25 Aug THE PLAYBOOK TO SUCCESSFULLY MANAGE A COMPANY BRAND THROUGH A CORONA CRISIS
The Playbook to Successfully Manage a Company Brand through a Corona Crisis
- In a difficult time as present, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the number of potential pitfalls is exponentially bigger.
- To avoid those potential pitfalls, one must know the special risk factors that can harm your business’ reputation. Furthermore, applying certain strategies properly can help you stay on the safe side and improve your company’s reputation.
Be considerate of your customers.
- During challenging times, such as the current pandemic, people change their behaviour and actions. So everything you know about your customers can change.
- Their perception of your advertising efforts, mobility, buying power, needs, and expectations won’t be the same as before the crisis.
- They might feel preoccupied, uncertain, frightened, frustrated. As a result, some of your tried out methods won’t be able to reach them.
- They can even have a counter effect and alienate them from your brand, which can be quite devastating for your business. You risk being seen as opportunistic, unconcerned, or salesy.
- Before you commit to any marketing effort, you need to ask yourself questions such as:
- How has their decision process changed because of the current crisis?
- What are their biggest concerns during the current crisis?
- How and from where do they get new information?
- How do they buy stuff during a crisis such as this?
- Almost by default, an empathetic approach works best. Make it clear that you feel their pain, concerns, and situation. Tread lightly and choose the empathetic approach that shows the caring side of your business.
- Please explain how you have made changes in your business model to meet their needs in this challenging situation for everyone.
Assess the current situation
- During times of crisis, it is crucial to make quarterly audits of your marketing campaigns. You need to be able to run a fluid marketing campaign that can be adjusted on the go.
- Some of the most important aspects of the following include:
- Online mentions of your brand
- Accumulated website data
- Content strategy
- Search engine rankings
- Fans and social media
- Online reviews
- Brand sentiment
- Recognizing negative trends should be fairly easy, the same as catching the positive signals. All in all, you should be able to form a greater picture of your brand online.
- Negative issues need to be treated aggressively without wasting time, not waiting to undermine your brand further. On the other hand, positive signals need to be viewed as potential opportunities.
Keep the brand in front of its audience.
- Instead of fading quietly in the shadows, be present so that fans and customers know that you are still operational. Even if you don’t have anything to offer during that period, find a way to make everyone aware of your presence.
- For example, you or your employees can volunteer. You can promote that via social media. Additionally, donations are also popular and can increase your overall image as a socially responsible company.
- Offering better and secure information about the crisis is always appreciated, and it is something that you can actively promote on your social media channels.
- Just don’t add content for the sake of it. Fluff content won’t do any good for your brand.
Know where and when to cut back and push forward
- When challenged with a crisis, many businesses start postponing events, reduce their marketing efforts, and so on. Businesses with modest financial reserves are the ones first to cut their marketing spending first.
- Some businesses can afford to reposition themselves, and while everyone is taking a breather, they step up their game and increase their presence. Some increase their brand awareness, whereas others will also look for ways to grab a larger chunk of the market.
Give people what they need.
- Don’t just show empathy but prove it in practice; offer discounts, free deliveries for families with low incomes, and so on.
- You can even turn your focus on products and services that are essential during that period. People will recognize and cherish that. Actions like that can change their impression of your brand for the better.
All in All
- It’s all about opening your brand to people’s needs during a time of crisis. Let them know that you are not there to sell products and services, but to serve the community as well.
- There are several ways you can do so that are well elaborated above. Apply that in practice, and your brand can only gain more respect and a bigger fan base.