We want to talk about the cost-of-living crisis. We’re sure you’ve heard of it. But have you thought about how it might be (or should be) influencing both the way your brand is targeting their consumers and the brand loyalty of your customers?

We all know that food’s gone up, fuel’s gone up, energy’s gone up, and shopping is slowly becoming a minefield rather than a pleasurable escape.

According to research by BritainThink for Marketing Week, 91% of consumers are concerned about the rising cost of living. So much so, that 38% of shoppers admitted that they’ve already started swapping to cheaper alternatives or value ranges, 19% are ‘definitely’ planning to and 28% are considering it.

The numbers don’t lie.

Now more than ever, brands need to balance staying relevant while also remaining sensitive to their customer’s increasing financial challenges… otherwise, as Netflix has seen (after losing 200,000 subscribers from Jan-March 2020), they may be headed for the chop.

The key may be to take things back to basics – focusing on the core elements that will ensure success in hard times as well as good.

– Listen to what the customer wants and needs.
Understand their priorities and expectations. Focus your attention on what matters to them. This way you’ll find meaningful insights that really resonate.

– Be impactful.
Now is not the time to shy away. Disrupting the market with a little creativity may set you apart from a thousand other brands who are all doing the same thing. Be relevant, inspiring, and memorable and you might drive behavioural change.

– Don’t forget your real value.
If you can’t be the cheapest on the market, show how you can offer value in other areas. Is your packaging completely recyclable? Will your product last 10X longer than a cheaper alternative?

– Remember to balance rationality and emotion.
In a world increasingly driven by logic and efficiency, brands often forget to seek out emotional engagement.

– Become an authority.
Use the things you’re an expert on or can add value to. Become an authority and consumers will seek you out.

– Be a positive influence.
Corporate Social Responsibility can provide important opportunities to show customers you care about them and their world.

At BPL, we believe that understanding the consumer and delivering what they want is not always difficult if we listen and make our marketing about people, not just numbers.

By building trust through value and understanding, we can maintain brand loyalty, even as consumers consider cutting back on what they’re spending.

We call this Powerful Simplicity. If you’d like to hear more about what we can do for your brand, get in touch.