The Stickiness of Consistency

Sue Patrick is the model of consistency.

Sue Patrick is the owner of Sue Patrick's Store in Austin, Texas and she carries a vast array of really cool items including an extensive selection of high quality women's wear and accessories.  Her store is also the home to an incredible selection of Texas Longhorn stuff. So it is a "burnt orange wonderland on steroids" for Longhorn fans like me.

How do I know all of this? Because one of the consistent visual impressions that Sue Patrick employs, to promote her store and all of the really great items, is her advertising that appears, in full color,  on the pages of The Austin American Statesman. The "small-space" ad appears so often, it is as if it is an every day occurrence. And it may be. I have not taken the time to count the days of the week that I see her ad, but I read The Statesman every day, and it seems that her ad is in every edition!

What Sue has accomplished with her consistency is a level of branding that is only achieved through showing up in a place where her best potential customers congregate. The pages of The Statesman!

This is not about newspaper advertising, rather it is all about consistency. The Sue Patrick example is a powerful statement about the "stickiness of consistency" and the strength therein.

The value of consistency cannot be over stated. When you become consistent at anything the people you are associating with begin to count on your predictable behavior. The outcome of the collective actions may yet be in question, but your contribution, based on what people have come to expect because of your consistency, is not the question.

Conversely some people are consistently inconsistent and have become known for this unpredictability. This causes a great deal of doubt regarding the worth of their contribution. Knowing what to expect from people and knowing what not to expect from people provides a clearer path towards the goal. Becoming and remaining productively consistent is one of the most important attributes you can have.