Right now, the world we are in is experiencing extreme variability. That which was unpredictable and precarious, pre-COVID, is still very much unpredictable and precarious, only amplified, as this global pandemic affects most everything. In other words, we can look at this time as a complete and utter “clusterflux.” We just made that up. What does it mean? It means that the current state of wild disarray may subside… or give way to newer, wilder disarray.

Don’t take that negatively. This should be very plainly said: these aren’t the dark prophecies of Nostradamus, or even the smirking snark of Debbie Downer. In fact, in facing — and acknowledging — this particularly mercurial moment in time, we can limber up for greater fluidity in our motion, our movements, our reaction time. And we should recognize that branding and operations must be closely aligned in this.

Our ability to reimagine branding as we move forward is, ultimately, reliant upon our ability to be proactive in the way we produce, provide, or manufacture. In other words, it’s not just how we say it, it’s how we do it. With that, let’s shine a little light on something, a sentiment that seemed to permeate the narrative of countless brands at the outset of the pandemic. We’re talking about phrasing along the lines of:

This was our first “post-COVID” marketing cliché, an adage for the “new normal,” and it was landing pretty far from the mark (in addition to being so rampantly recycled to the point of parody.) Let’s break it down: “In these uncertain times…” First, there’s the odd assertion that, conversely, there have been certain times. Well, there’s one thing for certain — that is certainly not the case.

There has never, truly been a time of complete certainty. This isn’t some profound revelation — anybody with a child can tell you, that, in any given moment, there is always an undercurrent of chaos. (Handling a toddler is like floundering down a cliffside with a box of wet dynamite.) No, rather all of time is uncertain, we just allow ourselves to feel comfortable. And that comfort becomes complacence.

The second part of that widely repeated phrase, where we should or must or need to do something? Essentially, it’s an attempt at connecting, an effort to express compassion. But, be it genuine or not — and I do believe that, deep down, there are good intentions in some of the uses — it does also signify a fact: that the commercial you are about to see or hear is not the commercial they had originally planned for this moment.

And that’s really what it all boils down to. The plan… or lack thereof. From a branding standpoint, there always needs to be a plan — a plan for something, whatever it may be. And this plan should be based around two big things:

The first one, your mode of operation — essentially, how you do the things you do — that should always have contingencies in place for possible disruption. Whether it’s manufacturing, services, hospitality, entertainment… whatever it may be, it’s never entirely out of place for you to play a little, “What if?” (You may find that a number of scenarios could lead to a varying degree of responses… or different plans.)

For the second one, an ability to shift your marketing strategy, that really gets to the heart of having true, branding flexibility. When you have a fluid marketing strategy, you’re allowing your brand to stay in the moment, and engage with your audience, customer or consumer proactively, rather than having to piecemeal something together, and respond reactively.

For this, the ability to plan around disruption, to shift your marketing strategy, and to keep your branding fluid, you need four things: Vision, Empathy, Transparency and Accessibility.

Don’t simply look at now, look at later. Test. Experiment. Invest. And don’t be afraid to fail… in fact, fail faster. But learn from those failings. These are just a few, fast and loose tenets of vision-focused thinking. It means understanding when things are working, why they are. It also means having the vision to see when things aren’t working and course-correction is required. Think of this as a “Brody Moment.” That was the point in Jaws, when Chief Brody — upon coming face-to-face and seeing exactly what they were dealing with — exclaimed, “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.” It was Brody’s vision, quite literally, that formed this solution.

A “Brody Moment,” according to Forbes Magazine, is when “it becomes crystal clear that your current trajectory is the wrong trajectory. These moments are a call to action, whether that means acquiring a bigger boat, getting into the fast food business, aggressively pursuing digital transformation, or pivoting to a new IT implementation plan. That is the Brody Imperative: to act, to adapt, to try something new.”

They continue, “Sometimes, the Brody Moment involves a high-stakes situation and triggers a straightforward pivot (like acquiring a bigger boat to save lives), and sometimes it involves a lower-stakes situation but requires a major pivot (like overhauling a product plan).”

Perhaps one of the greatest displays of understanding a brand can exhibit is empathy. People want — no, need — to feel a connection. This is readily apparent, as the past year has shown, as human touch, and live, in-person interaction has diminished or disappeared almost entirely. By recognizing this, by understanding this, and adjusting your brand voice to acknowledge just what your customers are going through, you present your brand as authentic.

