Brand Relevance
The dictionary is a useful place to start if you want to understand an idea. The definition of ‘relevant’ speaks about “being useful; right now” and “something related to the things that are important to me”. In the business world, this “me” is the consumer: relevance is defined on their terms. Being relevant to a consumer isn’t all that hard; you just have to meet their needs. Luckily, most needs fall neatly into the categories so kindly outlined by psychologist Abraham Maslow, in his 1943 paper titled “A Theory of Human Motivation”. But is it enough simply to meet the consumer’s needs? I wonder: where does the brand feature in all of this?
At the moment, in this COVID-crazy world, it feels like every business is trying to meet my needs. They are offering me loads of things which are indeed important to me; right now. Masks and sanitisers and in-home exercise/learning/you-name-it lessons. I do need all these things! But - do I need to buy masks from my beautician and sanitiser from my printer? You get the point. The offer feels insincere and opportunistic. And suddenly it’s all a bit irrelevant, because there is a disconnect from the brand and it’s context.
Credibility is the thing that tells me whether or not I should believe the promises a brand is making. How do I trust a brand that, on one day, tells me its the leader in beauty services and, the next, tries to convince me it has expertise in PPE? In short: I don’t. Not only do I doubt their newer claims, but I also begin to question the older ones I had once held in high esteem.
I listened in to some results released by Kantar, unpacking research from their COVID-19 barometer. I won’t go into too many details but a few things stuck out. 91% of consumers say brands should talk about how they can be helpful at the moment. The same study found that 74% of respondents believe that brands should not exploit the current situation to promote the brand.
If you do the maths, it seems a lot of people out there are expecting brands to do the communication job properly, or just keep quiet instead. I appreciate that it can be hard for brands to know what to say to their customers at the moment. Communicating in a genuine, relevant way is not negotiable. And make sure you are adding something useful to the conversation, too. My printer, with all his expertise in labelling, could have credibly advised me on what to watch out for on packaging when buying sanitiser. The beautician could have shared tips on how to keep my face blemish-free beneath the mask. If you as a brand don’t share something useful, why would they want to be hearing from you, now? And what are you really saying about your brand when you speak empty words?
Because of course, brand truth is a key aspect of credibility. And when times are tough, people like to stay safe, they like to shop safe - and buy from a brand they trust. Unreliable brands will never be relevant.
Ready to take a deep, honest look inside your brand? Let’s talk. Schedule your free, 15-minute, online consult today and let’s get your brand on the road to relevance.
Photo by Kari Shea on Unsplash
