The world, as we know it, has come to an end. No, this isn’t an ill-fated, apocalyptic declaration. We’re talking about a new age of ‘Coronavirus-consumerism’, with masked and gloved consumers who are now interacting with brands online through the safety of their homes. As the country battles to flatten the pandemic curve, brands and businesses are starting to feel the heat and are struggling to find a new purpose in a dwindling economy. Amidst this whirlwind of uncertainty (and despair), we feel it is time to stop and smell the roses. Sure, it is hard for brands to fully embrace this change and adapt accordingly, but isn’t that the entire point of brand identity after all? To be dynamic and flexible? To be relevant and insightful? To matter?

Perhaps this is when the phoenix rises from the ashes. As things stand still, there is also the promise of something new to come. This is the perfect time for introspection and deliberation. Why? Because right now, we’ve been handed the luxury of time, and once life goes back to a new ‘normal’, one must be prepared to find their place in the grand scheme of things. Now is the time to self-reflect and find that rightful spot. We therefore ask brands and businesses to look inside and re-visit their very core. Who are you, really? We can help you find out.

1. To improve is to change!

The only thing constant is change. Why then, are most brands so stubbornly impervious to this? Stop for a moment and think about your logo for instance. If you’ve been harbouring this nagging doubt in the back of your mind about whether it truly represents ‘you’, but have always pushed these doubts even further back into oblivion because other things were always more important, stop everything you’ve been doing for a moment. Why settle for something that is run-of-the-mill? There is light at the end of the tunnel, and when you emerge on the other side, let this be a test by fire. Emerge as something newer and better. Use this time wisely to re-brand and re-think. You might never get this opportunity again!

2. Are you really listening?

Do you peddle products? Are you a purveyor of services? Are you used to incessantly giving, and giving, and giving? Most brands talk a lot and nestle in the safety of a one-sided conversation. But the wheels are in motion now and one must either follow this motion or get crushed under its weight. It’s time to start being more humane about things. Listen to the people you have been interacting with. Clients and employees alike. Ask them what they’ve missed. Find out what they truly desire. Work on your communication channels and make them consistent with what you want to sound like as a brand. Do the emails you send out look like they truly belong to you? Find your Achilles’ heel and put a plaster on it. Now!

3. Know your people

Your company is only as extraordinary as it’s people after all. These people are now at home and have been reduced to mere voices and faces on phones and laptops. You won’t catch a coffee-break with them for a long time. There shall be no team-lunches or gossip-sessions over cigarettes. With a worldwide paradigm shift in work culture with work-from-home becoming a new reality for all of us, it is imperative to hold on to your people. Use isolation and social-distancing as means of coming even further together. How, you ask? Simply reach out! Involve your team in matters of the company. Collectively figure out who you are. Do you have your brand guidelines in place? Do your people know about them? Do they each represent your business fairly and whole-heartedly? Pause and strategise as a team about where you want to go from here.

4. Do you still matter?

If you haven’t realised it already, consumers will now stay at home. You cannot reach them through gargantuan billboards at traffic junctions or through adverts at bus stops. This doesn’t mean that your visibility needs to take a hit. Perhaps this is when you can finally successfully pivot into the world of social-media marketing. Brands that haven’t been doing this already need to now seriously re-evaluate how they are to reach out to consumers whose behaviours have now changed. Do not despair. Instead, capitalise on this new opportunity and use this slump as a chance to perfect your brand’s positioning. Invest in things that will help you forge newer and deeper connections with your consumers online. Plan out your future course of action and open your eyes to innovative ways of reaching out.

5. Find your voice

We’ve often heard of ‘brand equity’ being thrown about casually as something that is essential to a company. But let’s put a layman’s perspective on this. Simply ask yourself what your consumers think about you. Are you friendly? Are you aspirational? Do you give out mixed signals? Amidst this crisis lies an opportunity for brands to plan for the future and enhance the present. This lockdown could be the perfect opportunity to productively channel your brand’s inner personality. This could be the perfect opportunity to even discover it! Once the dust settles, you’ll be left with a wholesome and consistent company that is steeped with meaning and relevance.

We agree that the pandemic crept up on all of us unexpectedly and changed us in a way that makes it hard for things to go back to as they were. But is there really a need to go back? Soldiers look ahead, we say, and this too shall pass! If you’ve been stuck in a rat-race of profits and losses, perhaps this can be a lesson in how still waters run deep. With changing consumer trends and priorities, we urge you to stay still for a change and be more deep-rooted. Don’t think of investing in your own brand identity and communication as an unnecessary hassle. Rather, think of this as nurturing a plant that is yet to grow to its full potential. Your brand is your most valuable asset after all. Once you come out on the other side of this, you’ll be ever grateful at this newfound meaning and purpose.

-written by Shruti Bhatia with inputs from Shilpa Wadhwa