6 min read
It’s survival of the ‘adaptable’
Adaptability is an essential quality to have whether you are the director of a business, a marketing manager, a salesperson or an administrator. The skillset comes with viewing change as an opportunity rather than something to be afraid of or avoided. You’ve heard it before – change is the only constant.
How to do a brand refresh
The good news is, adapting doesn’t always mean starting all over again – we all know how overwhelming that can be (especially when you may be homeschooling your children simultaneously if you have any). Think of it as giving your business or your brand a makeover, a facelift – what have you. The idea is to make small, but impactful changes that will make a difference now. It can be a little or as much as you want it to be, so long as the changes propel you towards your greater goals such as business growth, more sales, or simply surviving.
3 small but impactful changes you can make to your brand
#1: Tweak your tagline
Tweaking your tagline might be the thing you need to remain relevant to your target audience (whose needs are constantly changing as the world around them evolves). If your business slogan is failing to be provocative to today’s audience, it may warrant a change. If the purpose of your business and therefore its message is changing, so too does your tagline. If your slogan doesn’t tug on the heartstrings of your target market, think of a new one. Do remember though, this isn’t always about starting from scratch. Don’t fix something that’s not broken- sometimes a small tweak is all you need. Here’s an example:
L’oreal tweaked its slogan from “Because I’m worth it” to “Because you’re worth it”. The previous slogan was catchy as well, but the change was a good move bringing the focus on the ‘consumer’ through the use of the word “you”. Having someone tell you ‘You’re worth it’ is often much stronger than you trying to tell yourself ‘I’m worth it’.
#2: Rethink business values
What does your business stand for? What values do you live by and communicate through your products or services? Is there a cause you can support in a world where kindness and consideration of others is becoming ever so important to individuals? Some may think that a business’ values should never change because they are the DNA of an organisation, but it is possible and okay to renew your core values to keep pace with changes in the world and consumer behaviour. Creating value-based goals that align with your morals can be a game changer. You don’t want your employees to feel like the goalpost keeps changing on them, but injecting a new guiding light of expected behaviours that together build the company culture can be the renewed energy you need to lift morale after a pandemic.
Let’s take Netflix for example. In 2013 the CEO Reed Hastings wrote an 11-page memo to employees and investors outlining the need to move from a digital content distributor to a leading producer of original content that could win Emmys and Oscars. They chose to become a passion-focused brand. Look where that change has taken them now. Sure, in their case, the pandemic has done them some huge favours, but you get the gist of where I’m going with this. They’ve grown by leaps and bounds by re-thinking their focus.
#3: Use clear, concise and kind communication
If the tone in which you’ve been communicating with your audience is cold or impersonal, is it time you look at how you can change the voice of your brand and the tone of your content to be more personable? This subtle but crucial change can transform the results of small to large organisations. Whatever style of communication you choose for your audience, make sure it remains consistent and is implemented in all your communication channels – your website copy, your social media, your Facebook adverts, your podcast, your emails and your phone calls or zoom consultations.
Let’s take for an example, a former client – an award-winning artist, painter and teacher. In person she is the most lovely, warm and passionate lady. We met at a conference, and given my marketing communications background she asked me why her Facebook ads weren’t converting into customers for her art classes. Taking a closer look, I realised she was getting plenty of clicks, but it was the follow-through action that was where the business wasn’t getting results.
I asked to see some of the enquiries she got from the ads for her paint-pouring classes. The enquiries seemed genuine. Then I saw her responses to those enquiries. “Check my website.” “That information is on my website.” One sentence, quite cold responses that would make the interested customer wonder what their experience in the art class will be like, if this is the response they got. Not only that, the website was not easy to navigate or find information on, hence she was getting basic questions about her services and pricing in the first place. We worked together to change the tone of her communication and I urged her to take the time to respond to each enquiry with care.
We also re-worked the copy on her website to be more concise and kinder in tone, and tell her story to emanate her passion. We also worked on a better user-experience. The feedback I got from her months later is “I wish I’d worked with Give Me Marketing from day-dot. It would have saved me so much time trying to get the results I’ve always wanted”.
Executing a brand refresh
These three small changes implemented well can breathe new life into your business. The takeaway? In an era of relentless change, a company’s ability to survive and thrive isn’t solely dependent on size or performance at any given time, but on its ability to reposition itself to create new futures, and to leverage a purpose-driven mission.
The journey to pandemic-proof your business can be challenging when you are juggling many priorities and many of these things can be done easier if you have a sounding board. If you’d like to speak to any of our digital marketing experts to consult on a way forward and how you