And, as we all experienced first-hand, when multiple brands spoke about “these uncertain times,” a show of empathy is not a simple performance. According to Lidia Hovhan for Advertising Week:

“Before the customers associate with your business, they need to feel connected to it. The biggest trick has always been to humanize your content before reaching out to the target audience.”

“As the economy gets reopened post-COVID, everyone will be rushing to make sales, and for you to succeed, you ought to adjust your brand voice to reflect what your customers are facing. Be authentic, think like them, and show them heartfelt empathy from every angle whenever you want to market your products or services.”

“Avoid being too salesy and forceful to the audience, and try to hit on the pain points that your potential customers face and how you may offer the right solutions to them.”

Share. It’s that simple. Share your plan… share your vision, your insight, your thoughts, feelings, successes, failures. It’s hard and it’s scary, but transparency can put your brand out there in a way that allows for a pure, heartfelt connection.

Share in the uncertainty, share in the commitment, share the missteps, and then share in the plans to rectify them. Perfection is not reality, any customer knows this. You just need to share in how you plan to do them right. Make transparency part of your purpose. As Tanya Joseph explains in Marketing Week, purpose is power.

“In the battle for distinction, purpose can be the game changer: expressing clearly and simply what a business aspires to be and do. But it offers more than this; purpose should be the roadmap helping an organization drive towards an ambitious and brighter future, fostering along the way a more focused, innovative and dynamic culture.”

“Finding your purpose is not a solo sport; no one can be expected to have all the answers. It is a question of asking the right questions of the right people and being committed to make the change. It isn’t easy, which is why I would strongly recommend bringing together a group of trusted, experienced people from inside and outside the organization to help not just define your purpose but ensure that it drives your business.”

As a brand, you need to show a means of accessibility, or, as it is more commonly known, being omnichannel. As we all have experienced in some way or another over much of the past year, accessibility to a brand, whether online, via mobile, text, social, or any and all other touchpoints, is crucial, as our traditional interactions had been disrupted or cut off entirely. (Not to mention the fact that there are varying degrees in the comfort levels of customers and the types of interactions they will embark on, depending upon locale, beliefs, affiliations, etc. beyond your traditional marketing profiles or archetypical associations.)

It’s always a good practice to be everywhere for your customer. An ever-present, anywhere, anytime approach not only allows for improved access, it can strengthen your bond.

As Hovhan points out, “In the post-COVID era, businesses must realign their marketing campaigns to continue pressing on customers’ demands. Brand awareness is the driving force for any business and, therefore, one should approach it at the crux.”

“The future of the business environment will depend on Omnichannel marketing, and brands must immediately switch if they aren’t already using it. This strategy enables brands to have personalized interactions with their customers.”

“Multichannel marketing has been around for many years now and works to create various channels where businesses can interact with their customers. However, Omnichannel marketing works to ensure that the dimensions of user experience are added regardless of the channel the customer uses.”

Taking a step beyond the omnichannel accessibility of your brand, beyond your traditional offerings, there lies an opportunity to stretch your branding and offering your customers greater value. Content, for instance, is much more highly sought, as many people are still isolated, secluded in their home offices, behind their laptops, just looking for any reprieve from the endless Zoom meetings or teleconferences. This includes video, periodicals, and, especially, podcasts.

“The increasing popularity of podcasts is mainly attributed to the convenience it offers both the listeners and creators. With over 800,000 active podcasts and over 30 million episodes online, you too should be part of this ever-expanding community. For starters, the current generation is tasked with many things to be done at once, hence the need for multitasking. By using podcasts, the users get to be entertained and educated, keeping up with their topics of interest as they do other things. All that’s required is their ears and not their eyes or hands.”

Vision, Empathy, Transparency and Accessibility.

Amongst a landscape of normalcy, these might sound like grand proclamations, far-reaching goals for only the boldest to pursue. But there is no normalcy. Not now. And, maybe not ever. Even with the fuzzy concept of a “post-COVID” world seeming more attainable as of late, there won’t be a standard approach for all of your customers.

For these things to be achieved, you need to reimagine your approach. Go back to your mode of operation and your marketing strategy. Do you have a plan in place to adapt or shift, should you need to again? Are you primed and in a place of a proactive stance, rather than reactive?

