How can small businesses maintain a consistent brand experience across all touchpoints?

Whether small, medium or large companies need to have very clear definitions of organizational objectives and goals in their strategic planning. Start by outlining your mission, vision and values, move on to definitions of purpose and brand persona, and this way you will have the basis to build perfect positioning and reverberate in the desired image and brand equity.

Brand strategy isn't just a playbook; it's the DNA of your business - whether you are big or small. Why? Because it's the blueprint every team member follows, from the founder to the latest new hire. It's not a document to be shelved; it's a living guide, and should be central to every decision, big or small. 1. Agility: Adapt while keeping your core. 2. Customer Feedback: Integral for refining your message. 3. Digital Presence: Choose your channels wisely. 4. Storytelling: Connect emotionally. 5. Responsibility: Stand for more than profit. Measure & Adapt: Define and track success. A strong, flexible brand strategy is crucial. Make it count.

For small businesses, keep things simple and consistent. Define your brand, set clear guidelines for how it looks and sounds, and teach your team. Use templates, keep everything in one place, and update regularly. Make sure your brand is the same everywhere, adapt when needed, and listen to feedback. This builds trust and recognition.

Understanding what a business brand communicates to its customers is foundational before establishing a branding strategy. Maintaining the authentic essence that has led to the small business's success is pivotal in their journey toward growth and expansion. This work is a team effort that must ensure that the winning essence is not lost through the process.

Finding your unique positioning is the single biggest determinant of a successful brand. A great brand is like a great film. Each year, formulaic movies are produced which try to copy the success of others. They are professionally produced, but audiences can sense their unoriginality, so they tend to pass by without leaving a lasting cultural impact. But every so often a film comes along that is not just entertaining, but also delights moviegoers with its storytelling and originality. It often has familiar elements, but is unique enough to be truly memorable, defining the genre for years to come. Before thinking about a logo, visual identity, vision or mission, try to develop a compelling story that explains your unique role in the market.

When you build the brand for your business, you will certainly miss or poorly build some of the touchpoints. And that's okay as long as you come back and refine everything. The main idea is to conduct an audit after you've defined and refined your business model. Why? Because you will have a clear view of all the touchpoints. Moreover, a good audit will show you the critical channels and the touchpoints that either don't work properly or can be adjusted for more efficiency.

Ensuring brand consistency across touchpoints is crucial. Evaluate website design for clarity, social media for relevance, email communication for differentiation, packaging for emotional impact, and customer service for loyalty. A cohesive brand experience fosters stronger connections with your audience.

To make your brand relevant, your sole focus should be on where you interact with your customers. A brand cannot exist in a vacuum. Too often, the marketing department is busy producing excellent brochures or newsletters that few people read, while customers interact with people who don’t see “brand” as part of their job description. To overcome this, analyze the typical interactions you currently have or would like to with customers and map them out into customer journeys. How are they first finding you? What are the key steps they take before making a purchase? Through what channels do they receive after-sales service? Then begin to build the collateral and processes to integrate these customer interactions into your brand.

Now that you have clearly defined your strategy, it is time to evaluate how you are going to communicate with your potential customers. Now what are the best and most effective method to pass my message across to my target audience? In these this digital age, we make use of social media a lot with websites, email marketing to engage with our target audience. Social media such as Facebook, Instagram, Tok-tok, LinkedIn and Twitter are very effective tools to use. Your message needs to be clear and effective.

One thing I’ve found helpful as I’ve built out my business infrastructure is a small brand package: a logo, 2-3 brand colors, and a couple of key images that show the brand in action. A brand package can be used across your accounts, as you set them up or post audit, to maintain a consistent look and feel. Keep using those elements as needed to have a coordinated, identifiable presence anywhere your business can be found. Going DIY or working with a Designer is a small investment that will elevate your brand, customer confidence, and professionalism.

The best way to identify gaps & opportunities is to map the customer journey through your brand's universe. How do they first encounter your brand? What do they do next? What's the most "popular" path your clients use while interacting with your brand. For some channels, tracking is a great tool, but don't shy away from qualitative research. Get in touch with a dozen of your clients and really try to understand their behaviors and choices. Along the way, make a top 10 list of changes and prioritize the first 3. Make the needed changes and start measuring their impact. Only start implementing the next 3 changes after a couple of months of monitoring and measuring. Why? Otherwise, you won't know which changes actually had the most impact.

Identify any gaps. That is your chance to break in and make a point. Don't allow your branding to slip up. Each touchpoint counts.

First impressions aren’t everything, but they are very important in branding. It’s relatively easy to conduct research to find out how people first encountered your brand through customer surveys. But it’s much harder to understand why other people didn’t become customers. So it may be useful to conduct research with external audiences outside the bubble. Simple tests like the Five-second test. People who are unfamiliar with the company are given 5 seconds to look at the website & give their snap judgment on what they think. Often times they can not identify the broad product category or industry of the product. This may be a sign that what is working really well for one subgroup of your target market is not resonating with others.

