brand to be cohesive and get the recognition it deserves!

#5 Loyalty - At the end of the day, we all want returning customers, so creating consistently delightful customer experiences and adding value to their experiences with what some call "perks" are crucial to building loyalty. If you have made it a great experience dealing with you on all levels, why not delight your customers further by offering value-added perks? This will ensure that next time they are looking for something, they will remember the great experience they had with you and return directly to you instead of your competitor.

👑 Ask yourself what you can do to set your customer experience apart and give your clients that memorable little extra!

Keeping your brand consistent is all about working with a plan and sticking to it!😎