After various attempts to withstand the negative side-effects of the crisis caused by the pandemic, the government has officially announced the UK’s first technical recession in 11 years – which is defined as two consecutive quarters in economic decline.
With the services sector, which powers four-fifths of the economy, suffering its biggest quarterly decline on record; business owners having to lay down the staff already on furlough[1] (which wasn’t a sustainable option to begin with!) and sales everywhere being badly hit by the general lockdown, it comes to no surprise that we’ve reached this point.
Since the entire country is in (a bit of) a slump, what should you be doing to help your business make it through these uncertain times?
When markets are in a downturn, we as humans (and consumers) tend to put our trust in brands we believe truly understand and empathise with us. That’s why, particularly during this period, you should be paying even closer attention to your branding and marketing strategy.
Regardless of how big or small your company is, branding is an important part of your business’ reputation and often the first impression consumers will have of it. As a result, a strong and well-established brand will undoubtedly become a competitive advantage during shaky times.
How?
While this may be intimidating, and should always be based on long-term thinking, branding during a crisis is not an impossible task.
It is true that brands are built over years BUT, during market crisis, they often get the change to be ‘noticed’ by consumers who otherwise wouldn’t come across them – this could be for their ability to stand out with communications which resonates with the audience; deliver on the promise to provide products/services of a high quality (rather than just at a cheaper price) or even for coming up with measures which support their communities or causes they believe in!
In order to do so effectively, engaging with your stakeholders in a timely manner, focusing on long-term goals or objectives and bringing empathy into your strategy is usually a good place to start.
Here are some tips to help you build your brand during recession!
Step 1: Take a step back and re-evaluate where your brand stands. Take a look at your upcoming communications plan, particularly the social media content and newsletters. Assess for anything that may be insensitive or inappropriate during this period and make adjustments accordingly. For example, after the American basketball player Kobe Bryant passed away unexpectedly early this year, Planters paused their #RIPMrPeanut campaign, which featured their 104-year-old mascot – Mr Peanut – falling to his death in an explosion, since they knew it would otherwise cause a massive backlash.
Step 2: Adapt your (internal and external) messaging to be more helpful. It never hurts to show your brand’s ‘human’ side – all your employees and customers are human beings after all and are likely to be affected by whatever is happening in one way or another. So changing your brand’s narrative to have a little bit more empathy is always positive. Brands such as Marks & Spencer did this very well while the country was in lockdown; by offering customers flowers and plants in their stores, handing out seeds that would allow people to create their ‘little garden’ and shifting their comms narrative to support local producers and the NHS. These initiatives show your customers you care about what they are going through and gives them chances to connect with your brand on a more personal level.
Step 3: Ensure you continue to follow on your promise to deliver good quality service. In moments of uncertainty, where fear and negativity often rule, more often than not service delivery is overlooked. This is a key factor which could cause you to miss the opportunity to generate returning customers. Keep in mind that those who consume your products and services won’t know whether your company is going through tough times and are much more likely to share a negative than a positive experience while shopping with you!
Step 4: Don’t put too much emphasis on (lower) price! While it’s important to build some competitiveness during a recession, cheap prices will be available for everything everywhere and you don’t want to fall in the same trap as ‘everyone else’. Be smart about it! See where you can lower it but also create bundles or packages that could offer value to your customers (instead of being cheaper for cheaper sake). Providing a good quality product or service at good value is much better than compromising the integrity of your brand’s value in the long run.
Step 5: Keep doing steps one to four as part of your long-term strategy. It’s essential to build on your brand with consistency, as that’s what creates trust in your company and makes customers (and potential customers) recognise your worth.
Remember, building a brand is a long-term process and every little change you make, will certainly help!
If you are unsure of your branding strategy, get in touch today and find out how we can help you.
AWL Connoisseur Group 