Small consistent things, big consistent wins.
I once interviewed a potential keen and lovely candidate for a role at our marketing agency. When I asked what the appeal of the job was, she was quick to tell me it was the “glamorous industry”. At the time I thought it was an ironic answer, because that was/is absolutely not our reality!
Starting up a marketing agency in Sydney was hard work! We were a small, talented and absolutely mighty team - we were all young, passionate and keen to prove we had what it took to make a difference - and we worked HARD!
All nighters weren’t unusual to deliver a campaign or project, take away dinners pouring over briefs and ideas for window displays and shopping centre promotions were regular - we had some small, local clients and some national clients but even back then, my approach was that big business ideas can work on modest budgets and for business of all sizes. The strategies and plans that the big agencies use for global brands can be adjusted and pared back to work on a small scale and to really connect with niche consumers and demographics where small business need a personal approach.
The Advertising Industry had a reputation for flashy parties and big budgets back in the day - to be fair there were more “working lunches” and junkets in the 00’s and maybe I’ve been in a different zone for a while and it’s still like that - I imagine though that these days competition for consumer attention and dollars is fierce and budgets are much more tightly controlled and measured against results and reports we never could have dreamed of 10 or 20 years ago.
Haha I’m showing my fabulous age now - but the industry has changed so much with the development of new media online competing with the printed publication, and there are so many options for small business to investigate and leverage. But the thing that hasn’t changed - and it’s taken a fairly long story to get to the point - is consistency.
Many many marketing problems can be solved by consistency. It’s not glamorous or shiny or new but it’s the thing I bang on about the most all the time to my clients - I guarantee that if you pay attention to it - being consistent and thorough it will save you lots of time, money and lost sales in the long run - and improve your business in many ways!
Here are some quick consistency wins, just chip away at it, or put aside some chunks of time and tick them off.
Logo Consolidation
This can so easily happen. You used to have a Master logo file, but it was sent to a printer ages ago and now you can’t find it so you’re using an old version with an outdated colour or font, but it’s different on the website, letterhead, shopfront and so on.
Clean them up! Find the actual original logo file or decide which one you will use (have it redrawn if you need or updated if it’s out of date!) and make a list of all the places you can see your logo and systematically update them.
Check all the places it appears online
And for printed collateral, as they run out update the design before reordering
Invest the time and $ to do this!
Brand Colours
A consistent colour palette is really important for establishing a recallable brand - even most household name brands still stick to the colour palette - think McDonalds or Bunnings - because they are instantly recognisable and those colours are part of their brand personality. (The rules flex a little when your brand is as well known and you have a budget as healthy as say, Nike who simply rely on their logo mark for recognition!)
But if your business doesn’t have a colour palette, consider developing one because your life will become so much easier (because reduced decision making) AND your brand will be so much more recognisable! If you do have brand colours, pull out your promotional or communication materials, review how these colours are being used in your business and how you can get more value out of them. Be consistent! Use the colours as a road map for your marketing.
Contact Details
This seems straightforward but when was the last time you checked and updated your contact details, opening hours and about information around the place online? Is it really clear and simple to get in touch with you?
Check your contact and opening hours details are up to date on Facebook, instagram, Twitter, website contact page and footer, google my business, LinkedIn etc
look at your instagram bio. is it accurate? up to date?
Could your email footer do with some love?
Templates
Templates are a great time and head space saver especially when it comes to social media or websites. Take some time to develop your own branded templates in Canva or get these done for you.
Set up your account with all your colours and logos
Start with one of the existing templates they provide.
Then, using your own brand identity adjust the templates to suit your business.
Try and make them unique so they don’t remind anyone of someone else who might be using them, they are just a starting point to get you started and keep you on track.
