The Sky Is Not Falling
In The Field
October 5, 2022
Erin Cooper
A Letter to Business-Owners: Not Everything Has Changed Post-Covid
Dear Friends,
It’s a cool and characteristically windy day here in Wheeler District. I’m sitting at my desk, and if my inbox could take shape and come to life, it would be prowling around my chair like a disgruntled housecat, sulking and staring at me, judgment flashing in her emerald eyes.
I know you understand.
Today I’m thinking about some of the prattle I’ve been hearing these days. It’s no different from the old, “The sky is falling!” sentiment—only now it’s Covid-specific.
“Everything has changed.”
“The world will never be the same again.”
“We have no idea what the future holds.”
“My cat is hungry.”
Ok, that last one was mostly related to the inbox metaphor above. I digress.
Here’s the truth that I’ve learned in my years of working with brands across a bevy of industries: Context is always changing. Marketing, branding, and businesses have weathered the coming and going of eras and cultures, the ups and downs of economic prosperity and destitution.
And while we can’t control the context our business is placed in, there is one thing that remains predictable through every change: the irrationality of human behavior.
Certain things have changed since Covid. We can and should adapt our tactics to meet the changing needs. But if we zoom out a bit, and we look at the overall human tendency to make illogical, emotional, and unpredictable decisions, we can learn something about how our businesses and brands should adapt.
What I’m saying is, don’t let the proverbial tail wag the proverbial dog (or cat).
The world is different, yes. But humans are the same. We’re cognitive misers, we’re busy and distracted, and we make the majority of our purchasing decisions based on whatever is most readily available in our brains.
PIMCO says it this way: “Our brains have evolved to seek ‘shortcuts’ that reduce effort, and as such, we rely heavily on habits and intuition to reduce our cognitive workload.”
So then, rather than obsessing on adapting your tactics every six weeks according to the economy or the weather or your neighbor’s landscaping style, how about aiming for a few long-term targets?
In short, those targets should be:
1. building your brand salience, and
2. making your brand distinctive
If your brand is easily memorable and present in the marketplace (and it doesn’t look and sound exactly like every other Jane Schmane selling the same thing you’re selling), then you’re positioning yourself to be at the front of the line when your audience inevitably shortcuts their decisions. If you’re not sure where to begin, we’re here to help and always happy to meet new friends.
And with that, it’s time to attend to my inbox. If you need me, I’ll be here making illogical decisions about what to eat for lunch and which Instagram ad to press “Shop” on. Predictably, though, you’ll find me drinking coffee like it’s going out of style. It isn’t, of course, but that hasn’t stopped me yet.
