Stay focused – Marketing efficiency is critical in this tough economy. It is critical for your brand to stay on message. With the economy in flux, consumers have additional stress points and are filtering out marketing messages that are in conflict with their immediate needs. The key for your brand in a struggling economy is to focus on your core consumer target and ensure that you do not lost focus by trying to blur your message to appeal to a broader audience. Don’t know who your core target audience is or how to best reach them?

We can help.

Also think about:

What are 5 key ways to grow my brand in this rough economy?

• Understand what is going on with your consumer. Decide how their lives have been changed by current events. What are they feeling given the economic turmoil? How has it changed their shopping habits? How have their needs changed? Our proprietary research techniques can help you discover your consumer’s mindset.



• Decide how your brand can best meet their changed needs. What can your brand do to ease their pain during the tough times? Maybe you can provide a momentary escape from the pending layoff. Maybe your brand is a constant in your consumer’s ever changing life. Figure out what your brand can do to better understand the role that it plays in your consumer’s lives. Our enlightenment process can help.



• Determine whether your brand needs to make any adjustments. Given the current climate, most of us are making adjustments in our lives in one way or another. Is your brand doing the same? Is your messaging outdated or not in line with your consumer’s current needs?
  
  
  
• Keep the dialog going with your consumer. Too often, marketers will stop communication during rough times due to “budgetary issues”. If anything, consumers need more, not less attention during difficult times. Talk to them, tell them why your brand is still important to them. In other words, invest now for future returns. Brands that invest now will reap the benefits of a stronger consumer relationship when times get better.
  
  
  
• Measure the changes in your consumer relationship. How well is my brand connecting with consumers? Have we been able to tap into their changing mindset? If we’ve made changes to our message, are consumers “getting it”? Are our brand health scores improving? Let us help you measure whether your brand is connecting with your consumer in the new economy.

It is critical for your brand to understand your consumer’s perspective and how it can meet potential needs that have arisen as a result of the economic crisis. So:

What are 3 things I must know about what my consumer target is thinking today?

• How am I going to survive this?  While this may sound rash, at the heart of every individual’s make-up is a survival instinct. On Maslow’s hierarchy of consumer need states, physiological and safety needs such as food and shelter as well as financial and personal security are the first needs that must be met. Given the “doomday” scenarios that sometimes emerge from the media and even the White House, consumers are going back to basics. Ensuring that my family is protected – that I can pay the mortgage and put food on the table, will be the priority.
  
  
• How strong is my support network? During difficult times, individuals lean on their support networks, friends, families, and significant others, to overcome hardships. These emotional relationships can help offset economy concerns such as job and financial losses. In other words, if individuals are not being fulfilled at the office, they will utilize their support network of family and friends in order to feel a sense of belonging  and ultimately safety (strength in numbers). 
  
  
• How does this affect my future plans? At the top of Maslow’s needs hierarchy are esteem and self actualization needs. If I lose my job, my self esteem, my ability to be accepted and desired by others, is greatly affected. In addition, many individuals may find that they are not living up to their own maximum potential (self actualization) if they receive a financial or work related set back. Goals, desires, and plans may be significantly affected by a layoff or a business going under.