Imagine, to your horror, a misaligned promotional post goes out during a peak shopping day. The conflicting post lists 25% discounts on all online shopping. But, the promotional called for 10%.
Suddenly… you’ve got a problem.
You could honor the mispricing and lose money. Or, backpedal and anger customers. There are no legal issues with price errors… but it does create chaos. And, it reveals a real problem: Miscommunication.
Here’s how to create promotional consistency.
3 Tools for Promotional Consistency
Small business operations typically don’t suffer from promotional inconsistency. They’re agile enough to rapidly adapts since most efforts are done by its small team. Yet, this completely changes when operations scale — a corporation, for example — since there may be hundreds in the ad/marketing teams.
How does a large organization create consistency across all fronts? With tools, of course.
Tools like:
Brand Guidelines
The brand guideline explains the businesses’ mission, culture, and personality. This document helps bring onboard new hires and aligns veteran employees. The guideline sets the tone for all other actions — including promotional efforts — to create consistency.
Guideline bullet-points detailing factors would include:
- The target audience
- Creative and copy usage
- Desired metrics
- Company story/vision
This document is a ‘bible’ for how employees interact with consumers. But, also introduces checks and balances to eliminate inconsistencies.
Content Management Systems
A large organization has many owned properties for content. This could include social media profiles, their business blog, internal documents, newsletter, print, and more. Each area has separate teams managing these areas — creating a possibility of miscommunication.
Content management systems power most corporate websites and owned online properties. Yet, there are limitations with out-of-the-box options like WordPress. Flaws begin showing once a hundred+ users are in the system simultaneously developing content, online properties, and promotions.
This demand calls for Enterprise Content Management Systems.
Zesty.io explains key factors with Enterprise CMS:
- Increased security features
- Seamless third-party integrations
- Decoupled front/backend
These primary features allow teams to:
- Develop microsites for promotional campaigns
- Leverage checks & balances with promo tactics
- Import/export efforts between integrated apps
Ultimately, it Enterprise-level CMS’s handle the intense workload without chancing disruption from unqualified users mismanaging the backend. It’s much attuned to how companies set up workstations and servers — with permissions and accounts — so things don’t break.
Templates & Wireframes
Templates and wireframes are the physical representation of the brand guidelines (see above). These vital elements allow for rapid promotional development. The templates/wireframes also prevent teams from creating variations based on personal preferences.
What kind of templates/wireframes are used for promotional consistency?
- Ad banners
- Business proposals
- Featured images
- Quotes or reviews
- Ebooks and whitepapers
- Email/blog copy
- SEO style guides for content
A promotional template could include set guidelines for promotional pricing and discounts. These items are prepopulated in the social media share, blog posts, and creative designs. Doing so reduces mishaps if several teams roll-out campaigns in tandem.
Think of templates like how a franchise controls their brand image. The creative & copy comes from the top. And, franchisees place them on display. This creates consistency no matter which location a customer decides to visit.
The Value of Consistency and Next Steps
The opening example of inconsistent promotional discounts is one of many mistakes possible. These mistakes go beyond sales. Mistakes could find their way into how employees interact with customers. Or, relationship building during outreach activities.
One disgruntled employee tweeting harsh words to followers can sully the brand image. One sloppy promotional campaign could lose trust and dependability with the customer base. This is why promotional consistency matters so much.
What are your next steps?
- Define and create a digital copy of brand guidelines if you don’t have one
- Create checks and balances with promotional workflow and distribution
- Implement content and brand management tools versus scattered options
- Train employees and improve communications between teams
It’s a work-in-progress but a challenge worth taking. If it means one less mishap costing thousands of dollars, then it paid for itself. Do you agree?
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