What Would It Take to Lose the Trust of Your Customers?-The Power of Brand Consistency

What would it take to lose the trust of your customers?

For Coca-Cola, it was changing the formula of its flagship product. In the 1980s, Pepsi had been running blind taste tests for years, and their soda was often preferred over Coke due to its slightly sweeter taste. Here’s a YouTube link to a 1983 commercial put out by Pepsi demonstrating the taste tests: Pepsi Taste Test commercial [1983].?

Coca-Cola decided to respond to this threat by abandoning its original formula for a sweeter version called New Coke.

The backlash was swift and severe. Coca-Cola's stock price dropped by 20%, and the company received over 1,500 complaints per day about New Coke. Within 10 weeks, Coca-Cola was forced to bring back the original formula.

This incident is a classic example of the importance of brand consistency. When Coca-Cola changed their formula, they broke the unspoken contract that they had with their customers. Customers trusted Coca-Cola to deliver a consistent experience, and when Coca-Cola changed the one thing that customers loved about their product, they lost trust.

Brand consistency is essential for building trust and customer loyalty. When your brand is consistent across all touchpoints, customers know what to expect and they can feel confident that they are getting the same experience, no matter where they interact with your brand.

So how can you maintain brand consistency? Here are a few tips:

Develop a Brand Identity Guide.?

A brand identity guide is a document that outlines your brand's values, messaging, and visual identity. It is an essential tool for maintaining brand consistency across all touchpoints.

To develop a brand identity guide, start by defining your brand's core values and messaging. What do you stand for? What makes you unique? Once you have a clear understanding of your brand, you can develop a visual identity that reflects your values and messaging.

With a brand identity guide in hand, your team can follow a clear blueprint to ensure brand consistency in all marketing campaigns, ads, and content.

Perform Regular Brand Audits.?

A brand audit is a process of evaluating your brand's consistency across all touchpoints. This includes your website, social media, marketing materials, and customer service interactions. To perform a brand audit, create a checklist of your brand's key elements, such as your logo, tagline, color palette, and tone of voice. Then, go through all of your touchpoints at least once a year and ensure these elements are being used consistently. This will help you identify any areas where your brand consistency is slipping.

Brand consistency is an investment that pays off in the long run. When you build trust with your customers, they are likelier to become loyal customers and advocates for your brand.