Latest / The Confident Entrepreneur With Jennifer Ann Johnson / Built to Last: The Power of Consistency
Transcript
- 0:37Jennifer Johnson: Today we're diving into a topic that can make or break your business success, and that's consistency.
- 0:42Jennifer Johnson: You probably heard the phrase consistency is key more times than you can count and more times than you probably ever wanted to hear.
- 0:50Jennifer Johnson: But have you ever stopped to consider why it's such a prevalent idea in the business world?
- 0:55Jennifer Johnson: Well, today we're going to explore why consistency is crucial in all business activities and how you can harness it to drive your success.
- 1:04Jennifer Johnson: So what is consistency in business?
- 1:07Jennifer Johnson: Well, essentially, it's the practice of maintaining the same high standards across all aspects of your business, day in and day out.
- 1:15Jennifer Johnson: That includes your product and service and branding and communications, and even your internal processes.
- 1:23Jennifer Johnson: Consistency isn't about being rigid or resistant to change.
- 1:26Jennifer Johnson: Instead, it's about creating a reliable and predictable experience for your customers, your employees and your stakeholders.
- 1:33Jennifer Johnson: It's really the threat that ties all of your business activities together into a cohesive, recognizable brand I like to call.
- 1:42Jennifer Johnson: I like to say that it's the bow that holds all things together and makes it all look pretty.
- 1:46Jennifer Johnson: And why is it so critical?
- 1:50Jennifer Johnson: So we kind of just briefly touched on what it is.
- 1:55Jennifer Johnson: But why is it so important?
- 1:58Jennifer Johnson: Well, it builds trust and it builds credibility when customers know what to expect from your business.
- 2:04Jennifer Johnson: They're more likely to trust you, and consistency and quality and service builds credibility over time.
- 2:09Jennifer Johnson: So if you go to XYZ business in one town and they have the same business in another town, you expect both places to provide the exact same type of service, and if they don't, then that's definitely going to sour your opinion of them in both places.
- 2:27Jennifer Johnson: It also can enhance your brand recognition.
- 2:30Jennifer Johnson: Consistent branding across all platforms and touchpoints makes your business more memorable and more recognizable.
- 2:37Jennifer Johnson: It also improves customer satisfaction and that kind of goes along with the building the trust and the credibility, because customers really appreciate knowing what they're going to get.
- 2:48Jennifer Johnson: Consistency in product and quality and customer service really will lead you to higher satisfaction rates across your entire business, and not to mention that it also increases your efficiency.
- 3:00Jennifer Johnson: If you have consistent internal processes, it reduces errors, it improves productivity and the best thing is is it makes training new employees way easier because you know how it's been done and that's how you just keep doing it, and obviously you make changes along the way if you need to.
- 3:21Jennifer Johnson: But again, it's all about being consistent With that.
- 3:25Jennifer Johnson: It also facilitates growth as your business scales.
- 3:29Jennifer Johnson: Consistency ensures that your core values and your quality standards remain intact.
- 3:35Jennifer Johnson: Again back to my point of having XYZ business in two different towns.
- 3:39Jennifer Johnson: Keeping it consistent across all locations is very important to your business growth.
- 3:46Jennifer Johnson: It also differentiates you from your competitors In a crowded market.
- 3:51Jennifer Johnson: If you can be consistent, you're going to be able to set yourself apart from your competitors who may be less reliable and less consistent.
- 3:59Jennifer Johnson: That's very important and that leads to my final point of it is it builds momentum.
- 4:04Jennifer Johnson: Consistent effort over time compounds leading to significant long-term results.
- 4:09Jennifer Johnson: And I can't help but think of a diamond right or a pearl Pressure pressure, pressure over how many years creates a diamond.
- 4:19Jennifer Johnson: And you're kind of building your own diamond, your own gem, by making sure that you're consistent.
- 4:25Jennifer Johnson: And now I want to just kind of discuss quickly of the areas where it's very critical.
- 4:32Jennifer Johnson: I had mentioned briefly product or service quality.
- 4:37Jennifer Johnson: That's obvious to many of us and that's where you usually think of first and it really does matter there, because your customers expect that same high-quality product or that same high-quality customer service anytime that they interact with your business.
- 4:52Jennifer Johnson: So the customer service is the other portion of that.
- 4:56Jennifer Johnson: It should reflect your company's values and your commitment to serving your customers and visual identity, your branding, your messaging, your brand voice.
- 5:07Jennifer Johnson: Everything should be consistent across all marketing materials, and that goes along with your communication, how you communicate with your customers, your employees, your stakeholders, how you are on social media.
- 5:20Jennifer Johnson: It all needs to go hand in hand with each other and it needs to be consistent across all of the channels that you're on.
- 5:28Jennifer Johnson: And a big one that people don't always think about is employee experience.
- 5:34Jennifer Johnson: Consistency in how you treat, train and manage your team leads to higher satisfaction and retention Very important Again, especially if you have more than one location.
- 5:45Jennifer Johnson: And innovation is my last point here as well.
- 5:49Jennifer Johnson: It seems counterintuitive, but even your approach to innovation should be consistent, dedicating resources to improve and think of new ideas, because it's going to build long-term success.
- 6:04Jennifer Johnson: So how can we foster this consistency in our business?
- 6:08Jennifer Johnson: Well, first and foremost is defining your core values and your standards as a business, making sure you know what your business stands for and making sure that your employees also know that as well.
- 6:19Jennifer Johnson: Documenting your processes, creating really clear, really accessible guidelines for all key areas of your business to make sure that anybody can possibly step into that role and do that job.
- 6:33Jennifer Johnson: And then it goes into training your team thoroughly, making sure that they understand the importance of consistency and how to maintain it in each of their roles.
- 9:08Jennifer Johnson: You can use technology to your advantage to do this as well.
- 9:12Jennifer Johnson: There's many different tools out there that you can use and then regularly audit and review them.
- 9:17Jennifer Johnson: Don't just fix it and forget it.
- 9:19Jennifer Johnson: Periodically review those processes and the outputs to make sure that you're maintaining consistency, and then lead by example and be patient as a business leader.
- 9:30Jennifer Johnson: Consistency embodies the values and standards of what you want to see in your business.
- 9:35Jennifer Johnson: We can't expect everything to happen overnight, so we definitely have to be patient.
- 9:42Jennifer Johnson: It's really important to note that, while consistency is crucial, it shouldn't come at the expense of adaptability.
- 9:48Jennifer Johnson: The business world is constantly changing.
- 9:51Jennifer Johnson: Successful companies know how to maintain their core consistency while adapting to different circumstances.
- 9:56Jennifer Johnson: The key to being consistent is to be consistent in your core values, your quality standards and fundamental experience that you provide, but while also being flexible, because when you're flexible, it's a balance and allows you to maintain trust and recognition while still evolving.
- 10:14Jennifer Johnson: So, as we wrap up, I want to emphasize consistency isn't just a nice to have thing, it's a must have.
- 10:21Jennifer Johnson: It's the foundation which is built on trust and brand recognition and long-term success.
- 10:26Jennifer Johnson: It doesn't happen by accident.
- 10:29Jennifer Johnson: It requires intentional effort, clear communication and really a longstanding commitment.
- 10:35Jennifer Johnson: But the rewards of customer loyalty and team alignment and business growth make it all completely worthwhile.
- 10:42Jennifer Johnson: So I challenge you to look at your business through the lens of consistency.
- 10:47Jennifer Johnson: Where are you already strong?
- 10:49Jennifer Johnson: Where could you improve?
- 10:50Jennifer Johnson: Small, consistent steps in the right direction can lead to remarkable results over time.