At Dovetail, we see this. And we’ve lived through this. And, in the spirit of transparency, we share all of this in hopes of striking up a conversation with you. We do hope you’ll consider taking us up on that — we’re available across all touch points (we haven’t perfected our Tik-Tok dances, but that’s only a matter of time.)

Dovetail is a Brand Reimagination Agency helping clients rethink what’s possible to accelerate success in today’s ever-changing marketing landscape.

We’d like to tell you more, including showing you some Brand Studies with examples of Branding, Pre- and Post-COVID. See them here.

If you’re ready for what’s next, if you’re ready to be more fluid in how your brand moves, contact us today.

The post What Does Post-COVID Branding Look Like? appeared first on Dovetail.

Still, American consumers are out in force, dining, visiting family, going to sporting events, seeing movies… and lots of shopping, partially fueled by a boost of relief money flowing into millions of bank accounts. And the spending doesn’t stop there — consider the unexpected surge in RV sales, the pool contractors booked through 2023, or the practically obscene price of lumber that has skyrocketed due to the increased demand in home remodels (which makes sense: people were home a lot more, and all that time in the humble abode led to a lot of scrutiny).

All of this goes beyond an innate desire to get back into a normal flow. There’s an aggressive urgency to DO, and it’s leaving many brands scrambling to stay in step, just as they did at the outset of the pandemic. As brands again face these sudden changes and challenges in consumer spending, this is creating a need to reimagine Brand Engagement. But first things first…

It’s easy to get caught up in a terminological quagmire when the concept of engagement is brought up. Though not as peppered during the corporate town halls, shareholder meetings or pseudo-brainstorms with the same fervency as, say, “synergy” or “disruption”, engagement is definitely on the tips of the tongues of the people who demand answers. And they’re not wrong. So, let’s start, good and proper, with a breakdown of the difference between Customer Engagement and Brand Engagement.

Customer Engagement is, essentially, customer communications or, as Paul Greenberg (for HubSpot) says, “the ongoing interactions between company and customer, offered by the company, chosen by the customer.” In other words, it is the tactics and means brands engage in with their customers to achieve a particular outcome. Customer Engagement is messaging. It’s conversational. It’s a back-and-forth, ongoing dialog that is designed to build trust.

Brand Engagement, according to the Journal of Product & Brand Management, is quite simply the process of forming an emotional or rational attachment between a consumer and a brand. Brand Engagement, the Journal explains, is an aspect of brand management, impacts brand attachment and has a positive influence on customer purchase intentions.

Regardless of the type of engagement, whether the actual, personal, back and forth between brand and customer, or the connected, emotional relationship between them, it’s paramount that it is easy for the customer to engage. This, in turn, will allow for a stronger emotional investment and attachment.

According to the National Business Research Institute, “Brand engagement signifies an emotional commitment to a brand. It’s more than brand awareness; it is loyalty and word-of-mouth marketing. Brand engagement goes hand in hand with customer engagement and engaged customers translate to increased revenues, profitability, and market share.”

“Brand engagement is the Holy Grail for marketers,” says Consumer Psychologist and Professor of Marketing at Saint Joseph’s University, Mike Solomon. “It refers to the extent that a consumer views a brand as instrumental in expressing some aspect of the self. We can think of engagement on a continuum anchored at one end by apathy and on the other by total identification.”

Solomon continues, “Depending upon the current level of brand engagement, the marketer can either: 1.) tailor messaging strategies appropriate to that level or 2.) try to ramp up engagement by anchoring the brand closer to the consumer’s identity.”

In other words, Brand Engagement is the bond between brand and consumer. A prime example — one at the total identification end of Solomon’s spectrum — would be the shared bond between user and brand, found in Peloton. While the Peloton consumer is committed to the brand (a brand which enjoyed a massive boost during the closed-gym, stay-at-home days of the pandemic,) Peloton has also honed it’s connection and commitment to its consumer or members. In the pre-pandemic days, the Peloton classes were filled with members, a tribe of users eager to be part of a live experience, up close and personal with their favorite trainers. And if you couldn’t make it to the New York or London studio, you could still ride along, live, with countless others around the globe.

