The COVID-19 pandemic caused a seismic shift in consumer shopping behavior.
With bricks and mortar shops forced to close temporarily, customers were forced to move their shopping experiences online.
E-commerce thrived in the digital environment, and in 2021, e-commerce sales increased by 50.5%! Although shops and stores have reopened as the pandemic subsided, the customer trend for shopping online has continued.
In fact, our pandemic shopping trends are not expected to slow down any time soon, estimated to grow to $7 trillion by 2025.
To remain competitive today, brands must create a consistent brand experience across every channel, online and offline.
Nevertheless, creating a consistent brand experience across every channel is a tough ask.
After all, the more channels there are, the more challenging it is to maintain consistency.
Forgive us, but brand consistency isn’t the most exciting topic to work with…
Marketers love tactics, experimentation, creativity, innovation.
Consistency? Well, not so much.
And yet, consistency within a brand experience is incredibly powerful, particularly when digital retail channels are growing and customer choice has increased.
There’s added incentive for marketers aligned to revenue, too.
Companies that get brand consistency right see an average revenue increase of 33%.
What is a brand experience?
A brand experience incorporates a company’s strategy to influence consumers’ feelings about its brand reputation.
And with an omnichannel strategy businesses can foster a brand reputation that is dependable and trustworthy.
Furthermore, they create a likelihood that customers will buy their product or service.
Brand experiences focus on creating as many sensory experiences as possible for potential customers through touchpoints. These touchpoints always connect consumers with a brand, turning into increased sales and even brand loyalty after a sale has been completed.
Why is a consistent brand experience necessary?
When brands foster a deeper connection with their target audiences, it delivers results.
A positive brand experience often converts into a positive customer experience. With 86% of customers willing to pay more for a customer experience, getting a consistent brand experience is imperative.
Even the most valuable global brands understand that brand consistency builds lasting customer relationships and increases brand recognition.
75% of millennials state they value experiences over end products, meaning brands must turn the customer journey into a thoughtful and memorable experience.
Even more poignant is that 60% of consumers will stop shopping with a brand that doesn’t deliver the expected experience.
Brand experience vs customer experience
Brands strive to achieve the best results for their business.
In that case, a brand must combine the components of a consistent brand experience with a positive customer experience. A brand will not attain success without both of these components.
Although they differ, an excellent customer experience does not mean anything unless organizations have a fantastic brand experience that attracts those customers – they work in tandem.
When buying, customers consider every relevant interaction with a brand before deciding if this is right for them. Even if it is done subconsciously, all this information is woven together in their minds.
To combine brand experience and customer experience correctly, brands must clearly understand what their brand stands for and its purpose to the end customer so they can recognize, distinguish and appreciate it.
But how should a brand create a consistent brand experience?
That’s the challenge most enterprise marketers make – with 45% struggling with consistency – especially across channels and brands. To overcome this challenge, we have listed six tips to get you started.
6 ways to create a consistent brand experience
Define your brand’s identity
Businesses cannot have a consistent brand experience without defining their brand identity.
More than ever, buyers want to know what they are getting into before making a purchase. With tens of brand touchpoints available at their fingertips, it is essential to lock down brand messaging, tone and style across digital and real life to maintain a consistent voice throughout a brand experience.
Creating a brand identity is much more than logos, coffee cups, and signs above an office or shop door – brand identity is about resonating with what a brand stands for and how they deliver an experience to potential customers should they buy their product or service.
Distinguish your brand from others
When developing a brand identity, an organization must consider why its brand is unique compared to competitors or those already in the marketplace.
A robust brand experience not only differentiates from competitors but should also demonstrate why they are different and how it solves problems for their customers.
Naturally, this value proposition should appear prominently and consistently throughout every channel.
Know your target audience
Brands seeking to create consistency must know their target audience.
Potential customers will go a long way in ensuring a brand meets their expectations.
This is where brand experience is pivotal – how do customers describe your brand to others? How does your brand make them feel? Does the brand communicate its value proposition consistently across every channel?
Brand experience is sensory across multiple touchpoints. These should consider potential customers’ thoughts, feelings, perceptions, and reactions to each one, from real-life campaigns in shops and billboards to digital campaigns and specific product launches.
Ensure each touchpoint has accurate information
As the number of information-driven consumers grows, it’s even more important to display the same, consistent details on your website. For instance, 98% of us switch between 2-3 devices daily. Thus, each touchpoint and the information must be accurate.
Naturally, it is essential not to let customers associate inconsistencies in a brand experience with a poor product or service. Alternatively, taking a proactive approach to asset management can bring rewards.
However, it is no small task.
Companies store product data and brand content in several locations (i.e. shared drives, image database) — a headache for employees, even when glimpsing at simple information.
Maintaining a single source of truth for all digital content is essential to managing a brand on the digital shelf — especially if the company manages product pages across numerous sales channels.
Brands should focus on ensuring their best-selling products have consistent information across all touchpoints and work their way down.
Align your organization
Consistency is not only about ensuring the product information and brand identity are consistent – it requires company employees also to be aligned.
Everyone within an organization must adhere to the brand values, from marketing to engineering to customer support. Each department should keep its focus on maintaining that consistent brand experience for every customer.
First, the executive team must get on board. Once a company’s leadership clarifies its brand priorities, there should be a top-down effect on the rest of the group. Each department should have its own benchmarks to reach its goals, but ensure they use the same digital assets to keep consistent.
When everyone is focused on the same vision, values, and goals, customers will increasingly view the brand as trustworthy and delivering on its promises.
Use digital asset management software
A digital asset management platform ensures that teams and brands guarantee consistency across channels. A DAM handles all assets and delivers the content much faster to those who need it.
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A digital asset management tool will help brands by:
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Search easier for assets: A DAM will help you find the approved assets you need more efficiently, so spending less time searching and more time delivering.
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Helping customize the find right assets for a suitable channel: DAM enables brands to crop assets for the right channel using pre-defined (or custom) settings.
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Reduces time-to-market: Due to its content automation capabilities, the workflows of distributing content are streamlined and made more efficient through a DAM.
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Access anywhere, online or offline: A DAM ensures that users can access content anytime and anywhere. In return, more global consumers can consume brand experiences through various channels.
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Create multi-brand experiences from one central platform: Using brand portals, enterprises can create different brand experiences based on different target audiences, brands, products or use cases.
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Create a consistent brand experience with DAM
Businesses, organizations, and companies that want to build a consistent brand experience for their target audiences need the correct elements.
Brands need digital assets, including imagery, videos, and marketing assets, to ensure their brand values are consistent across all channels and environments.
To achieve omnichannel success, brands need outstanding digital asset management (DAM) software. With a DAM system to store, manage, and publish brand assets, companies can create a seamless and positive brand experience at every touchpoint.
Book a demo today to learn more about digital asset management and Digizuite. One of our experts will walk you through the software and show you how a DAM platform can help you create a consistent brand experience.
