Strategies to Help You Sustain and Grow Your Brand and Business in Uncertain Times
In the last 20+ years, I have worked with many companies as a strategist to help grow and scale their brands and businesses (early stage to fortune 500). As we go through this world-wide pandemic together, I thought it was important to share a series of articles over the next few weeks from my experience and respected thought leaders to give you perspective on how to sustain and grow your brand and business in these uncertain times.
Disclaimer: Please understand these strategies are not to refute the realities of cash flow constraints some companies may be having due to the realities of the market uncertainties, but it is to provide you with other important steps to consider in other areas that you can control.
Strategy 1: Use Your Brand for the Greater Good - Shift from a Long-Term Brand Building Strategy to a “How Can I Help Now” Mentality
There are many companies that are sharing the COVID-19 updates to their prospects and customers regarding their facility closures, additional precautions they are taking to help “flatten the curve”, to virtual correspondence tools and procedures for their clients to access them at this time. All of which are important baseline communications strategies to share that you are making every effort to comply with the pandemic crisis guidelines.
However, according to the Mark DiMassimo, CEO and Chief Strategy Officer of DiMassimo Goldstein (the agency who has built large scale brands and activations for companies like Netflix, Weight Watchers, and Fresh Direct) and a strategic partner states that “ the businesses that will be well regarded after the crisis has passed, are those who are putting the people they serve at the center (customer, clients, community) now.”
This is the time that brands/companies have an opportunity to stand out as thought leaders and inspired leaders of action by providing additional value in the midst of chaos.
This strategy works if you are a solo-preneurs, small to mid-size business, or a corporation.
Here are a few examples that I have seen locally to validate this theory:
STUDIOS: Yoga Studios like CorePower and Village Yoga are streaming their yoga and meditation sessions live and on-demand for free or asking for a nominal “donations” versus charging for any classes. In the time that people need grounding more than ever, this act of service will be appreciated for years to come.
EDUCATION: In this "new normal," many parents are dealing with the dilemma of having to "work from home" while not only taking care of their children but also having to "home school" them since schools have been canceled to comply with the pandemic guidelines. Parents everywhere are looking for ideas to keep their children occupied and active. I can attest personally! Thanks to companies like EVERFI and their CEO, Tom Davidson, who are now providing parents free digital lessons for remote learning to help supplement educational plans that many of the public and private schools are working hard to provide.
MEDICAL/DENTAL: A local dentist and owner of Berkshire Family Dental, Dr. Priya Grewal, had to close their offices to comply with the pandemic guidelines. However, she was recently notified that the local ERs are being inundated with patients who have dental problems. To help mitigate the overflow into the ERs, she sent out a local community PSA offering on-demand dental emergency services --with deferred payment-- to help alleviate the stress off of the local medical community.
MEDICAL CONSULTING: A telehealth expert and one the physician founder of SimpleHealth and the founder of the Medicine and Tech Conference, Dr. Saya Nagori, has offered teleseminars for medical doctors all over the country to help them set up their telehealth operations and ensure they comply to strict HIPPA regulations--as many have had to close their offices and need an alternative way to see patients. Her work today will have a lasting impact --as doctors who have never tried telehealth are now getting indoctrinated - which can be a game-changer for their practices and overall patient healthcare in the future.
PRODUCT: Video conferencing and messaging companies like Ring Central and LOOM have offered reduced and free services for several months to new users, small businesses, and enterprise-level clients to help them get their virtual workflows in place. I am a big believer that this pandemic is going to change the way that employers look at working in a virtual world. Kudos to these companies and other video conferencing services like ZOOM that are going to change the landscape of the workforce of the future.
CONFERENCE/WORKSHOP: Several conferences and in-person workshops have now gone virtual from ConSensys and their global Ethereal Summit, to the monthly DC Start Up Week “Start Up Your Mornings” series to help support the growth of the DMV entrepreneurs (hosted by Rachel Koretsky and Cory Lawrence), to the Big Ideas CONNECTpreneur Series (hosted by Tien Wong) that connects growth start-ups to local investors. These CEOs know the importance to continue providing important content in these times, so they are willing to create virtual experiences for their patrons so they won’t miss out on opportunities, networks, and connections when they need them most.
NEW PRODUCT: Lastly, there have been entrepreneurs and companies who have created content and services specifically to provide more information to the public regarding the pandemic and COVID-19. Some examples are the Virtual Summit: COVID-19: The State and Future of Pandemics (hosted by Peter Diamandis, CEO of Singularity University).
Tony Cord, Partner and Managing Director of Newport, LLC, has started providing live LinkedIn chats twice a day for middle market business leaders to listen-in, share intel, and discuss ways to weather the coronavirus pandemic.
And then there is EverylyWell, who is coming out with the first COVID-19 home testing unit in the United States on Monday. And, yes, that’s a BIG deal! Congrats to you all!
This shows inspired actions to serve the public in a very timely manner.
All these actions matter! Brands and businesses that care, that are compassionate, and are authentic in their pursuit to serve in these trying times will result in long-term brand loyalty, advocates and sales.
What you do today matters more than you know---even if it comes as a loss leader. These are not always easy decisions, but decisions that can have lasting impressions.
I have a lot more strategies coming in the next few weeks to help support your business in these unprecedented times and the good news is, most are ever-green...so they will support you short- and long-term.
I would love for you to think through ways you can add value to your prospects and customers today.
Happy to chat for a few if you want to brainstorm. Just DM me or email me at seema@disruptive.CEO
Stay tuned,
PS: I would be remiss if I didn’t give a shout out to some amazing entertainers who are using their personal brands to help us get through the “new normal”.
Thank you to Ellen Degeneres who is consistently providing funny videos from her home during quarantine, singers like John Legend providing free live concerts from his home on Instagram to Jessica Alba with her cute little TikToks with her daughter.
And we can’t forget Tom Hanks, Idris Elba, Daniel De Kim-- who are celebrities who have the CoronaVirus and decided to share it publicly to share why social distancing is so important right now---and we as a nation can take this pandemic as serious as it is. Thank you for your leadership and honestly. It all matters and is much appreciated.