Consider your ‘why’. Now, more than ever, is time to truly consider your why. Consumers are going to be (generally) savvier and demand more than ever from the businesses and brands they spend their money with, so brands won’t be able to phone it in. If you need some help identifying your why, look up the work of Simon Sinek - his Find Your Why workbook is great. Get your house in order. If things are slow right now, take the time to get your systems, processes and back end in order. Boring? Maybe. But it’ll have long lasting benefits when you do start getting busy again: Think about how you can make decision making even easier for your customers. There’s so much noise out there at the best of times, making yet another decision can feel paralysing for our customers – even everyday purchases can leave them wondering if they are using their purchasing power to make the very best decisions. So, make it easy for them. Use your website, about page, product packaging, and social media to be open and transparent to help customers feel good about buying from you – share what you’re doing and where you’ve still got improvements to make in your business. Kester Black do a great job of this on their about page and in their FAQs. Tell stories - getting personal is a great way for small brands to stand apart from the big guys who might have faster/ cheaper shipping or a bigger range.
Look at your stats but don’t take them too literally. What’s worked in the past might not be working so well right now. Our world has changed - people are looking for zero touch alternatives, things that will ease their anxiety and are starting to truly recognise that we’re part of a global economy. Now might be the perfect time to try something new. Of course, you can’t know what’s working and what’s not unless you look at your analytics – so now could be a good time to familiarise yourself with tools like Google Analytics and how you can use them to make good business decisions. Make the most of the opportunity. According to Vogue Business, plenty of luxury retailers have halted spending on advertising and it’s a good bet smaller brands will follow suite. This could represent an opportunity to give people a distraction, something fun to think about during trying times. It could also mean less noise in the marketplace, a great time for you to be present. It’s not business as usual, but that isn’t a bad thing – if there’s one certainty in business, it’s that there is no certainty. Now is the time to build a brand that can stand the test of time. Follow @deaneand.co > GOOD BUSINESS 61
