Building a strong and positive brand image is vital to business success in any economic climate. During an economic downturn, a good brand reputation could be a matter of your company survival. When times are hard, people prefer to do business with others whom they know and trust, even more than when the economy is strong. What people think of your brand and its promise are essential to that trust.
When money is in short supply, your customers become more reluctant to spend their limited cash. As a result, they will be much more careful about who receives their business. In the Great Depression of the 1930's, people were so short of cash, they often were dependent on credit at certain stores. That hard earned trust was considered a two way arrangement. In return for the credit during cash shortages, customer loyalty was nurtured that continued even when the economy improved.
Depression survivors were very loyal to certain businesses and reliable products that delivered on their brand promise. There was no margin for error, as a bad brand represented a major cash loss. It became a commonplace for those who lived through the Great Depression, to retain loyalty for their entire lives, to brands that kept their word on quality and reliability.
It's not enough to expand marketing efforts and to increase advertising and sales staff to gain market share. Those contrarian activities are important in recessions to retain and expand your company's customer list. At the same time, it's crucial that your products and services meet the promises made in those marketing materials. A customer who feels as if their needs were ignored, or taken for granted, will take their potential for long term loyalty to your competitors. Your brand promise must be kept, or your customers will disappear. As in the Great Depression, that perceived loyalty remains a two way street.
Modern customers may revive that long term brand support even outside of a recession. A promise kept on brand performance can still build lifetime loyalty, as well as creating customer evangelists who will spread the word about your products and services. Brand loyalty becomes even more crucial to business survival when money is tight. As a result of an economic slow down, wise business owners and managers would be well served to ensure that all their brand promises were kept, and also improved upon for success.
With slower economic conditions, loyalty to proven brand winners will be the order of the day. It's vital to your business success that your brand delivers on its word. When the economy rebounds, your superior products and services will win a loyal customer base for life.
