The coronavirus is affecting our personal and professional life top toe. Unfortunately, for businesses, it is getting more challenging to make a branding strategy. I know that in this difficult time, you are suffering a lot, but I will tell you some fantastic ideas you can implement in your marketing.
Photo by Eva Bronzini
During this crisis, marketers and developers have to face a lot of troubles. The main problem begins when people have started thinking about their protection. Their focus has shifted to their families, their friends, their communities, their employees and their customers.
It is quite challenging to find the right messages. However, in this digital era, where people have shifted to the virtual world, it is not quite impossible to send messages. The brands that have already established their name also need to follow these strategies.
Customers do not only buy products; they need to feel the connection with brands. If their brand has made any mistake, they will not hesitate to shift that.
Branding Strategy That Can Work In This Pandemic
For a business, it is important to make a good impression on people. People will automatically buy products if a brand can hold its reputation for a long time. Therefore, there is no need to invest millions of dollars in marketing.
There are different strategies for different times. You can make a good strategy for Christmas or thanksgiving. But what about the pandemic? Did you think of anything? Was there preparation for how you are going to do the marketing?
Think about the largest brands that are suffering too in this pandemic. There are the largest law firms in the world, and they have no preparation for this pandemic.
Let’s see some strategies that can work in this pandemic.
- Engagement
You should know the situation around you. Consumer behaviour is changing every day. In this pandemic, they have shifted to online shopping from offline shopping.
You need to understand a few simple things. People are sitting in their homes, and in their free time, they use social media. In this pandemic, social media use has increased a lot. You need to take advantage of that. I suggest engagement is key for your branding strategy.
Reach out to each and every follower and pitch your brand message to them. Don’t try to pressure them to buy. They will feel that they are important.
The second thing you can do is to ask your consumers to comment on your page. I am giving you an example. There is a cloth brand that asked its customers to post pictures wearing their new clothes. And the brand is going to feature the stories. People love to get attention. You can do the same with your brand, also.
- Listen To The Customers
There was a time when people had faith only in large brands. But this is not the scenario right now. People also believe in small and local brands. The crisis has made the customers use local brands. Now, this is your time to enter the scenario.
You should always listen to the customers. How are they feeling, why are they using your product and what changes can improve your brand? If you ask them to tell them about it, they will give their opinion. So now it is your duty to listen to them carefully.
After that, you should analyse their opinions. If most of your customers are telling you the same problem, that means you are doing that. Try to solve those as soon as possible if they are telling you they love a specific thing in your brand. Then try to make that better.
You can also listen to their stories about how they are coping with the current situation. So again, this is a great way to engage with the consumers.
- Present The Empathy
This point is very important for your branding strategy. People see not only the product’s quality but also the corporate social responsibilities. So, you need to do some social work to make a good impression. You can add your works with the human rights commission.
During this pandemic, you can distribute food to the food bank. Or you can do some charity for poor people or those who have no jobs or are unemployed now. People also see how you are treating your employees.
You should try to deliver good messages to society. That is how you can make a great impression on the consumer’s mind. People will remember your acts or what you have done during the crisis. In today’s world, word of mouth still works.
- Use All Mediums
Let me give you an example. Suppose you are doing great work during this pandemic. But there is no way to find out. People have no idea about it. So you need to be transparent and take all the advantages from all mediums.
If you have decent followers, try spreading your deeds through social media platforms. Most brands try to sell their products immediately. But this is not long-lasting. So instead, try to create an image in the consumer’s head.
Most brands make the mistake that they post the same content everywhere. You need to figure out how you can make different strategies for different platforms. In addition, you must create a different branding strategy for different mediums.
The target audiences are different on different platforms. So, getting into their mind will not be an easy task. But you need to be innovative from other brands. Even the law firm SEO services are doing a great job in this pandemic.
Conclusion
A study shows that more than 80% of the brands were not prepared for the pandemic. So, we don’t know what is coming next.
Marketers need a good brand strategy not only for this pandemic but for future crises also. So, you should consider these things.
- You should analyze the impact that the pandemic has done on your business.
- Try to shift everything digitally. No one knows what is coming next. Prepare for the digital workspace to the online marketing.
- Don’t go for selling, focus on brand strategy.
- Learn all the digital ways possible for marketing.
If you are prepared for any crisis, then there is nothing that can stop you.