When the pandemic shut down the studios, eventually pushing the instructors to their homes, that connection didn’t falter: Peloton introduced the “Live from Home” series of classes. In an email sent to members:

“Every day, you continue to show up for yourself, this community and for us. And though our studios remain closed for now, we’re committed to giving our best back to you. That’s why we’re so excited to announce that our instructors will be teaching live classes again—but just like you, they’ll be at home! This is an exciting new chapter, and we’ll learn as we go. But together, we go far.”

Boil this communication down and you can see the key phrases that exemplify the shared bond of Brand Engagement: us, we, together.

During the “Live from Home” series of classes, the instructors still gave shout-outs, just as before, to consumers as they hit milestones (first ride, 100 rides, 1000, and so on), addressing them by their user names. Only now, they did it from the confines of their homes or apartments, with none of the professional sheen or production value the Peloton studios provided.

This didn’t stop people from gearing up, clipping in, and riding. In fact, one could argue, that by continuing to keep producing and pushing out content (and make no bones about it: Peloton is a content provider), and keep the conversation going, that the “Live from Home” series of classes actually served to strengthen the bond. After all, the instructors were going through the same thing — something many brands suggested (“We’re all in this together”) — which was immediately apparent, given the rather unassuming apartments or homes the instructors were broadcasting from. One thing that didn’t change from before the pandemic? The Peloton instructors still stayed active on social media, primarily Instagram, continuing to give consumers even more access and insight.

This isn’t to say Peloton is infallible. In late 2019, a Peloton commercial struck many vocal critics as being sexist, classist, or just plain bad. Then, earlier this year, it was announced that there were at least 39 reported incidents, one fatal, regarding its Tread+ treadmill. Since then, Peloton has offered to recall all of its treadmills for a full refund. But, again signifying the bond members share with their equipment, it is believed that only a small number of customers will actually return the equipment.

As an example of Brand Engagement, Peloton shows how a brand continues to cultivate a bond with its customers, while simultaneously adapting its tactics of engagement through a pandemic, a recall, even through tragedy, while still retaining a loyal base.

So here we are… semi-, sorta, maybe headed in a normalish direction (just as many brands, by and large, are still adjusting and acclimating to less direct, curbside, mobile or completely remote means of interaction.)

We’ve mentioned in the past about the HOW (like HOW to keep your branding fluid and HOW to speak to your audience through Vision, Empathy, Transparency and Accessibility). Read here.

And, now that we’ve gone a little deeper to discuss what Brand Engagement is, let’s talk about tactics. In other words, let’s talk about the WHAT (WHAT to do to cultivate Brand Engagement, WHAT to consider in the swirling, semi-, sorta, maybe headed in a normalish direction post-pandemic world.) These are the 5 WHATS of Brand Engagement:

Not only the title of a popular book by Ram Dass (or Oasis record, depending on your personal jam) this is a mantra for this writer. Based on a tenet of mediation, this phrase came about as I was running one summer and listening to some of the “Running with Headspace” runs in the Nike Run app. Essentially, the idea is to be in the moment. For running, it means to be present, to be in the run. In other words, I started the run, I’m away from everything, and regardless of where my head may wander to, I still have to run back to get home. Yes, information is a wonderful thing. Data is a wonderful thing. Insight, foresight, hindsight… all wonderful. But during a run, those things can cloud what is happening as it is happening, and the next thing you know, you’ve rolled your ankle on a sweetgum ball because your head was elsewhere. So yes, gather all that info, but be able to respond to NOW. Continue to address what is happening NOW. (And, when one considers how rapidly things have changed or how disparate response to the pandemic has been among consumers, “Now” can mean many things… best to be honest, authentic and rapidly responsive in engagement.) Speaking of NOW…

One thing that quickly evolved during the early stages of the pandemic? Standards. Okay, that’s a bit harsh. Let’s call it… production value. On one hand, commercial production ground to a halt. On the other, Zoom became the de facto means of communication. Suddenly, any way of communicating was the best way of communicating. And people accepted it. Sure, people may have put on some dressier tops for some calls, but we all know that pajamas and sweatpants became the official uniform of 2020. And the effect was seen in pop culture: Steven Colbert doffed the tie and jacket, Trevor Noah sported a hoodie. Does this mean we should all quit investing in quality work? Chuck it all and shoot video or photography with our phones? No, of course not. Look, it’s not like the next Marvel movie is foregoing their usual budget and filming in a dinner theater. People still appreciate production, still respond to pageantry. But we now know that there is an adaptability in audience expectations. Don’t get mired in the luxury of perfection. So, rather than stalling on engaging with your consumers till you can nail the perfect script, find the right director, get that perfect light, if the need is there, just say what you need to say. And while we’re on the topic of production value…

