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Our Perspective

What this means for leaders navigating growth, change or transformation in their organisation.

The Hidden Cost

Copy‑pasting the same campaign into every channel looks safe, but it erodes confidence where it matters. Retail buyers and distributors want channel‑specific proof: evidence that your story will convert, move volume at acceptable margins, and be supported in trade. When those signals aren’t present, the brand looks underprepared.

Internally, sameness forces improvisation. Sales, e‑commerce and retail partners each adapt the story to fit the gap, and the brand fragments across markets. Consumers then experience inconsistency at the moment of choice: what’s promised online isn’t matched on‑shelf, and loyalty weakens. The real cost isn’t cosmetic; it’s commercial, organisational, and reputational all at once.

Coherence, Not Sameness

The strategic alternative is coherence: one core narrative expressed differently for the role each channel plays. It’s the same truth, but tuned to the expectations of buyers, partners and end‑customers, with proof that fits their decisions. That’s what builds trust quickly and repeatedly.

The customer side of this is clear. Salesforce reports that while 79% of customers expect consistent interactions across departments, 55% still feel they’re dealing with separate teams. In our experience with organisations at inflection points, the ones that pull ahead treat coherence as an operating system, not a campaign theme.

Build The System

Coherence scales when it’s made operable. Four practical moves set the foundation:

• Define a core narrative and proof ladder: claims, reasons to believe, and evidence shaped by each channel’s role.
• Assign channel roles and guardrails: what each channel must do (and must not), so teams can flex without drifting.
• Create a partner‑ready evidence kit: sell‑through stories, trade maths, and activation plans that speak buyers’ language.
• Clarify decision rights and cadence: who adapts what, on what cycle, and how performance informs the next iteration.

This turns “recognisability” into reliability—leaders can grant autonomy without losing the plot, and execution gets faster with less rework.

Signs Of Maturity

You’ll know coherence is working when outcomes become predictably repeatable:

• Commercial: buyers reference performance and margin confidence as reasons to prioritise your listings.
• Organisational: launches cut duplication, creative is reused with intent, and budget shifts follow evidence instead of opinion.
• Reputational: price realisation holds across touchpoints, service experiences line up with promises, and repeat rates trend up.

These signals compound. The brand stops being a look and feel, and starts operating as a decision system that travels well—across partners, geographies, and cycles. As channels multiply and expectations rise, coherence becomes the most dependable way to unlock speed without sacrificing trust.

Sources:

• State Of The Connected Customers — Salesforce

1. Navigating Brand Equity Beyond Founder Influence in Consumer Brands
2. Transforming D2C to Retail: The Essential Rebranding Framework
3. Why Price and Convenience Alone Fail Modern Consumers