An annual quick Google search will tell you that customers are different. They have different priorities, different concerns and higher expectations. Those differences significantly affect the customer journey, or the total sum of experiences that customers go through when interacting with your company and brand. 

With the country headed toward brighter days, all of us are beginning to find a place back out in the world. As marketers, we have a responsibility to help our clients respond to what’s happening in a way that feels authentic.

Like many around the country, here at KSV we are winding down the work week and looking ahead to Memorial Day Weekend, the first long weekend of the year and the unofficial start of summer. 

To pause and reflect for a moment, it is truly incredible to think about where we were about this time last year: we were all home, in lockdown and facing countless unknowns as the pandemic was hitting its first peak and a long overdue social awakening was occurring across the country as a result of several tragic catalysts.

Last fall we had the opportunity to sit down with Bobby McConnell, the Vice President and Head of Sales and Customer Experience at Gaia Herbs, a leading natural herbs and wellness brand and fellow B Corp. At the time of our conversation, Bobby had just recently joined the Gaia team, where he currently leads both the sales function of the organization and customer experience for both the brand’s brick-and-mortar and e-commerce outlets.

Last week we introduced the topic of pushing past fear to authentically and clearly communicate your brand’s values, discussing the power that fear holds over us and why, in actuality, fear is a liar. This week, we’re continuing the conversation, taking a deep dive into the “how” of pushing past fear to effectively message your brand’s mission.

As a marketing agency we oftentimes experience our clients shying away from risk and being unwilling to put their values front and center despite those values being authentic to their brand.

After all, the fear of uncertainty leads us to seek out security, causing us to make decisions that are risk averse. Fear is a primal, base instinct that is intended to protect us from things as uncertain and heart pounding as the fear of failure.

But fear? For all its power and its hold over us, fear is a liar.

And with all the uprooting and life-altering events, milestones and discussions that occurred in 2020, and the years leading up to it, consumers are clamoring for the brands that they support to clearly take a stand for the causes and beliefs that impact them. The power of doing so has a number of both tangible and intangible positive benefits that vastly outweighs the risks posed by not acting out of fear.

A study from Accenture found that more than half of consumers who are disappointed with a brand’s words or actions (or lack thereof) on a social issue complain about it, with 47% walking away in frustration and 17% not coming back at all.

And the Edelman Trust Barometer recently found that “80% of consumers agree businesses must play a role in addressing societal issues; they want a company to take actions which... improve social conditions and make the world a better place."

This sentiment plays out in the real-world example of Lyft’s Cities Talk Back Campaign, which was brought to life as a follow up to additional actions Lyft took following former President Trump’s immigration ban in 2017, when he announced an immediate block on all refugees, while also denying U.S. entry to citizens of seven predominantly Muslim countries.

When Uber failed to offer support in response to protests against the 2017 ban and received further significant negative attention from customers for the CEO’s role as an economic advisor to the former President, Lyft stepped up in a big way, despite the risks and fear of backlash from customers. The company donated $1 million to the ACLU and elevated the voices of those affected by the President’s actions.

The result? Lyft, for the first time ever, surpassed Uber in the Apple App store for downloads as customers deleted their Uber app and downloaded Lyft in droves.

If you’ve lived and worked through 2020, then the phrase “future-proofing” may sound like the biggest oxymoron of them all. If 2020 taught us anything, it is that plans change. Pivots are necessary. And planning for the future can sometimes mean planning to keep your business’s doors open for just one more day. Who has time to future-proof their business for next year when they’re just trying to survive 2020?

Happy almost Thanksgiving! As we inch another day closer to a holiday season unlike any other,  the team at KSV can’t help but reflect on all that we have to be grateful for. Even in a year where so much has been turned upside down, we find ourselves finishing each day with gratitude for what has remained the same: inspiring clients, innovative colleagues and a community dedicated to creating a better future. 

As we prepare for a 2020-style Thanksgiving, we’d like to share a few stories bringing us an extra dose of inspiration this week, in the hopes that they do the same for all of you:

Brands Are Using Black Friday Boycotts to Highlight Sustainability Initiatives: Although several brands will spend Black Friday and the weeks after touting promotions and deep discounts, several others are switching things up this year, using the high-profile moment as an opportunity to highlight ongoing sustainability initiatives. For brands like Freitag, this means shining a spotlight on their newly launched bag swap platform, which allows customers to exchange backpacks and messenger bags with other customers as a way to encourage a second-life for a high quality product while also reducing waste.

This is Our Chance to Reclaim Cities From Cars: One positive thing that came out of the COVID-19 pandemic? A more bikeable, walkable and cleaner urban America. Reimagining public spaces has consistently been a part of the conversation around how urban areas rebuild in the wake of the virus. This article takes it a step further, painting a hopeful picture for the future of cities.

25 US Cities Land on CDP ‘A List:’ In spite of both the havoc wrought by the coronavirus and little-to-no support at the federal level, several cities in the US were recognized by the CDP for making progress toward their climate action goals. Progress from cities like Cleveland, OH and San Antonio, TX highlight just how, in the absence of national guidance, impactful and important state and municipal level initiatives toward carbon emissions reductions and the adoption of clean energy technologies can be in ensuring a better, brighter and cleaner future.

Oreo’s Proud Parent ad is a moving, resonant reminder that a loving world, no matter how complicated, starts with a loving home. 

We kicked off this three-part series a few weeks back, diving into the importance of brands approaching the 2020 holiday season with a clear focus on reality. We then turned our attention to the value of flexibility in brands’ marketing strategies as a way to better serve and support current and future customers in the months ahead.  

This week, we’re concluding the series with one final consideration for brands that are planning, fine-tuning and executing their holiday strategies: incorporating personalization into the holiday shopping experience. 

Recently we shared the first post in our three-part series highlighting a few considerations brands of all shapes and sizes should focus on to better serve and support current and future customers in the months ahead.