Flexible Consistency to Evolve Your Brand Without Losing Your Voice | Episode 97

Hello hello and welcome back to the Purpose & Progress Podcast.

I talk about consistency a lot. (Like in episode 61.) Because as a brand, it’s super important to build trust. And as a primary caregiver of 2 tiny humans, committing to consistency in all kids of areas of my life is the only way I survive and something I ever achieve. Because I’m hugely driven by momentum.

That said, consistency doesn’t mean things always looking or sounding the same or posting on the same day at the same time. Although that sameness can sometimes be useful for brains like mine, and for your perfect-fit people to know what to expect. Especially because most people in your orbit are only catching and actually consuming a tiny percentage of what you’re putting out in the world.

But real, attainable, sustainable consistency is more about the intention. The vibe. The recurring through line.

A question you have when it comes to branding is how much flexibility do you actually have? For me, it all comes down to that consistency…but not in the way you might think.

James Clear (you know, THE habits guy) says:

“In theory, consistency is about being disciplined, determined, and unwavering. In practice, consistency is about being adaptable. Don’t have much time? Scale it down. Don’t have much energy? Do the easy version. Find different ways to show up depending on the circumstances. Let your habits change shape to meet the demands of the day. Adaptability is the way of consistency.”

I love the permission that gives. And the practicality.

On my end and in your brand, I encourage being consistent in how you make people feel. Consistency is about the essence of what you’re posting. (Yes, this is where and how your values shine through.)

Which leaves a lot of space for experimentation, “mistakes,” and whims.

Consistency in your visuals and vocabulary definitely matter. They build trust and authority. You don’t want to be loosey-goosey all the time.

But the visuals and the words are a direct reflection of the intention behind what you’re creating. And that intention of how you want to make people feel is where I like to focus.

And even beyond brand-building and public-facing marketing, consistency matters behind the scenes. Consistent, values-aligned actions shape not only your reputation, but also your processes, company culture, thought processes, relationships. Even if you’re a company of one.

If you’ve been in my orbit for a while, you know I talk a lot about standing up for your values in order to stand out. Check out episode 59 about my 3-part process to Living Out Your Brand Values, episode 65 about Leaning Into Your Values For Unconventional Impact, and my super thorough Live Out Your Brand Values Workbook to actually put these ideas into action. Everything is linked in the show notes.

But standing up for something—your values—doesn’t have to mean forever.

You’re allowed to evolve.

You’re allowed to adapt.

You’re allowed to change your mind, especially as you get more information about yourself, others, and our shared world.

As usual, the wise and concise Seth Godin sums up this idea perfectly. In one of his blog post emails, he explains:

“One way forward is to rename this moment and change the story. Instead of ‘I was wrong,’ perhaps it’s useful (if less satisfying to others seeking victory) to say, ‘It’s time to make a new decision based on new information.’

That’s not weakness. That’s not flip-flopping or even embarrassing.

That’s practical, resilient and generous.”

And if you’re listening to this, practicality, resilience, and generosity are probably really important to you.

So, here’s your permission to take a stand today and re-evaluate tomorrow.

It is possible to be consistent while still changing.

And if you want to figure out that balance together, book a free Collaboration Call.

One of the biggest lessons we can learn in life and in business is when to stay the course—being consistently persistent and persistently consistent—vs when we need to acknowledge that something is broken, and we need to pivot entirely.

Take this tiny example. We have an air vent directly beneath the window in our bedroom. So we bought one of those plastic things that magnetize onto the vent and re-direct the airflow back into the room instead of up into the curtains.

Great, in theory.

But even the best intentions didn’t stand a chance against my baby (and now years later, my 2nd baby), and even husband himself. They’ve each broken this plastic cover…multiple times.

And I’ve hot glued and taped it back together each time. It still does the job. Well enough. For now. But one more crack and I’ll probably need to abandon ship entirely.

For me, this relates directly to business.

As business owners, we piece-meal offers, teams, and content creation. We find alternative solutions to client work, our tech stack, our outsourcing. And we call it quits on an idea or partnership when need be.

There’s no way of knowing for sure that your choice is the right one. But I’ve only recently fully realized that NOT choosing is also a choice by default. And one that almost never brings us closer to our vision.

We do have tools at our disposal though.

We can get outside perspective. We can create space to reflect. And we can trust that all our efforts are building toward something bigger than ourselves.

A while back, almost all of my Quick Win Consulting Calls (which I have linked in the shownotes) have been around audience. Pivoting, connecting, showing up for them.

1. Client A knew her audience has shifted over time and she wanted to update her messaging to intentionally attract the clients she’s been working with organically.
2. Client B realized that most of her clients were coming to her with “I hate my job” energy, so we wanted to create a specific offer to address that huge weight in people’s lives.
3. Client C had established his thought leadership, but wasn’t sure of the best way to pitch and package up his knowledge for the various buckets of audiences he wants to reach.
4. Client D wanted to hone her elevator pitch to resonate with her ideal audience, not the career-focused clients she’s often worked with in the past.
5. Client E was launching her podcast and needed an intro script that not only spoke to her dream listeners, but also sounded JUST like her.

Whether it’s tiny tweaks over time or a huge change, your audience is going to evolve as your business does.

Lots of us (especially service providers and coaches) start by working with past versions of ourselves. We figured something out, we don’t want it to be so tricky for anyone else, so we help someone 1, 2, 3 steps behind us on the same journey.

Or maybe we start with corporate clients because that’s the world we came from. Or nonprofits because that’s where our heart is.

But then the more clients we work with, the more we realize what (and who) we like, and what we don’t. We can also see other pockets we can fill with our skills and passions.

So we shift.

And it’s not about the boxes someone checks on paper. (Aka their demographics.) At least not necessarily. It’s about who they are as a person. What makes them tick. What they value. (Aka their psychographics.)

Check out episode 24 all about ditching a niche, defining your audience, and connecting on a human level. Or download my most popular guided template, called Power To The Persona, to map out, refresh, or expand upon your ideal audience persona. Both are linked in the show notes.

Anyway, as you map out offers, price points, content, lead magnets—everything you need to connect with the person you want to reach—come from a place of empathy. That can be your consistent anchor.

Think about the words they want to hear based on the goals and desires they have. (While staying true to what you want to say and represent too.) Think about the questions they want or need answered before working with you. Think about the best case scenario for you AND them.

That best case target can and will change, AND it can be consistent in vibe, intention, voice, etc along the way.