Maintaining Your Business Brand Equity During a Crisis.
- Sandra Fianko
- Apr 29, 2020
- 3 min read
A strong brand equity can take many years and seamless collaborative effects from all business functions to build. Unfortunately, barring any mitigation efforts, it could take only a single mishap, an event, or a crisis to put a dent in that solid brand equity or collapse it entirely.
Many businesses struggle with this problem, especially during crises. Ironically, a crisis also offers a unique opportunity for businesses and business leaders to shore up and build on their brand equity.
It may be easier said than done and may even be costly, but if you want to build strange brand equity, take care of your people during a crisis.
You may make mistakes along the way and not do everything right; however, if your people know that your heart is in the right place, a well-balanced approach will lead to long-term goodwill and residual benefits that will outweigh the monetary sacrifice.
What it means to take care of your people.
What does taking care of your people during a crisis mean? It means different things to different people, for different industries, and for the type of crisis involved. How business leaders, or business owners handle this makes the difference in how it ultimately affects their existing brand.
There are no cookie-cutter or one-size-fits-all ways to take care of your people during a crisis but you can take steps that will greatly reduce any negative impact on your brand.
Start by showing leadership in identifying the crisis and its underlying causes. Do not leave anything to chance. Crises do not take care of themselves, there is always a negative impact somewhere.
Obtain full and factual knowledge of the crisis and the challenges it poses.
Communicate clearly to all involved about the state of the crisis. Make this information available and accessible to all so that there are no ambiguities and less misinformation is circulated by those who are not informed.
Collaborate with your crisis management experts to draw up proactive measures to mitigate the crisis, reduce your losses, and ensure that you can stay in business.
Listen to your front liners and those who are directly affected by the crisis. Show genuine respect, interest, and empathy for their plight caused by the crisis.
Provide needed support. This can be in the form of incentives, protection, protective gear, assistance, alternative business arrangements, deferred arrangements, or whatever the situation calls for in your case.
Gather data throughout the process for analysis. This will assist in evaluating measures that are being implemented in the present and also assist in future planning.
Communicate regularly with updates so that all involved have a clear direction of what is expected of them and what they can expect from their business leaders.
Be present and offer reassurance but do not sugarcoat the situation.
Plan for the future with all the lessons you learned from the crisis. Continue to build on your brand promise and brand values.
This is why - Bottom Line.
Your employees will remember the sacrifice and repay you in dedication. They will take care of your business and your customers. Customers appreciate good businesses that care. Word of mouth sells. Ultimately, people build businesses.
Want to learn some more, contact us Axios Risk Solutions for your Risk Management and Business Continuity Planning Solutions.
