Over the last 2-3 years, geopolitical events and the global pandemic have significantly impacted companies around the world. These events have led to human resource challenges, supply chain disruptions, and triggered widespread economic downturns.
In the face of such challenges, marketing might seem like the least likely area to focus, but many companies have successfully leveraged the power of their brands to stay connected and stay relevant with their customers.
We’ve looked at how brands have reacted during times of uncertainty and found three commonalities in their approach. Humility, transparency & empathy.
Here’s what we found.
Humility works best, when brands listen to customers first and foremost, and then plan customer interactions that are 100% focussed on their needs.
In both the UK and US, 75% of consumers prefer an authentic human voice over a crafted brand message1. o.b. tampons sent a personalised apology video song to all women who use the brand after a temporary supply interruption and part of their feminine care range being discontinued. The video is a serenade with the viewer’s name written in the sky, in rose petals on the beach. At the end, o.b. tampons assured the frustration had been heard and offered a $2 off coupon to each viewer as a token to bring back the product to the market.
Transparency is positively associated with truth and accountability. 65% of consumers in the UK and US agree that transparency and honesty are important factors when making decisions about a brand2.
Ace & Tate, a Dutch eyewear brand, openly shared their daunting process of becoming a B-Corp. The brand told its customers: “Look, we f*cked up” in a boldly worded blog post addressing mistakes made around sustainability and its efforts to change. The post outlined five of the misguided decisions and countermeasures that allowed Ace & Tate to become more sustainable as part of the B-Corp certification.
Empathy for brands, is the ability to truly understand the feelings of your customer. 58% of customers stay loyal to brands that align with their beliefs and values, especially when they feel their interests are placed ahead of the brand3.
Burger King UK won over many hearts after publishing a tweet asking customers to order from long-rival McDonald’s, as well as other fast-food restaurant chains.The hospitality industry was hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, so Burger King EMEA showed solidarity with the wider food industry, while in North America, Burger King took a more confrontational approach, i.e., a free burger for each customer who drove by one of the “the scariest places on earth” (its local competitors). For the first time in its history, Burger King put aside its differences and positively surprised everyone by showing empathy towards its arch-rival McDonald’s and the needs of its customers.
Although the examples above are primarily consumer facing brands, we feel like there is a lot to be learned from the approaches that these brands took when the going was tough.
Challenging times present moments of opportunities for companies to leverage their brand, which are exactly the moments when your brand should be working hardest to protect and build upon your reputation.
How will you leverage you brand in these uncertain times?
We’d love to have a chat and see if we can help.
References:
1. Forrester Consulting 2019, Getting To Know Your Customers – Why Brands Must Bridge The Gap Between What They Think They Know And What Customers Really Want.
2. Canvas8 2022, Radical Transparency – People Want Truth To Come First.
3. Edelman 2022, Edelman Trust Barometer 2022.