Strengthening Your Brand in Unprecedented Times

By Geraldine Weiser, Director of Client Business Development, Corporate College

During times of uncertainty, people turn to their leaders to provide comfort, guidance and assurance. Though we are months into the COVID-19 pandemic, there are still so many unknowns, and yet new information is being provided constantly in an often-overwhelming 24-hour news cycle.

The pandemic is the greatest disrupter of our times, and is causing people and organizations to adapt almost daily. But it’s also opening a door for customers to see your organization in a whole new light. 

This is when you and your organization can really shine, developing a sense of comfort, guidance and reliability around your brand. The foundation of any healthy relationship is trust, and by re-evaluating your brand and identifying how to connect to the current market needs, you can strengthen your image and build trust with existing customers, catching the attention of potential new customers along the way. 

Revisit your unique selling proposition, identifying how it builds trust with consumers in the current situation or the near future. Then develop simple, short and sincere messages to describe how it is relevant and will benefit them. What questions are on their minds or should be on their minds that you can answer? Does it help them stay healthier, mentally or physically, or better prepared to face the challenges ahead? Does it provide comfort, even if for a short while? 

This is a reassurance that you are putting them first, ready for them when they are ready, and providing real and sincere solutions helps to lessen the uncertainty in their lives. It gives them a clear path to seeing you as a solution provider.

Once you have your message outlined, clearly communicate it to your sales team. They need to empathize with consumers. This means knowing when and how consumers are ready to take the next step.

But remember, taking it too quickly can cause serious problems  ̶  even in good times, let alone difficult times. One wrong move can be interpreted as self-serving and inappropriate, and lose a customer completely. The message then needs to be carried by everyone in the supply chain, so that at each point during the engagement with the customer, their trust in you deepens.

In times like these, we turn to what is foundational, tried and true. The pandemic has changed many things about our world, but it hasn’t changed our foundational principles, including the need to develop trust with one another. 

Our leadership, sales and FranklinCovey programs offer greater insight into the topics below.

• How to connect your brand to current market conditions
  • Tie to market interest/need
  • Distinguish from competition
  • Keep relevant
• Process of Managing and Implementing
  • Aligning your sales team to your brand
  • Responsiveness
  • Balancing sensitivity with urgency
• Success outcomes
  • Attracting new leads
  • Building relationships
  • Solidifying solutions