Have you ever noticed how you associate marketing from companies like Apple, Target or Best Buy with their respective brands before you even see their logo or read their brand name? That’s because those companies are experts at ensuring consistent use of all of their brand assets. You can instill that same consistency in marketing your commercial real estate brand by making some decisions about your brand identifiers and then sticking to them.

Why consistency is important

Perceptions. A consistent use of your commercial real estate company brand establishes how people perceive your organization. By taking the time to make sure you’ve aligned your marketing with your brand, you communicate professionalism, purpose and stability.

Position. Your commercial real estate flyers and brochures. direct mail and email marketingneeds to stand apart from your competitors. Making sure you’re consistent in your brand identity will help establish who your company is versus the competition. This will help you say “this is what our company does and this is our distinct advantage inside of the marketplace”.

Protection. There really is legal precedent that comes with consistent brand usage. If you’re not consistent with sticking to your branding guidelines, you could put your claim to your brand in jeopardy. Many organizations spend thousands of dollars designing logos and writing copy only to have it watered down by sloppy application.

Predictability. Around 62% of buyers make repeat purchases because they were comfortable with an initial transaction. By making sure that words, images, interactions and experiences are predictable and repeatable, always, you’ll attract more repeat business from your customers.

Start from the beginning
Whether they give it much attention or not, your firms commercial real estate marketingleadership is responsible for the company’s brand and brand image. Ensuring brand consistency begins with an understanding of your company and how you want to project that image to the marketplace. Start by developing a profile of your company that includes your market and demographics, but also take into account internal factors like number of employees, culture, plans for growth, and charitable organizations you support.

Logos, colors, typefaces
Your company profile goes hand-in-hand with the more tangible aspects of your brand like logos, colors and typefaces. These elements should be a reflection of your brand identity and used consistently. Make sure these are carried through on all customer touch points like building signage, letterhead, collateral, website design and direct marketing materials. Next time your sponsoring a golf hole, make sure the organizers understand specifically how to use your logo and colors.

Doing so will give your commercial real estate marketing materials the game changing look and feel that your brand deserves. First impressions count, so making it obvious to your client what your brand represents is imperative. Consistent branding sends a message of sophistication, institutional high quality, and success. By the way, it’s imperative that everyone in your organization understands this, so spend some time with colleagues to make sure everyone is on board with the company’s branding direction.

Finally, remember that your brand has a specific purpose and that’s to identify your company. It’s not supposed to be appealing to everyone – just your target market. Those are the people that you value as existing and prospective customers. These people will remember organizations that value consistency – just the way the remember Apple, Target and Best Buy.