Today, every brand strives to execute strategic brand planning with precision to change or strengthen consumer perception. However, it’s evident that brands that anticipate consumer expectations and incorporate contemporary consumer behaviors into their strategies hold a distinct advantage.
Understanding Consumer Behavior
A key point of discussion is the ongoing pandemic, which has profoundly impacted every aspect of our lives. The pandemic has reshaped social interactions and redefined brand-consumer relationships. Whether this shift will revert post-pandemic remains uncertain, but a return to old ways is neither expected nor advised.
To comprehend this transformation, it’s helpful to analyze the Emotional Journey Pyramid—examining how a customer’s emotional journey, brand goals, and awareness have shifted under pandemic influences.
Repositioning Your Brand
If you aim to reposition your brand in the eyes of your customers, the actions taken during the pandemic must align with the perception or value you wish to create. For instance:
- Starbucks: Early in the pandemic, Starbucks faced significant financial losses but chose to prioritize customer safety and demonstrate its seriousness by temporarily closing its stores.
- Yemeksepeti: Partnering with Domino’s Pizza, Yemeksepeti supported its business partners and health workers by providing free pizzas, creating a positive impact and raising awareness.
These examples illustrate how thoughtful, visual, and written actions can boost customer awareness.
As a brand owner, empathizing with your customers’ struggles shows that you understand them, helping retain existing customers and attract potential ones. Agile marketing plays a pivotal role here, enabling brands to quickly adapt and add value for customers. This value translates into enhanced brand awareness and builds an emotional connection between the brand and its customers, effectively repositioning the brand.
Outcome-Oriented Approach
While customers may purchase from your brand occasionally, consistent purchases require loyalty. Customers need to like your brand, regularly choose it, and buy your products.
During the pandemic, many brands demonstrated customer-centric approaches that extended beyond standard practices, earning trust and acceptance even in the post-pandemic world.
For example, in the logistics industry:
- The introduction of recipient-specific delivery codes reduced physical contact, mitigating health risks while ensuring packages could be received by authorized individuals.
- This innovation improved the delivery experience, preventing returned packages due to recipient absence.
If such practices continue, brands like Yurtiçi Kargo can establish a loyal customer base.
To improve your brand, monitor trends and adapt your strategies accordingly. Building brand loyalty is not easy, but the pandemic highlighted how customers grow attached to brands that provide value. By analyzing questions such as:
- Which brands genuinely provided value during challenging times?
- Which of those brands did I shop from?
- Which brands will I continue shopping from?
You can gain insights into customer behavior and foster stronger brand-customer relationships.
Building Brand Loyalty
Whether during a pandemic or under different circumstances, customers who internalize and resonate with your brand often become loyal advocates. To achieve this level of loyalty, brands must make genuine, heartfelt connections with their customers. Touching the hearts of your customers is essential for creating a lasting bond.