As of today, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention has over 33,000 research articles in its COVID-19 data resource library. As medical research around the world continues its effort to understand and overcome the challenges presented by this novel virus, new information will continue to be made public on a daily basis thereby perpetually shifting our understanding and perception of what tomorrow will look like. But there’s one thing we know for certain about our future – things will be different.
The current state of transition to a “New Normal” is reflected in our world of sales, marketing and customer experience development. While the health and well-being of our communities will always be the priority, changes in consumer behavior is still something brands must consider as they adjust their strategic positioning to fit within the “New Normal” competitive marketplace.
So, what’s the best way to approach strategic brand positioning in a world that continues to change?
The answer is found in being proactive and searching for what CAN be done. Every organization exists within its own reality based on pre-existing variables. Some brands have more resources than others. Some brands have a long-standing market presence while some are new to the scene. The good news is, regardless of where you stand today, there are plenty of ways to build a solid foundation for continued growth moving forward.
Now, it’s important for proactivity to be harnessed within a strategic framework to guide decision making. Both under-reacting and over-reacting as market conditions change are equally dangerous because maintaining customer confidence and trust is vital during times of market volatility. Somewhere between doing nothing and doing too much is the sweet-spot; taking strategic action aligned with the changing wants and needs of customers to establish oneself as an industry leader.
In other words, don’t sit back and wait for the “New Normal” to take shape. Work together with customers and build it for yourselves.
To get things started, clarify your objective. While your team’s overall goal may appear straight forward, it’s vital to boil down generalized goals into quantifiable points of focus. If your overall research question has underlying sub-questions, then you need to keep drilling down to the core of the matter. That way, measuring success will have an initial benchmark and you’ll establish the steps needed to get where you’re going.
Over the next few weeks we’ll be digging deep into what it means to be proactive during times of uncertainty and approaching this crisis-turned-opportunity with strategic purpose and authenticity.
Topics will include:
– Using what you know today to identify what you need to know for tomorrow
– Developing a customer insight strategy to support business objectives and guide ongoing decisions
– Engaging customers with the intent of actively listening and authentically responding
– Applying customer insights to support current processes (Be Relevant) and forward-thinking action plans (Stay Relevant)
