Blog: Can I build my brand in a crisis? The Do’s and Don’ts.

Can I build my brand in a crisis? The Do’s and Don’ts.

In times of crisis, building your brand might not be your top priority. In many cases, you are busy fire-fighting and struggling to remain afloat. From my experience, however, a crisis is a vital time to build your brand in order to ensure a speedy recovery post the crisis and build long term loyalty with your customers. I share some of my personal experience of branding in a crisis in this article as well as key highlights of my recent talk addressing startups with @Techne.me.

To Build or Not to Build in a Crisis?

I think most would agree that brand building is tricky, even under normal circumstances! My perspective is, however, that crises present unique opportunities for businesses to build their persona and support their clients in unprecedented ways. It is a time where business purpose can clearly be brought to life in ways that touch consumers’ lives deeply, and loyalty and trust can be built with lasting impact. In times of crisis of course, resources are scarcer and the focus is often not on building brands but rather on day-to-day survival. However, building your brand in a crisis need not break the bank. It also might be your only survival chance as consumers’ needs evolve and they re-evaluate the value propositions on offer during the crisis and beyond.

I have recently joined the online forum of @Techne.me, speaking to startups about building their brands in a crisis. This is a much-debated topic since the onset of the unprecedented corona crisis: can I and should I build my brand in a crisis? Some key thoughts come to mind in addressing this question, one of which is brand relevance.

The Importance of Brand Relevance

One key concept underlying Brand Building which I shared on my @Techne.me talk is RELEVANCE. An important question to ask in a major crisis is: am I addressing the consumer needs and pain points at this particular point of time? It is likely that if I continue to say what I have always been saying as the crisis forces major changes (sometimes permanent) on my customer behaviors and needs, then the overlap between my messages and offerings and what the customer wants to hear will decrease and I will become less relevant. This brings me to the Do’s and Don’ts of branding in a crisis.

The Do’s: Some Lessons from Building Brands during the Egyptian Revolution

I remember during the Egyptian revolution a few years ago when I was managing Foods and Beverages for Unilever that my brand portfolio emerged from the crisis stronger than it ever was. If I reflect on why that is, a few thoughts come to mind:

1. We understood customer needs from our categories and addressed them to the extent possible. For example, in addressing concerns over food shortages and cash crunches, we ensured visible supply continuity and implemented price-off promotions. Also, in addressing concerns over anxiety, we played up aspects of togetherness and positivity in our brand communication.

2. We reflected our understanding of our consumer’s pain points in everything we did, be it advertising or in-store interactions. Nothing was business as usual. Every consumer-facing communication message was relevant to the current situation. Again, this need not be very expensive, a simple tag-on on a current ad or an in-store pop-up or sticker on pack will do.

3. We dialed up our CSR activity, as responsible corporate citizens, taking care of our workers and lending a hand where it was needed in the community. This might include charitable donations in kind from your own products and services, free expert support for your customers, or anything else your organization can contribute to alleviate the impact of the crisis for your customers or community.

4. We showed our commitment to the Egyptian market, while many of our competitors were sending home their expatriate top managers, and shrinking their operations, we ensured visible commitment to our local communities, something our customers and consumers rewarded us generously for in brand loyalty after the crisis was over.

The DON'Ts

Having shared some of the things we can focus on doing, it is even more important in a crisis to understand what not to do. Here are the don’ts that I have learned to avoid:

1. Be seen as “taking advantage” of others’ pain. There is a big difference between being seeing as marketing a genuine solution to a current pain point and abusing the situation to sell more. For example, raising prices for tea bags or shampoo just because supply is limited in a crisis will be forever remembered by consumers as a form of extortion.

2. Forgetting brand values. Brand values are sacred and should be treated as such. Remember your brand persona in all your messaging, even in a crisis.

3. Ignoring the crisis and doing business “as usual”. Pretending that everything is normal when people are struggling is never a good idea. A brand needs to empathize with its consumers and customers, especially in times of great stress.

4. Not being authentic. Consumers are more perceptive than we give them credit! They will pick up any lack of authenticity in your communication or actions. Always be true to your brand and consistent in your actions.

Looking Forward

As with my previous article, I like to remind myself and my clients: this too shall pass ! What will matter after it passes is what we do and where we invest our time NOW to prepare for the post-crisis era.

So what are some things you can do NOW : connect with your clients- just a simple checking-in message goes a long way in keeping your brand top of mind and will be remembered. Review the quality of your online presence: are you happy with your website? Are you communicating relevant messages on your social media? Now is also a good time to review your business fundamentals as suggested in my previous article. Ask yourself key questions like:

Finally, let me share with you some personal experience about what my strategic partners and I have been busy doing to build the Axellerus Consultants brand in the crisis:

I have relaunched my corporate identity including my logo and recently approved my brand book; I am in the process of relaunching my company website; I did a TV interview with Dubai TV about preparing for business post the crisis; I have spoken in an online forum with @Techne.me about brand building for startups; I have given a guest lecture to the London Business School Executive MBA on Consumer Insights; I enrolled to an advanced Digital Marketing Strategy Seminar; I have written a couple of LinkedIn articles and generally reconnected with my social media followers and my Clients. Not bad for a couple of weeks of lock-down ?

I hope this gives you some inspiration to build your brand and “sharpen the saw” during this time that we were gifted to reflect and regroup, in preparation for a strong recovery post the crisis! Stay safe!