A comedic political movie, “Our Brand Is Crisis,” opened on October 30, 2016, in theatres nationwide. It stars Sandra Bullock as a once revered, yet now has-been American political operative with a string of losing campaigns and personal issues. She’s hired to lead the struggling campaign of a belligerent candidate, attempting to regain his office that he held and lost as the President of Bolivia, while at the same time face off with her American nemesis that is there to elect the rising young political star.
Besides the craziness of pulling back the satirical curtain on political campaigns, this film reflects a theme that is all too familiar in today’s corporate culture: brand messaging is fuzzy and unclear. Marketers feel behind the eight ball because they are playing catch up to an ever-changing customer and communications landscape, fear becomes their friend just because it’s familiar and crisis mode and frustration is the norm. Instead of taking the time to listen and understand the customer and provide focus and clarity through a cohesive marketing strategy, some companies remain stuck in a permanent state of ‘it’s the way things have always been done’.
Ask yourself:
- Does Our Brand Is Crisis rule the day in your company?
- Do your employees and customers understand your brand, or are have you failed to take the time to understand what makes your brand unique?
- Do your customers know your company core values, or is there a personal disconnect to that message?
- Do you have a cohesive marketing strategy that aligns with your business vision and purpose?
Here are some tips to break free of the brand crisis stranglehold that maybe your business has been in for years:
- Know Who You Are and Where You Are Going. Take the time to know why you exist—why you care about your customers and why your products and services benefit them. Then communicate that message, clearly, simply and consistently! It’s important to know how you began, but more importantly, to know where this unique vision is taking all of you in the future. Is there a sense of ‘belonging’ to your brand? To your company?
- Create. Compelling. Content. Content is King, and it’s here to stay. Forrester Research claims that content volume is growing at a rate of 200 percent annually, so it’s pretty safe to say that content marketing continues to play a key role in an exciting future. Make sure you’re on the content bandwagon by marrying terrific content to all the wonderful resources begging to be part of your brand.
- Online engagement. Embrace everything that benefits your brand. In today’s market, the constant advances in digital and online resources can be a bit dizzying and overwhelming. Just embrace and engage. Most likely your customers are, so it’s time to start jumping on the technology train. What works best? Digital Storytelling? Social Media Presence? Marketing Automation? Has your website been updated lately? These are all important factors that help you interact with your audience even more.
- Deliver a great customer experience. You want your consumers to be satisfied at every touch point, including brand engagement and marketing solutions. Are you telling your story at every turn? It’s no secret that today’s 83.1 million Millennials value experience over product benefits, so you should take the time to pay attention to their needs and desires through the entire process.
- Own it—a cohesive marketing strategy with comprehensive solutions. Having a solid plan in place to not only address the challenges, but stay ahead of the opportunities in a timely, transparent manner will not only help your company’s brand but continue to cement you as a company that cares about its customers. It continues to prove that you’re a trusted partner in it for the long haul, building personal brand relationships one customer at a time.
So, what’s it going to be? A company in a constant state of grueling whiplash brand mode, or a business that is calm, cool and collected with a marketing strategy that focuses on insights, cutting-edge solutions and a personal touch? At Collective Alternative, we can help you be the latter.
