Good morning 2023
Don’t worry, we haven’t had another pandemic timeslip. But we are at the point in the year where any plans for your brand or experience need to start NOW.
We’ve been through a lot over the last few years; fires, floods, pandemics, parliaments. We’ve changed as people, and our priorities have changed. Markets have shifted, and business has adapted. Have you? Let’s face it - it’s almost inevitable that you’ve changed. So the more pertinent question is whether you’ve updated your brand and experience to reflect that change. If not, let’s make that change.
How do you know when it’s time for a brand or experience change? We’ve summarised the driver chapter in our Change Playbook™ to help you identify the time for change.
There are 6 key factors, and any one of these warrant you making a plan for 2023.
Customer. Your customers are falling out of love with you
If you have failed to read the market, there is a chance you’re customers have grown apart from you. It can happen if you’re not paying them enough attention. Everyone’s habits have changed, and that creates huge impacts on buyer behaviour. If you’ve not concentrating on meeting their needs, they may be giving their love to someone else. Indicators range from higher cost to acquire, lower engagement, reduced acquisition and retention, lower loyalty yield. Time to double down on your customer.
Strategy. You’re doing things differently, but saying the same old thing
A disconnect between what you do, and what you say, creates uncertainty and doubt in your audiences. Being reliable and trustworthy are key. And if you’re not putting your best foot forward when you make your first impressions, chances are you’re missing out on audience share. If people don’t get what they expect from you, you’ve lost them. And a detractor is twice as likely to share a negative experience than a promoter. Indicators are people dropping out of the funnel, failure to convert and lost revenue.
Digitisation. Going digital has created shifts you’re not capitalising on
According to PwC, The rate of digitisation has increased by somewhere between 35 and 70% over the last 3 yrs. That means the way we serve our customers has changed beyond recognition. Most changes were made fast, and out of necessity, without the detailed planning we would normally undertake. One big Beta test! So we have learnings. What are the changes you’ve mapped, and how have you taken advantage? Indicators are unexpected outcomes on projected targets (+ive or -ive), margin growth in unexpected places, surplus stock or challenges in meeting demand.
Workforce. Your people are disengaged
Keeping your people engaged through the challenges of remote and hybrid work, with increased pressure on them to drive and maintain change on top of BAU, whilst juggling the personal struggles we’ve all faced, is really, really hard. A recent Hays study reports many feel out of touch with their company’s values, purpose and culture. Brand and experience play a critical role. Time to get your message clear, make it motivating, and share it in a compelling way. Indicators are churn, reduced tenure, reduction of discretionary effort and reduced recruitment with longer lead times.
Market. You’ve fallen behind your competitors
If you are a leader, you’re in more people’s sights. If you are middle market, you’ve got jostling everywhere. If you’re laggard, stop, and you’ll drop off the edge. Market position doesn’t just happen. You need a plan to get to, and stay where you want, with constant tracking. A marketing campaign is the default solution, but without a strategy will have limited results. It all starts with insights. Do you know where you sit in market? Do you know where your brand gives you permission to be? Indicators are reduced revenue, reduced awareness, recall and declining NPS to name a few.
Design. Your brand and experience are tired
If you’re at the point when you’re not proud of your first impression, you’re not proud of your brand or experience. The proposition may be clunky, the articulation convoluted, the presentation may have lost relevance, it may be generic, or it may lack the substance of a brilliant idea. You’re never going to get ahead if you can’t tell your story and bring it to life with pride. Indicators can be a desire to create campaigns that don’t leverage the brand, people going rogue and a loss of excitement amongst your internal and external audiences.
If any of these sound familiar, reach out. There is no cost for a conversation, but not having a chat is an opportunity cost. We’ve been doing this a long time, and can provide clarity and expertise for your planning. 2023 starts today - give us a call.
I'd love to hear what you’re thinking.