Brands build equity over time by focusing on key areas to build engagement and purchase with customers. In the COVID landscape, new perceptions are being formed or recalibrated with some being potentially short-lived, while some may have a longer imprint. These perceptions are being created by both traditional and non-traditional brand dynamics:
- Traditional brand perceptions, like performance/efficacy, quality and value remain important. But other factors like availability, access and competitor availability are also impacting overall brand perceptions.
- While typically the traditional brand perceptions would drive customers use/consideration, their weighting is lower now, when aspects of availability and access prevent or complicate purchase.
With this in mind, each brand needs to first assess their current category dynamics:
- Has your brand been easily accessible during the last few months?
- To what degree have competitor brands been available?
- Is there an opportunity to take advantage of competitor distribution challenges?
- Is there a need to explain why you may have had challenges with distribution?
Secondarily, brands need to reach out to customers to see where perceptions on brand attributes currently sit and why. Consider having immersive conversations with customers to understand how they are thinking and engaging with your brand, competitor brands, and the category overall. In addition, look to better understand the “stickiness” of recent needs, perceptions and behaviors. This will guide you in determining what needs, perceptions, and behaviors will remain and what will fade once the COVID fog is lifted.
New perceptions are being formed or recalibrated with some being potentially short-lived, while some may have a longer imprint.”
Doubling down on a beverage’s strengths.
One of our beverage clients wanted to understand how their engagement with customers have shifted during COVID, and how to keep the momentum going post-quarantine. To do so, we conducted immersive pop-up communities with 40 parents. These 60-minute conversations over six weeks monitored the impact of COVID on beverage routines and attitudes within families. We then deployed a Consumption Tracker among 1600+ customers to understand how the client’s beverage usage was being impacted by the COVID quarantine.
One of our beverage clients wanted to understand how their engagement with customers have shifted during COVID, and how to keep the momentum going post-quarantine.
Insights from these studies revealed that the beverage was a natural fit with a family’s renewed appreciation for physical health and moments that strengthened relationships between family members. Our client’s beverage also had versatile uses during increased family time together cooking, baking, and eating, so the COVID landscape was driving increased consumption. Maintaining momentum post-COVID will require the beverage client to encourage customers to continue to create meaningful family moments around cooking, baking, and snack time.
Want to discuss how to assess your brand’s strength’s for recalibration opportunities?
