The world is going through the biggest crisis of the century. People have locked themselves up at home with the slogan ‘Jaan Hai Toh Jahan Hai’. People are going through mental, physical and financial trauma. Purchases began to be made as & when needed. This pandemic has an impact on business as well, be it small traders or SMEs, MSMEs and even the large corporates. Many have even shut their shops. At such a time when we read the title of this article, many people will laugh and say what is the difference! “Business is affected, so is the Brand.”
Friends, it is more important for us to understand today that business will have minimal impact on the brand, but the brand will have maximal impact on the business.
A classic and fresh example of this is the soccer champion Cristiano Ronaldo’s shifting of two Coca-Cola bottles at the Euro Cup 2020 press conference and promoting “Drink Water”. As a result, Coca-Cola’s valuation plummeted to $4 billion. The Coca-Cola brand has had an impact on Coca-Cola’s business. If the carbonated drink business had been affected, the news would have come down to the valuation of all other brands. But only the Coca-Cola brand was mentioned here. Most importantly, “drink water” was also told by a big brand Cristiano Ronaldo and affected the cola business. For sure, the Coca-Cola brand will bounce back and bring the Coca-Cola business back to that level, this loss is temporary. But, definitely impactful!
This does not mean that the brand has not been affected in the time of Pandemic. But the brand that has established itself for the future is certainly not been affected. Declining business for some reason does not mean that the image of the brand is tarnished. The brand has its own value, and it is intangible not just tangible. Coca-Cola, for example, was valued at $120 billion in 20XO. Of that, $50 billion was the value of bottles, factories, and products alone; the remaining $70 billion was the value of brands. This means that if someone had to buy the Coca-Cola brand in totality at that time, they would have to pay $70 billion alone just for the brand which is intangible.
Pandemic has come up with a great opportunity for a small business to any big brand to present itself in a new avatar. We must have read a lot about brand building methods, but today is the time to think about how I can establish myself as a trusted, empathetic & authentic brand.
We know that the most important aspect of a brand is “for whom” and “why?” This aspect is as important, but today more important is “how?” How do I sell my goods, how do I reach the customer, how do I deliver my message, how do I build a relationship with the customer, how do I determine the pricing, how do I take care of the safety of my staff, and most significantly how do I keep my brand alive these days so that when the pandemic goes and everything goes back to normal my brand is not out of sight of my consumer. Today, she/he may buy another brand for some reason but in the long run I have to keep my brand alive for the consumers to come to me.
Let us try to understand this through examples. Diageo, that make alcohol and liquor, initially didn’t even sell their products when everything was under lockdown. Knowing that there was a shortage of sanitizers, they decided that they would produce 3 lakh liters of sanitizers and donate 1.5 lakh masks to the State Public Department
Mahindra Group, few of their major businesses are Auto Industry and Holiday Resorts, both businesses were closed as they were not in the list of essentials. Motivated their talented engineers to build ventilators which were in short supply and announced that the resort could be used as a temporary care unit.
Uber, if people were locked in the house, there was no question of using their service. They launched “Uber Medic” which was committed to providing transport facilities to front-line health workers.
Websites like Book My Show offered free entertainment to people, Swiggy talked about a contact-less delivery, and fitness & education brands brought online facilities for their customers. There are examples of many such big or small brands who tried their best to keep their brands alive during the pandemic.
Here the important point to note is, business was not active during this time, but the brand was fully active. All of the above brands kept themselves alive during these difficult times. They were aware that the business was not going to happen but has created a brand for the long run, even then it was necessary to be in-touch with the end users / consumer / customers.
These brands informed the people through the above-mentioned initiatives that I stand with you in this difficult time without any selfishness. Don’t you think that when everything comes to normal, people will support these brands?!?
Therefore, whether we are into small or big business, manufacturer, retailer, trader or doing any business B2B-B2C, it is necessary that we use all our strengths to build a BRAND out of our BUSINESS.
Many traders may have made short-term profits during this time, but it is temporary. I will earn two paise more on this date but then what? Brand thinks long-term and not just short-term gains.
As mentioned above, today is a great opportunity for a small brand or a company looking to create a brand to establish itself as an authentic, trusted & credible brand. Considering all the other aspects of the brand, if you focus more on the following aspects then this will be Quick Therapy to establish the brand today.
We must have noticed that the behaviour of the customer is changing. She/He will probably emerge as a new customer, her/his needs will change, she/he will have certain desires. Your biggest responsibility as a brand will be to understand this new customer correctly, create a product / service that is tailored to their changing needs. Or make changes to your product that way. Give small SKUs if customers don’t want big packets, give them home delivery, digital payment facility if they want. The point is, be a customer friendly brand, let her/him understand that you stand with her/him in these difficult times.
Today “Placement” is one of the most important aspects of marketing’s 4Ps. My goods should be delivered to the customer whenever she/he wants. If not, she/he will not hesitate to buy another brand. This behavior was not before. Earlier, if she/he didn’t get her/his brand, she/he would wait. So be it small shopkeepers or big brands, keep an eye on the availability of the goods, it should always be available. Make this your strength and always be in the customer’s eye. If the shops have been closed for a long time, the first focus should be on clearing the old stock. Gradually introduce products as per the new behaviour and needs of the customer.
Sometimes back, went to a branded store of newborn baby products, said the store owner: “Parents do not see the money to buy children’s products but in the current situation they upfront talk about their budget limitation and ask to show products accordingly, and I had to prepare for it.” This does not mean keeping the product cheap but creating a product and brand as per current demand and behaviour of the customer. Innovation has to be brought in every aspect of the business. Previously customers used to buy large SKUs but today make small SKUs knowing the need and situation. The brand that keeps the customer’s journey in mind will always win.
Further, it is fine if you earn a little less today, but think about the future and accordingly work on your pricing and offerings. Adopt the mantra of “People First Profit Later”. The above examples are enough for us to understand to think long-term and not short-term.
MARKETS ARE CHANGING — FAST. DON’T GET LEFT BEHIND!!!
So, first & foremost, use digital media to promote your brand, from distribution to payment. This will strengthen the perception of your brand. The customer has always been a strong side of the brand but today it is even more important, as she/he is changing. If I will not understand this changing consumer behaviour and will not adapt myself and the brand, the customer will not hesitate to bring another brand into their life.
The inference is that when you create a brand, you act responsibly and once the brand is established, you will be able to face the small or big challenges. E.g., brands like Maggi and Cadbury faced huge outburst, people even boycotted them. However, they continued to work on the brand and bounced back. Not just stood up but regained leadership position and market share in their respective categories.
Pandemic is a temporary phase, consider turning this difficulty into an opportunity. Develop a BRAND-TO-BUSINESS Approach. In other words, not that if business grows, we will create a brand, but PREPARE THE MINDSET THAT BUSINESS WILL GROW THROUGH BRAND. If you invest in creating a brand today, it will save your business in any difficult situation and you will earn through the value of the brand, because BRAND BANEGA TABHI TOH BUSINESS BADHEGA…