UGC — more formally known as User-Generated Content — is content that is, well, generated by users. Genuine, honest, sometimes raw, UGC is, more or less, by the people, for the people. Use that! While it is crucial to curate and vet, ensuring that it is appropriate to the brand and to the audience, UGC gives your brand engagement a voice, a dialog, providing a much needed authenticity people are craving more and more. Sometimes, UGC can become an extension of the brand — it’s that powerful. Compared to traditional, brand-produced media, UGC offers two big advantages: 1.) It is cheap to produce (sometimes free, as most of the UGC is produced on the creator’s dime, and 2.) there’s no great complexity or long-term commitment to using UGC — as it is shared through social channels, UGC can be uploaded and live almost instantaneously, without need for extensive scheduling or multimillion-dollar ad buys, unlike traditional video. But what about video?

In a nutshell, online video gets eyes. More than any other social media content, video is the go-to means of getting the word out. And not just on brand sites or YouTube (still the reigning champion of online video) — people are consuming content across multiple channels, including Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, Vimeo, Snapchat… the list goes on, with new apps or channels consistently being added. Considering the fact that most every person has a video player in their pocket (thanks to smartphones), this comes as no great surprise. What may be surprising, however, is how much people are consuming. According to Smart Insights, the average person will spend 100 minutes every day watching online video (for comparison, this is a 19% increase over 2019, which stood at 84). While this sizable uptick can partially be attributed to the pandemic pushing more people online, that’s not the only reason — video is quick, video is easy. Everyone has a camera, and editing is simpler than ever. Video is everywhere. Know what else should be everywhere? You.

Want to know the biggest WHAT of Brand Engagement? Be Everywhere. (In fact, whenever thinking of Brand Engagement, or B.E., think Be Everywhere!) The past two years found many cloistered at home. We were working, shopping, dining, going to school, exercising (or not exercising), watching new movies, binging new shows, checking out new music… everything from home. And, in order to stay top-of-mind with their consumers, that’s where most of the brands turned their focus. Now, people are massively on the move, with an estimated half of all Americans expected to take a trip in the next three months, according to NBC News. This is a literal 180… from being quarantined at home to being out and about. You need to be in all of those places. Or, better yet, be everywhere. Commit to expanding your branding to account for mobility, sure, but also factor in how your brand is engaging and when it is engaging. Think of someone sitting at home looking for how-to videos rather than reading the included instructions — come on, we’ve all done it! Or someone quickly swiping through their social feed while waiting for their latte. Or someone running on a treadmill at the gym. Or another pumping gas before heading to work. Now, consider that those are all the same person. YOUR person. YOUR consumer. Talk to them. Engage with them, no matter what they’re doing or when. That’s being everywhere.

Maybe you’re still wondering why Brand Engagement still matters. You sell something, people buy that thing. Maybe it’s that simple. But, let’s look at some numbers:

Brands have a 60% to 70% chance of selling to an existing customer versus only a 5% to 20% chance of selling to a new customer.

It can cost up to 5X more to acquire a new customer than to keep an existing one.

Existing customers may spend up to 67% more on their purchases than new customers.

Another customer engagement study by Ray Wang of Constellation Research found that “…companies who have improved engagement increase cross-sell by 22%, drive up-sell revenue from 13% to 51%, and also increase order sizes from 5% to 85%.”

Increasing customer retention rates by 5% increases profits anywhere from 25% to 95%.

Now, ready to engage? We are… It just takes some reimagining.

At Dovetail, we work with brands to build engagement, rethink what’s possible, and accelerate success in today’s ever-changing market landscape.

We’d like to tell you more, including showing you some Brand Studies with examples of Brand Engagement and how we can work with you through 2021 and beyond. See them here.

Let’s engage — contact us today.

The post Brand Engagement in 2022 appeared first on Dovetail.