Smart Tips on Marketing Your Brand in a Crisis

All companies experience some form of crisis during their lifespan, whether it be a major comms disaster or a world event impacting their status quo, this is how to market a brand during hard times. AZK Media's senior content and comms specialist, Athina Mallis discusses.

Crises can make or break a company as they push them to the limit, create tension and sometimes put them in scenarios they might not have planned for.

Here are some key ways marketers can work during a crisis to ensure an organisation stays afloat and resilient.

When a crisis comes about to put any of your short term objectives on hold. Insightly suggests reviewing performance over a certain period of time and then deciding what makes the most sense for your business and team.

Do not use a crisis to hawk your product or services. Katie Martell says the Covid-19 pandemic gives marketers a good chance to act with competence and ethics. Don't tell your clients or customers that you care, show them.

Whatever the brand does, it must do it in the correct context. Every post, comment or share must be scrutinised and marketers should decide whether this is relevant or not.

During a crisis, customer experience needs to be at the forefront. Martech Advisor notes being empathetic and prioritising customer experience will help your brand stand out and help you build a loyal customer base.

Your social media will have to be monitored closely to make sure the brand does not post anything insensitive or untimely. Commentators are more susceptible to spotting the 'BS' and inappropriate posts, so post wisely.

Whatever the brand does during the crisis, it will become the new normal afterwards. Make sure whatever you do, will help the brand and not hinder it.

Now is the time to get your creative juices flowing. Think up new ways to engage with customers, new ways to market your products or solutions. Justify a new approach with a solid business case, connect business objectives to marketing outcomes, align with sales, and create the right benchmarks.

Your sales team will have insight into how your customers are behaving during the crisis. Sit down with the team and discuss the best course of action for the foreseeable future.

It is not business as usual during a crisis so every day will not be the same and will most probably not look like anything you are used to. Sharon Hurley Hall says during this 'business unusual' time companies should do four things, be human, be helpful, be mindful and look for opportunities.