Why is it most of us know that Frosted Flakes are “Gr-r-reat” and that Budweiser is the “King of Beers” – even if we have never tried these products in the past?

It’s because these brands have stayed true to their story. They established a position they wanted to own in their buyer’s minds, and they stuck with it. They didn’t waver. They didn’t try to reinvent the wheel in every campaign. They didn’t change the story each quarter. They understood that the success of their brand could only be achieved through consistency, connectivity and repetition of their story – across all channels, over time and throughout the omnichannel customer experience.

The power of consistency, connectivity and repetition lies within the brain. It’s simply how it is wired to work: When one neuron (A) repeatedly or persistently takes part in firing another neuron (B), the efficiency of A in firing B increases. This causes a long-term strengthening of the synapses between the two neurons (memory, association and trust).

To reactivate and strengthen these connections — the triggering stimulus (your story) must be as consistent as possible over time and across all customer touch points (ads, campaigns, websites, content, sales conversations, etc.).

Consistency, connectivity and repetition in your story create strong synaptic connections with critical buying criteria, which in turn ensures your brand is trusted and top of mind at the moment of choice.

What happens if your story is inconsistent and lacks continuity in the customer experience?
A research paper published in the Journal of Brand Management assessed the neuroscientific foundations of effective brand building. This research discovered “marketers often fail to understand or nurture the brand’s true identity by following the craze of the day and sending conflicting interim messages for sales or promotional purposes. Thus, they jeopardize their brand’s opportunity to be remembered and considered when purchasing decisions are made.”

The research goes on to say that communicating different messages at the same time or in subsequent campaigns actually creates confusion and contradiction in the buyer’s mind. This results in negative emotions and associations, decreasing the chance the brand is activated and positively considered.

What does this mean for your business and your story? It means you must…

  • Deliver fewer messages, more frequently. A few, simple messages repeated consistently send a strong signal to the brain, prompting it to note “I should remember that.” Repeating the consistent building blocks of your story will trigger the brain to bookmark them as important.
  • Stick to the script. Your team needs to understand that while they may be seeing key messages again and again, your buyer will be exposed to those messages for only a fraction of time. When your team starts to get bored with the story, that’s just when it’s gaining traction in the market.
  • Stay the course. Don’t let short-term pressure or instant gratification persuade you to stray from the building blocks of your story. Stay the course and the financial rewards will come. Consistent delivery of a brand story, on average, increases revenue by 23 percent.

Do you want to increase engagement and sales conversion rates by establishing an ownable position in the mind of your buyer? Speak to one of our experts today.

That’s Your OnMessage Minute.