Co-Founder and CEO at BairesDev, a technology solutions company that employs the Top 1% IT Talent and specializes in Software Outsourcing.
Copyright by Tom Werner
With businesses reopening and stay-at-home orders being lifted, it's only natural to feel that normalcy is around the corner. However, to think that everything will be as it once was in the short term is naive — we can't even be sure that we'll be back to the "normalcy" we knew! So, it's wise to prepare our companies in the best possible way for what's to come.
There's plenty of work to be done for that future, but here I'll focus on something that not many businesses consider — the branding strategy. Since the pandemic started spreading throughout the world, many brands decided to embrace a hopeful and optimistic message as their core branding strategy. Surely that's a nice touch, but it's not nearly enough to build a whole branding strategy.
The post-pandemic world will bring its own set of challenges and changes, many of which we can't possibly imagine right now (and will have to discover as we move along). But though we can't anticipate them, we can surely be better prepared based on what we've seen during the pandemic: fluctuations in consumer behavior, fast-adjusting goals and real-time data-driven strategies.
The combination of those will allow us to adapt to the new normalcy that awaits us all. The key is to learn how to tackle those trends and combine them in the optimal proportion to get a working branding strategy for the future. How can you do that? There's no magic recipe, but the following suggestions might help.
Identify Data Patterns That Point To The New Normal
A crisis as huge as Covid-19 inevitably brings massive changes to consumer behaviors that are highly dynamic. That's why you can't rely on year-over-year data and even on emerging trends from a month ago. The uncertainty brought about by the pandemic shifts behaviors and trends quickly, and what worked the previous month might not work today.
Does that mean that you have to navigate turbulent waters as they come? Not precisely. While you won't be able to anticipate the next fluctuations, analyzing real-time data can help you identify emerging trends that might be solidifying under the surface. Acknowledging those will help you better inform your branding strategy to address the new segments in your audience and the new potential audiences that might come from the new normalcy.
Go Beyond The Data And Aim For The Human Side Of Things
In our data-driven world, we always aim for the insights that sophisticated AI-based algorithms can give us. It's the best way to get through vast volumes of data and get actionable information for our business decisions. Yet you won't access the entire picture by using those algorithms — not even if you outsource your software development to the best company on the planet.
That's because when talking about crisis-related topics, machines can't truly grasp the human side of things — the anxiety, the optimism, the emotions around it all. Since human sentiments will traverse the new normalcy, you must consider them in your brand strategy. The messages of optimism I've mentioned above are a clear (albeit modest) example of this. Naturally, you need to go beyond the mere copywriting in such a way that you end up embracing the new values that better fit the societal mood of the future.
Set Higher Standards For Your Brand
Those new values will be the perfect core for rethinking your branding strategy. You surely aren't surprised by that, though, as values have been informing branding strategies of most companies for the last few years. So, it's highly likely that, if you've already been doing some work around socially conscious values, you'll be able to continue those efforts. But you'll need to review your strategy to reprioritize as needed.
Health concerns and worker treatment will surely be at the forefront of consumer worries, so expect to see audiences carefully scrutinizing your health measures and how you keep your workers safe. What's more, you'll have to go the extra mile and commit to social causes and projects, showing your involvement with your community and the overall well-being of society.
Tighten Up Your Ties With The Community
The pandemic has significantly affected local communities. On a business level, people have resorted to neighborhood locales and stores for their needs. On a more general level, people connected local volunteers and aid groups. Both of those things have strengthened the neighborhoods and have increased the sense of community.
Such an impact will surely have a lingering effect on how consumers see companies of all sizes — an impact that should inform your branding. How can you make the most out of it? By showing your involvement with different communities. If you pay enough attention, all the other points in this article were leading up to this: the transformation into a more socially conscious business that aligns its values with those of the communities in which it's immersed.
Some Final Thoughts
Experts point out that pandemics like this one have always brought many structural changes with a profound impact on our societies. It's hard to think that such a thing won't happen this time. With that in mind, some of the suggestions I've listed above should be a good starting point to rethink your branding strategy for the future.
In other words, the post-pandemic world will surely bring changes that will call for a new business mentality and a new way of relating to our customers, which, in turn, will have unique concerns stemming from this experience. Technology can play a major part in the companies' response, but the human factor will ultimately be the main deciding factor for successful branding in the post-pandemic world.
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