Battling uncertain times with brand reinforcement

We are now several weeks into the lockdown, and the latest updates suggest that lockdown restrictions probably won’t be lifted anytime soon. As a result, many business owners are growing increasingly concerned about how their businesses may be affected in the long run by this pandemic.

Whilst we don’t fully know what to expect for the UK market after this difficult time has passed (and it will pass), the best advice we can give to our clients, owners of businesses small and large in a range of sectors, is to make sure the wheels are kept turning and your brand stays alive and visible to both existing and potential clients, whether you’ve had to temporarily close your doors or adapt the way you work in order to continue delivering your services.

As we recently wrote in a blog on adapting your marketing strategy, now is not the time to cut back on your marketing efforts. Instead, business owners are encouraged to use this time to connect and engage with target audiences, either through posting regular creative content on social media platforms, or perhaps through executing an effective email marketing campaign to keep your clients up to date.

Our advice right now is to envision a time when everyone is back in business, and to plan ahead for that time – try to identify what sets you apart from competitors and really give it a push in your marketing strategy now so that your brand will remain relevant and at the forefront of the minds of customers once things are back to normal.

Staying (Virtually) Connected

Whilst we may not be able to physically socialise due to the distancing measures put into place by the Government, the world has responded by moving online. Now more than ever before, social networking platforms including Facebook, Zoom, Skype and Google Hangouts are providing people with a vital channel through which they can connect with one another. And they’re not just being used to socialise. Businesses everywhere are also having to adapt to recent changes – shops, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, offices, gyms and other social spaces are all closed, forcing many to adapt their services in order to “keep their doors open” and their business operational.

The whole world is online, which is why now is the best time to consider your digital presence, and how you might be able to make it stronger.

Evaluate Where You’re At

With many business owners finding themselves with more time on their hands than they’re used to, and with so many customers increasing their daily use of online platforms, now is the perfect time to take a good look at your brand and evaluate where it’s at. We’re asking our clients to have a think about the following:

• Is my brand reaching its full potential online?
• Does my company branding reflect the core values and services of my company?
• Is my branding outdated and in need of sprucing up?
• Am I happy with how my company is bring represented through its branding?
• What would I change about my company branding?

Getting things right with your branding is absolutely vital. Your brand offers the first impression of your company to potential customers, so you’ll want to make sure it represents who you are and what you do in the best way possible. Your brand image should communicate your unique selling points and core values, whilst also ensuring that your company stands out against competitors.

Your brand should also be effective enough to be recognisable to those in your target audience, which will firstly involve identifying your target audience and deducing how your products/services might fulfil their needs, and what type of language and imagery they will be more likely to respond to.

This is a great exercise to practice whether you’re just starting up a new business, or if your business has been established for many years. As things change over the years, including the market your business operates within and the ways in which we can market ourselves, as well as through business expansion and development, it’s important to regularly evaluate your brand to ensure the messages it communicates are still relevant.

This sounds like a big ask, but with an experienced creative marketing team at hand, you can rest assured that all of these key elements are hit and checked off. The dedicated team of marketing experts at Root Fifty Two have the market knowledge and expertise, creativity and passion to make your brand shine.

Fancy making a plan? Get in touch today!

Brand Reinforcement in Uncertain Times

Some global brands, including Birds Eye, have already spoken out about feeling a responsibility to remain connected with customers during these uncertain times. As a result, their home-working marketing team managed to put together a corker of an ad campaign in just 18 days, appealing to, identifying with and reassuring their customer base by drawing upon the positive elements that have resulted from this period of lockdown.

As strange as it sounds, it’s true that the appearance of a familiar brand within positive contexts during tricky times can provide consumers with some degree of reassurance, especially if the messages it communicates remain sensitive to current circumstances.

Whilst it may be tricky to come up with ways to stay connected with your audience during this difficult time, especially if you’ve been forced to temporarily shut up shop until lockdown measures are relaxed, it’s also important to remember how hard you’ve worked to develop and grow your brand and build your reputation.

Don’t let your brand disappear!

R52 Clients with a Lockdown Success Story

When faced with the prospect of not being able to host visitors to the showrooms and carry out live demos on their products, long-standing R52 client UVS (Ultimate Visual Solutions), approached the team to draft an action plan for mitigating losses and keeping the business running during lockdown.

The team at Root Fifty Two put their creative minds together and set themselves the task of moving UVS’s business operations online, which included:

• Making updates to the website, to allow UVS staff to conduct product demos online
• Executing a successful email marketing campaign to allow UVS to stay in touch with their existing and prospective clients
• Managing social media platforms to and adapting the marketing strategy in order to keep followers up to date, and to ensure the business remains connected with their client base

“Since we all moved to remote working, our online presence has skyrocketed, and the success of the online demonstrations we’ve been hosting has been overwhelming,” says Steve Murphy, Managing Director at UVS.

“This success has enabled us to introduce new products to our range, and we’ve even gained a number of new international clients, which has been fantastic.”

Need some help with getting creative with your marketing strategy? Look no further! At Root Fifty Two, our team of marketing experts are on hand to help with creating stand-out content which is both engaging and on-brand. Get in touch today on 01282 685430 to get the ball rolling!

We know that many businesses, small and large, will be facing struggles as a result of COVID-19, and we’d like to help.