Lapchick Co.

A new person on your staff knows InDesign and wants to redesign your sell sheets, which need to be updated anyway, so you let her. Your organization needs a new website and the CFO’s nephew “does websites” and now your new site doesn’t reflect your other materials or your advertising. Everyone at your organization is bored when all your stuff looks exactly the same, so you like to switch it up and keep it “fresh.” Maybe you work for a nonprofit and you use volunteers for copywriting and design, so you want to allow these generous freelancers to have some autonomy.

Or you and your CFO believe that brand design and comprehensive brand development are in the “nice-to-have” category, so your brand is a bit messy, but cleaning it up isn’t a priority. And (you think) you just can’t afford it “at this time.”

Imagine it’s a lovely spring day and you’re taking a walk. You pass several people, each walking a different breed and size of dog. What do you recall about your walk? Lots of dogs, right? But what if each of those people were walking St. Bernards? Wouldn’t you remember that more? You might even consider it remarkable, or, worthy of a remark...

Don't let your brand become a mutt.

If you think that a solid, pinpoint brand is just a “nice-to-have,” you might as well be flushing money down the toilet.

Every time you spend money to reach your customers, you either build on your relationship with them or you lose ground. And money. If every single one of your touch-points is not supporting the other, you’re asking people to re-invest in learning who you are, over and over. Or you're sending them straight to your competitor, where the brand connection (and decision-making) has been made easy for them. People don’t have the time or brain space to re-learn who you are; make it easy by making it consistent for them.

Further, organizations stand to save a great deal in media costs if their brands are clear and consistent, as recognizable messages take fewer impressions to sink in.

1. Is all of your messaging clear, concise, and consistent?

2. Does your website easily reflect the ads you use to drive traffic there?

3. Do you use no more than 2-3 total fonts in all of your communications materials, including your website?

4. Do you use the same exact colors on all of your materials, including your website?

5. Were your choices of fonts and colors driven by a brand strategy?

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you are missing an opportunity to strengthen the emotional connection between your customers and your brand.
CLICK HERE for a copy of our Brand Scorecard with the full list of questions. Or CLICK HERE to get one-on one help now.