Brand compliance checklist

Some brands you know just by looking at their logos, others from the colours they display.

These businesses are winning at brand compliance for a reason: they’re instantly recognisable! 

But it takes a long time to make your brand memorable for all the right reasons. The question is can you emulate the success of household names through your own digital marketing?

In this article, we show you how to create a brand compliance checklist that, if used correctly, will give your business the boost it needs across the digital shelf.

Why do you need a brand compliance checklist?

Inconsistent branding is a real turn-off for customers.

Think about it for a second. If you see a new shop open and it’s called Sainsbury’s but the main colour is anything other than orange, you’ll become suspicious.

This same logic applies to brands on the digital shelf. Consistency is key not only to customer satisfaction but also long-term retention.

Remember, it’s not just about giving shoppers what they want; it’s also about giving them what they expect!

Reviewing your brand compliance

Only by conducting a thorough brand compliance health check can you be sure you’re maintaining a competitive position within the digital landscape. Do this every so often to avoid damaging your company’s reputation!

When reviewing your brand compliance, consider the following:

Taking time to focus

Examine how your brand is being presented across the internet, by all your partners and resellers.

It’s a time-consuming process, but no matter how big or small, focusing on your brand compliance will ultimately lead to long-term success and a more streamlined organisation.

Engagement with staff

Who better than your employees to offer insights and recommendations about the brand you share?!

Speak to staff about their personal experiences with the website, paying particular attention to what’s going well and what needs improvement. Then you can act and make some really positive changes.

Identifying what’s working (and what isn’t)

‘Set it and forget it’ has no place in conversations about brand compliance. This is a process, and as such it requires careful monitoring and evaluation to succeed.

You should start a team whose sole purpose is to track your brand compliance online, providing suggestions for improvement in the process. No more best-guessing!

Creating an action plan for non-compliance

If someone incorrectly represents your brand, you need to act fast – the alternative is to potentially leak sales to competitors!

For partners and resellers, create a step-by-step guide to showcasing your brand online. This should be their main reference point for what changes need to be made and where. After all, proper management of your brand benefits their bottom line as well.

Use brand guidelines from the start

Brand guidelines can save you a lot of time and effort when updating your company’s online and offline materials.

Make a list of dos and don’ts for your brand and train staff on what they should and shouldn’t be doing. This will help streamline production while strengthening your brand across all active channels.

Your complete brand compliance checklist

Magpie DBX has put together this brand compliance checklist for you to consult when conducting your site audit:

1) Logos

Make sure your brand’s logos are up to date and clear if you want to win at the digital shelf. Anything less than this and you could inadvertently push customers away.

Is the artwork you’re using current? Has it been distorted, or gone blurry? It’s up to you to find out!

2) Messaging and tone of voice

Consistent messaging and tone of voice (TOV) help establish your brand among companies of a similar nature, as well as convincing potential customers to go with you instead of them.

Proofreading, punctuation, formatting, correct capitalisation – all these elements are important for shoppers in search of brands they can rely on!

3) Digital components

As a company looking to score big on the digital shelf, your online components must be error-free. This means no broken links, correct tagging, strong SEO, etc.

You should also be using the correct dropdowns, menus and forms for the smoothest possible customer journeys.

4) Graphics

Like using icons on-site? Make sure they’re properly displayed – and compatible with your CMS.

Also, infographics, diagrams and bespoke illustrations are fine, but only use them where relevant. Otherwise, you could end up incurring penalties from search engines!

5) Images/photography

Our highly visual culture means images and photos are now more important than ever for ecommerce companies.

Do these represent your products/services effectively? Have you added alt text for visually impaired users? If not, you’re not satisfying customer demand!

6) Assets

Images, videos, animations, created characters even – these must be aligned to your brand for maximum compliance!

If at any point you alter them, make sure the others are also amended to reflect the change.

7) Readability

Some websites just aren’t readable enough, and customers don’t tend to stay on them for long. 

On every webpage/channel you have, your logo and copy should be clearly visible and legible. Any instances where this is not the case will need to be corrected immediately.

8) Layout

Odd margins, improper spacing, too much space and not enough content – layout can be a deal breaker for some customers, especially if they find it unusable.

Get your staff to test any layout changes themselves before releasing to the wider public. That way, if there is an issue, it can be sorted before your customers suffer.

9) Font/typography

Fonts and styles are great, but it’s always better to just have one and stick with it. Customers could get confused otherwise and potentially shop elsewhere!

Unique house styles are a common feature among many businesses nowadays, so why not create your own? Or better still, create several and have a poll to determine which one makes the most sense in the eyes of consumers.

10) Interactivity

When it comes to interactive web elements, there’s only one important question: do they work?

If your customers can’t use a specific feature to help them on their journey, they will leave the site – plain and simple. Consult with developers to always ensure that interactive elements are fully functioning.

Establishing brand compliance with Magpie DBX

Brand compliance isn’t easy to get right; you must keep a close eye on your partners and resellers.

Our brand compliance tool lets you see how your brand is being presented throughout the online marketplace. It tracks your partners and resellers automatically, so you’re aware when things go wrong and can act fast to make them right again.

Want to learn more about how Magpie DBX can help boost your brand compliance? Get in touch to request a demo!

Also, follow us on social media for our latest company updates.

Continue to find out more about brand prominence

How to win at the digital shelf

One of the most important aspects of e-commerce is success on the digital shelf. But how do you make those crucial online gains your business needs to survive?

The digital shelf is where you get noticed, the place where your brand has the most opportunity to shine. And with an increasing number of people shopping online, knowing how to win at the digital shelf could be what catapults your company to a whole new level.

In this article, we show you how to win at the digital shelf, including ways that Magpie DBX can help your business shoot for the (virtual) stars.

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In the old days, marketing was very much about showing people where to find brick and mortar stores that sold their favourite products.

Now, though, things have changed.

Thanks to the internet, companies can now use many different channels to present their brands and products to the world. Using a combination of channels in an effective omnichannel ecommerce strategy can mean big success.

In this article, we look at omnichannel ecommerce, explaining what it is, why it’s important and how you can use it to help grow your business on the digital shelf.

Omnichannel vs multichannel ecommerce: What’s the difference?

Those who work in the worlds of business or marketing may have come across the terms ‘omnichannel’ and ‘multichannel’ at some point.

But what exactly do they mean?

Also, more importantly, how do they affect the way your company interacts with customers?

In this article, we look at both omnichannel ecommerce and multichannel ecommerce, exploring what makes each approach unique and how to decide which one is right for you.

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