Consistent Branding at Different Locations

If you’ve got more than one location, keeping your brand consistent is at least three times as hard. “If I have two locations, shouldn’t it just be two times as hard?” you ask. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work out that way. Having more than one location usually means you have to split your time between the two (or more) locations. It also means you’ve probably hired a manager or senior team member for each location in charge when you’re not there to help you work on consistent branding. Without a doubt, that manager or senior team member has their interpretation of your brand, how customers should be served, and what the location’s vibe should be. Your senior staff also has a way of describing those expectations to their employees. Communication is imperfect, and introducing one more location to your brand equation will ensure that the communication about your brand image necessarily suffers. So, what are you to do to help mitigate this problem? First, as is most often the case, acknowledging the problem exists is the place to start. Next, spend time with your senior staff to make sure they understand your brand position. And most importantly, spend time with your customer service staff and share your brand story with them – often and regularly. By taking the time to personally share your brand story with all the customer service staff, you will be able to ensure that the experience your customers have in your business is consistent. Consistency is king! The other place to spend some time is examining how your collateral material is used at each location. I assure you that some helpful team members put your logo on some label, form, sign, t-shirt, or giveaway somewhere along the way. It is even more likely that they created a form they use to help customers that has your logo on it. It is also very probable that when they did, they accidentally smushed your logo one way or the other, used the wrong one for the application, used a bad copy, or just misused it. Their intentions were good – but the result isn’t the brand image you’re after. A Brand Book will help you keep these elements consistent.

To remedy that situation, there are two things you need to do to create consistent branding:

1. Look closely at what’s around your business. Does it represent your brand well? Look very closely at new forms that materialize. Check everywhere—high and low—even the magazines in the waiting area. (I once had someone “help” by designing a sticker to put over the address sticker on magazines in the waiting room that had a smushed logo and off-brand color choices.) You just never know what you’re going to find, so look closely.
2. Talk with your staff about how to use your logo and brand image. Avoid the ” allowed ” individuals to add your logo to things. I know it sounds severe, but the bigger you get, the more important this will be. Those “allowed” individuals must understand how, when, and where to represent your brand. It’s much easier to train a few people than to train everyone.

To keep your brand consistent across different business locations, share your brand story with the whole staff, observe how your brand is represented, and limit the number of people who can add your logo to collateral. Taking those simple steps will help you maintain your brand’s consistency.