The Importance of Consistency in CSR Messaging

The most effective CSR campaigns are the ones where words are backed by concrete, measurable, consistent, and substantive 𝗔𝗖𝗧𝗜𝗢𝗡𝗦. A few days of virtue signaling during and around geopolitical or pop culture events no longer will cut it and never really did. Your clients, customers, employees, business partners, media, and policy leaders can and do see the difference between one off check the box and real programs integrated into the organization's purpose, mission, and values in tangible ways over a long time. Simply making statements and writing a check or two is insufficient and can even be viewed negatively as inauthentic (because it often is.) It has to start from the top with the C suite but also include frontline employees’ views and time, including HR policies that support volunteerism towards the campaigns and infusing the programs into the core of the operations. To summarize, it’s about ongoing actions versus platitudes. Everyone is watching.

One CEO I worked with touted "radical transparency" in company-wide communications and on investor calls. Buuuuut in practice, they operated with carefully controlled information flows - financials were limited to select execs, town halls featured only pre-vetted questions, you get the idea. Behold: the voice-consistency gap! Look, we live in a multi-channel environment. This means leaders are communicating across SO MANY more platforms than ever: all-hands, emails, Slack, investor calls, social, customer communications, press interviews. And each channel creates another opportunity for your message to fragment. From my experience, the most dangerous gaps appear in these three key channels: 1. What your policies state vs. what your actions reward Your employee handbook might champion work-life balance, but if every promotion goes to the person answering emails at midnight? Well, that's the real message. The gap between stated values and operational reality eventually becomes the primary narrative. 2. What you promise customers vs. what you tell your teams When marketing promises "customer obsession" while internal meetings focus exclusively on efficiency metrics, the resulting service inevitably feels hollow. Your team can't deliver authentically on promises they don't believe you actually value. 3. What you said yesterday vs. what you're saying today Screenshots live forever. The consistency of your message over time matters as much as its consistency across channels. Strategic pivots require acknowledging the shift, not pretending the past didn't happen. And, look, bridging these gaps doesn't require perfection, it just requires intentional alignment. So maybe before your next meeting or post, ask yourself: "Does this reinforce OR does it contradict what I've said somewhere else?" I'm curious - where have you noticed voice-consistency gaps creating trust issues in your organization? And which channel alignment is most challenging for your leadership team? #leadershipcommunications #executivepresence #organizationaltrust #corporateculture

Anyone can say they’re reliable. Anyone can write “client-focused” or “trusted advisors” on their website. But in 30+ years of business, I’ve learned one thing: Trust doesn’t come from what you say. It comes from what you prove, over and over again. I’ve seen companies spend big on flash: Brand videos, award logos, catchy taglines. Then drop the ball on the basics: Inconsistent outreach. No follow-up. Disjointed messaging. If you want your marketing to actually build trust, here’s where to start: Keep the message consistent. Across broadcast, print, email, social, and web, your tone, visuals, and voice should feel like one brand. Commit to the follow-up. Send the second email. Mail the second piece. Run the second ad. The first touch starts the conversation. Consistency builds the relationship. Track performance, not just activity. If you don’t know what’s working, you can’t deliver it again. Trust comes from predictability. So does ROI. Clients don’t remember the one ad you ran. They remember how often they saw it. How aligned it felt. And whether it followed through on what it promised. Trust isn’t flashy. It’s consistent. And in marketing just like in business it’s what keeps people coming back. #marketingtips