For years, consumers have been choosing brands for a range of reasons such as relevance, authenticity, status and reputation. More recently however, consumers are beginning to take interest in supporting brands that are purpose-driven and demonstrate ethical values and sustainable practices.

Based on our global consumer study, consumers are increasingly aware and mindful of the brands they buy, and 75% of consumers globally are observant of how brands are acting as a force for good during the crisis.

This behavioral shift makes it all the more important for brands to align their purpose with what’s good for society, to create deeper connections with consumers and achieve long term equity.

As economies reopen around the world, consumers are now slowly beginning to loosen their purse strings. With the epidemic causing permanent shifts in consumer behavior and channel preferences, what are the key priorities for marketers in Asia Pacific?

Key brand priorities post-pandemic

In our commissioned survey “Brand and Marketing in the New Abnormal” representing brands and marketers from various industries across Asia Pacific, more than half (56%) aim to maximize marketing ROI, while 50% are most concerned about driving sales for the organization. 40% say they are looking to ramp up efforts on brand positioning/brand marketing, in a post-COVID environment.

Interestingly, 56% of those surveyed said digital transformation is increasingly seen as an important KPI to achieve their goal, and 52% said more funds have been allocated to drive building long-term brand and reputation instead of short-term marketing activities.

How can companies ensure their digital strategy elevates consumers’ brand experience?

Getting digital right

In this post-pandemic environment, it is important to have a roadmap that reflects the pace of digital adoption by your customers.

Your digital efforts should quickly focus on using data analytics to respond to evolving customer needs, improve business operations and increase agility to fulfil customer expectations across multiple touchpoint.

It is also crucial to benchmark your digital channels against your competition and identify the metrics that are relevant for your brand purpose. Look at the bigger picture and set quantitative and qualitative KPIs to achieve your overarching brand objectives.

Quantify your brand value to activate growth

Our survey showed that although 43% of marketers are looking to explore opportunities to reposition their brand values in the next six months; among them only a handful (30%) use a brand health tracker to measure marketing effectiveness, while 33% turn to brand lift surveys on an ad-hoc basis.

This needs to change as a brand performance tracking tool can bridge the divide between consumer behavior and sales, and demonstrate how brand perceptions link to market reality.

For example, GfK’s Brand Performance Monitor is capable of not only identifying the value of sales directly attributable to your brand, but also identifying opportunities to increase growth and brand value. We can provide insights on what consumers think of your brand, your competitive threats and how consumers define their relationship with your brand.

| Also Read: How to position your brand for success during COVID-19 |

Build a winning brand

Digital is definitely the way forward in the new normal, with agility at the core. Focus on being agile and nimble to boost your digital capabilities and react to consumer data and trends in real time to build robust brand equity.

Also, assess your brand sentiment and get insights from multiple data sources to increase performance across all channels, and align communications with the sentiment analysis to maximize growth potential.

In addition, bolster your digital competencies to deliver speed and innovation, and create authentic and meaningful experiences for your audiences in order to achieve long-term brand success.

In uncertain times, brands that cater to customers’ emotional needs and forge strong relationships, will reap benefits in the long run as consumers are likely to prefer brands that are engaging, relevant and deliver on their promise.

Quantify your brand’s contribution to your market performance