While no one would willingly embrace a crisis, there are some positive sides to being faced with a problem in your business. Like the phenomenon of pain, a business crisis indicates that something’s wrong, that you’re not on the right path and that you need to run back. From that point of view, this is an opportunity for you to change your path and explore new opportunities. It is also a chance for your business to become something more, something it was always meant to be. Nonetheless, in order for it to do any of this, it first needs to make it through. Here are six tips for managing your brand through a crisis.
Admit you have a problem
The first step in solving a problem lies in admitting you have one, to begin with. Sure, not every financial or even PR hiccup you encounter may be called a full-fledged crisis. However, some entrepreneurs believe that they can make everything fine by burying their head in the sand. Needless to say, this is a technique that never yields positive results. The problem with this lies in the fact that most first-time entrepreneurs have a hard time recognizing the wrong path. So, asking an outsider’s opinion or bringing someone more experienced on board may be of help.
Diagnose and describe it
Next, in order to solve a problem, you need to understand it and here, you need to establish causality. If finding the cause seems to be too difficult, why not take the opposite path and start from the effect. After the effect, you need to assess what the risk was of that happening, which, might just lead you towards the cause. In other words, instead of following the good old cause-risk-effect, you need to thread the effect-risk-cause path instead. Only this can lead towards a successful rebranding campaign.
Make new objectives
One of the things that might have led you astray is the poor choice of objectives. Now, you need to set some new ones, even if this means that they’re only temporary. For instance, you may have traffic, conversion and profit goals in the beginning, yet, these objectives may be too optimistic and not viable in your current situation. Come up with a set of objectives which, when fulfilled, might lead you out of a crisis. Keep in mind that, while you want to be a bit more modest than before, you shouldn’t push it, seeing as how fulfilling objectives that are too modest might not make a difference.
Where does it take you in the long-run?
During the moment of crisis, you may be forced to pivot a bit, yet you need to think about how this may affect your brand in the long run. Sure, your finances at the moment may not look that great, but keep in mind that professional brand management is an investment and not an expense. In other words, the ROI you stand to gain from it will be more than worth it. Who knows, it may even be enough to turn the tide in your favor.
Be transparent
Pretending that everything’s fine is not the best course of action for your brand since it will create an impression that you’re hiding something big. There is also the extra incentive that your employees will gain once they realize that the future of the company depends on their productivity. Furthermore, your customers may feel inclined to do something about it by making an even greater commitment to keeping you afloat.
Learn from the mistakes of others
Finally, you’re not the only one to ever walk into an unfavorable business situation, so why not capitalize on this thought? Instead of risking your own neck with every single decision you make, why not see how some of these things worked out for others? Of course, every situation is different. However, by seeing outcomes, you’ll perhaps understand the risks much better. Then, you can use them as a reference point and make a comparison based on your current situation. You can multiply all the downsides and hazards, which would allow you to see the worst-case scenario. Not the most optimistic of thoughts, perhaps, but a necessary one nonetheless.
Conclusion
By pooling all your resources together, making a priority risk and mapping the landscape around your enterprise much better, you might just pull it through. In this way, you might even get a unique possibility to brand your company as a survivor and a business that always delivers even when on the back foot. Moreover, you gain invaluable experience that will help you avert walking into such a disaster ever again.
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