How to create a reliable brand in uncertain times
It’s all a bit volatile and unpredictable at the moment isn’t it?
It makes it hard to plan. Hard to invest in new campaigns, new content or a new brand - because we don’t really know what the world is going to look like by the time they go live.
Does this resonate with you?
Over the past few years, businesses have hit the brakes on marketing investment. When things are going pear shaped, it’s often one of the first purse strings to be tightened. But, should it be?
Obviously, you may think - as a marketer - that I’m biased. But going quiet in a time where people need information, reliability and confidence is not the answer my friend.
When I first started freelancing in Summer 2022, Boris had proclaimed again that businesses should save money through cutting advertising spend. As Henry Ford put’s it -
“ A man who stops advertising to save money is like a man who stops a clock to save time”.
It’s just hiding away, hoping that the world will correct itself and everything will be hunky dory tomorrow. Unfortunately that won’t work - you’ve got to buckle up and face it. Build a brand that stands above the uncertainty and builds strength.
What’s the latest?
One thing that we can all predict today is that we can’t predict tomorrow.
In the past 12 months alone, we’ve:
Gone into a recession - it’s official now folks. The cost of food increased by 7% in January 2024, and house prices have crashed by 1.4% in December 2023. We get less money, and it doesn’t go as far. This time last year, half of UK adults were behind on their energy bills, and there’s a huge increase in parents going into debt to fund childcare - that’s going into debt JUST SO THEY CAN GO TO WORK. Make it make sense people!
Silicon Valley Bank crashed - taking with it numerous business and my first client (that was a bugger)
Conflicts and genoside dominate our headlines and many of us are needing to be kind to ourselves and switch off from the news when it’s too horrific for words
AI has continued to increase in popularity, causing jobs losses and unsteadiness in the world of self employment
That’s a busy, pretty bleak year folks.
Coming up in 2024, we know we will see a general election in the UK. We have no clue what the outcome of that will look like - I’m not getting my hopes up.
The underlying theme is.. We don’t know what our bank balances will look like in Spring 2024. Definitely not in Summer 202
So, how do we build strength in a time of wobbles?
Through research by Cision on consumer behaviour following the pandemic and cost of living crisis, and my own observations in working in marketing over the past decade - I’ve pulled together a few tricks and tips for keeping your brand stable and strong - regardless of what’s going on in the world.
1 - Consistency is key
Oh this old tune again. What even IS consistency?
It’s showing up, being there, regularly, communicating with your audiences. It’s absolutely essential to keep a sense of familiarity in order to build trust and loyalty from audiences - especially when they’re feel vulnerable.
The way that we’re drawn to familiar brands is known as the mere exposure effect - a psychological observation that people tend to develop a liking for things, purely because they’re familiar with them. Not only are we drawn to them initially, but if we have a good experience that it strengthens that bond with them for the future too. So if you post helpful, user-centric content then audiences will look out for it more in the future.
It does mean that you need to be careful and considered about whether you change things up - don’t rebrand visually for the sake of it. Sometimes, you just need to recalibrate your messaging, make some tweaks so you’re still relevant and give yourself some longevity.
It also explains why there is such a surge in nostalgia in branding at the moment - with key brands such as Herman Miller, Mattel, and Pepsi embracing eras past in their latest rebrands.
2 - Be transparent, and show your workings out
We are being more considered about who we are spending our money with at the moment - as we wake up to the dodgy investments, greenwashing and general crap behaviour that’s been masked by many big companies. So, the best thing to be doing with your marketing is to show your behind the scenes planning and processes.
I mean stating what your goals are, and how you are planning on getting there. If you’re making big statements, base them on evidence - and show us that data. Even just the visibility of a statistic and reference gives us some reassurance that you aren’t just making stuff up.
If you say you’re green and sustainable, we need to see HOW. We want to see policies, processes and evidence that you’re actually making changes and taking steps to implement green decisions into your business - not just slapping a green logo on a ‘recycled polyester’ dress and calling that a day.
3 - Don’t shout - listen
Don’t make all your content about YOU. Talk to your customers, understand what their concerns are - and then use that to inform your messaging and content strategy.
Use case studies and testimonials to tell the stories about the people that you have helped, and the impact that you’ve made. People resonate with brands that show that they listen and adapt to what the market needs, so do that.
4 - Be yourself, not a copycat
If you’re starting to notice a decline in sales or impact, it’s hard not to look at your competitors and think “what are they doing, and how can I get some of that?”
The reality is, you need to be yourself, stick to your strategy, and keep going with it - unless it’s proven to simply not work.
Longevity is key, flitting and changing to keep up with the latest ‘hot thing’ will baffle people and throw them off. Let’s throw back to the whole consistency thing again.
If your competitors are doing something, and you can see that it’s the start of a good idea - but you know how to improve it… as long as it fits your brand and personality then go with it. There is no problem in evolving and trying new things, but only if it matches your strategy and brand.
5 - Be a bloomin’ beam of hope
It’s all pretty doom and gloom out there - but the brands who are being successful are the ones who are pointing out the hope, bringing some colour, creating positivity.
It doesn’t mean ignore the bad stuff - but offer solutions, or balance it with some good news content. Be that rock for people to come back to when they feel wobbly, not the doommonger that people mute to protect themselves.
Talk about the future, be positive - highlight the issues affecting your industry and what you are doing to create a positive impact.
How to not put your foot in it when things move so quickly
We’ve all seen it - brands sending out content that feels oh so disrespectful against the huge news that’s just broken.
Ill-timed content can be detrimental to your brand, so 3 quick-fire tips to avoid this happening:
Don’t schedule content WAAAY in advance. Feel free to plan it, but only schedule a week or so ahead - and keep track of what you have going out and when. That means you can cancel them if they suddenly feel disrespectful, or tweak them if something comes up that means your data is now old news.
Plan your marketing in advance, but check-in on it monthly to make sure it’s still relevant and priorities haven’t changed. Maybe you need to bring something forward, a cost of living guide perhaps because a news item has broken about people getting into debt. Plan so you have a library of content, but be fluid about when it goes out.
Continually talk to your customers and carry out research. This can be through social media polls, surveys in your email marketing campaigns, or more thorough market research. Make sure you’re moving with the times and listen to how you can adapt.