In the pursuit of brand consistency, the power lies in attention to detail. For small businesses, an audit of touchpoints often reveals disparities that, once addressed, can transform the customer experience. An outdated website might benefit from a redesign that speaks your brand's visual language, while a fresh approach to social media could involve a content calendar reflecting your brand's voice and values. Even small gestures, such as personalized thank-you notes, can leave a lasting impression. By prioritizing these opportunities, not only do you bridge gaps, but you also actively create new avenues—like blogs or webinars—to engage and solidify your brand identity in the minds of your customers.

Touchpoints can be more than you think. Consider every gap as an opportunity. Start bridging the gaps. Key touchpoints are: 1. Mobile Numbers & E-mail addresses of Sales, Service, Distribution, Accounts and Customer Care department. 2. Google & Linkedin business page containing all important information. 3. Regular mobile (whatsapp) & email marketing about important business updates. 4. Informative website that serves customers, retailers, partners and employees. 5. Team (marketing) visits to business partners and retailers' locations for bridging the gaps. 6. Periodic training for enhancing skills, sharing goals and collecting market trends. 7. Consider print, radio, internet, TV, billboards etc. based upon your industry type & budget.

Now that all the tools are in place, the next thing to do is launch and implement them while monitoring for progress. Be sure to monitor the performance of your brand continuously for any improvement. Make sure you are meeting up with your goals, you are satisfying your customers and as well sales while ensuring there is job satisfaction. Satisfying your customers ensures their loyalty to your brand. Ensure to get good reviews from your customers for your brand's growth.

Pour mettre en oeuvre votre stratégie afin de : 👉 Gagner du temps 👉 Structurer votre business 👉 Garantir la cohérence et la répétition Vous pouvez utiliser ces outils : 👉 Notion (pour gagner du temps en étant organisé grâce à la gestion des tâches, des projets, gérer votre production de contenus, écrire vos scripts client). 👉 Google sheet (pour avoir un suivi de vos performances en construisants des graphiques visuels qui vont vous aider à avoir une vision globale et prendre les bonnes décisions) 👉 Canva (pour gagner du temps et en cohérence graphique en créant des templates qui vous serviront ensuite de modèles tous prêts pour vos prochains posts, vos prochaines présentations).

The beauty of being a small brand is that you have so much more ease for the audit process like a million dollar business would obviously have so many more distribution points & rolling out a complete you know Brand experience can be a tedious but for small businesses, this is the correct stage at which they can Audit see what’s working see what’s not working and then completely keep adding and playing and having fun with the process of creating brand experiences

Don’t forget to have a consistent and clear message across all platforms. Nothing is more confusing to a potential client than mixed messages - and a confused mind doesn’t buy. Review your social media posts on all your channels and adjust/purge/add where necessary to create consistency. Don’t be so naive to think your Linked In account presenting a top notch professional won’t be completely undermined by images of a drunk and half-dressed party goer on your IG account. Those clients/employers/ investors you want to attract to your brand are smart enough to do their due diligence. That’s why you want them after all!

For implementation and monitoring, here are a few things that will help with the process: - Create brand guidelines that covers logo usage, colour palettes, typography, imagery, voice, and tone. - Conduct regular training sessions for your team, ensuring everyone understands the brand guidelines. Keep communication channels open for any brand-related questions. - Store and manage brand assets in one place for easy access. Have a folder for photos that have been approved for use, create templates for key materials (like Holiday promotions). - Ensure your customer service team is trained in the brand’s tone and values. This should include everything from how you answer the phones to how you respond in a live chat.

As you can probably see from reading this article alone, there's a lot that goes into keeping your brand consistent. But, unless you're a trained designer, copywriter, and brand strategist, you will need expert help to maintain your brand across all touchpoints at all times. When hiring someone to help develop your brand, design your visuals or your website, or to help you create a brand strategy, make sure that person is willing to invest time into getting to know you and your business at its core. They should be asking you questions about your mission, your why, your audience, competitors, goals, projections, sales journey, and big picture vision. Work with someone who can help you define your brand and continue to grow it.

You and your team don't have to handle everything alone. Technology is here to make our lives easier, including managing a business. There are tons of tools to help you manage your brand by building trust and recognition. From CRM management to enable personalized messages to integrated customer support channels and internal communication platforms to ensure everyone is on the same page. Don't hesitate to embrace technology. Use it to communicate with your team and give them all they need to understand and represent your brand genuinely and consistently. Tech tools can empower businesses to maintain a cohesive brand experience across all customer interactions. What tools are you using or planning to implement in your company?

It is important to follow the customer journey map to identify brand experience gaps that the organisation may have missed. Always put yourself in the customer's shoes and try to see things from their perspective NOT from the organisation's perspective.

1. create a campaign thought: eg. long battery life. make sure that all the creatives cater to this problem across all touchpoints. 2. make sure you use same colors or template of creative across all touch points. 3. engage with audience and listen to their speech. Optimise your communication basis their speech.

Think of your brand as a character in a play, one with a distinct personality, voice, and story. Every touchpoint, from your social media posts to customer service, is a scene in which this character interacts with your audience. Don't just communicate; connect. In your store, your website, and your ads, let your brand's personality shine through. Be it witty, earnest, or adventurous, make sure it speaks in the same tone, dresses in the same style, and upholds the same values, no matter the stage. Remember, it's not the size of the role that counts, but the consistency and authenticity of the performance.