The clearer you are on the purpose of your brand, the more successful you will be in building it.
Consistency is key to the sustainability of any brand.
This applies to visual and audial consistency as well as a less tangible consistency — the consistency of purpose.
Of course, it is important to be consistent in imagery, audio, tone and design— but the only reason the consistent look or sound of your brand matters is because of the way it makes people feel. And, the way it makes people feel is based on our purpose — or at least what people perceive it to be.
Brand purpose is where the magic happens. This is why the clearer we are on the purpose of our brand, the more successful we are at building it. Our brand purpose is why people choose us out of all the other brands.
Before people will want to work with us, follow our work or obtain our products or services — they first must know who we are. Who we are, to them, is based on their perception of our purpose.
People need things, look for what they need and find things. The only way they know if our purpose is to provide what they are looking for is if our brand provides consistency of purpose, through aligned words and action.
Anyone can obtain a good copy and most of our readers and viewers have already seen and heard it all. The real demonstration of our brand purpose is not through fancy words — written or spoken, but through our actions and choices.
The most successful brands have crystal clear clarity of purpose.
This clarity promotes consistency of brand purpose.
When providing branding services to clients, the first thing I ask for is their overall purpose broken down into a few sentences. If they do not know the answer to this question — and you would be surprised — I ask them to provide the answer before moving forward with brand consultation.
This often requires writing something a bit longer and then repeatedly refining it, as many people have all sorts of things come to mind when they think about their purpose.
There are also those who can define their purpose immediately.
Those who are already crystal clear on their brand purpose are usually also the ones who have already achieved some level of success. And, the ones who have achieved great success are so crystal clear on their purpose that I don’t even have to ask. All I have to do is look at their content and actions. Their purpose shines through, clear as day.
Regardless of a brand’s growth, its sustainability is contingent upon the consistency of purpose.
The only way to maintain consistency of brand purpose is to ensure, to the best of our ability, that the choices we make and actions we take align with our purpose — always.
Written by Holly Kellums
Originally published on Medium.com
Featured image by Scott Graham on Unsplash
Holly Kellums 