Old Advice is New Again

I spent part of the holiday break reading over some advice I shared with you one year ago, when we were all facing a very tough year of marketing in a recession. Here's an excerpt from a 12-month-old white paper about how to align your brand's messages to the times... Still seems highly relevant, don't you think?

Only a recession can strip a purchasing decision to its very core. Consumers have nothing to lose if they tell you the truth about your company and brands. In fact, they may be even more motivated to provide substantial input if they believe you’ll use it to make their lives easier by satisfying the basic necessities they have right now – value, return on investment, simple pleasures, reassurance and comfort, safety and health. In the end, consumers want to know that their decision was smart and right for the times.

Spend the time and money to ask them some insightful questions. Assess your recent and current messages. Take a long look at the legacy you’ve built for your brand. Does it – or some of it – speak to today’s concerns and needs? Can your brand, and the products and services it speaks for, speak to the needs of your customers now?

What part of your legacy messaging will be most meaningful today? What messages that may have been relegated to the background of your brand story need to come forward to help carry the torch of the day? What new benefits and attributes can come to the fore because they warrant attention now?

A brand assessment is in order to reprioritize what you have to say with what the customer is ready and willing to hear. Let them tell you what influences them and how you stack up against alternative choices they have in the marketplace. Because you need to use your marketing dollars sparingly and smartly, you will need to refine what your messages are because there is a smaller margin for error. You’ll strengthen your brand’s own voice by listening to what your customers have to say about it.