I talk and write a lot about branding. Specifically Personal Branding, so I wanted to add my 2 cents on what really matters right now for your brand in this age of uncertainty.
Some people believe their brand is a logo, a website or even their social media. But it's not. Real branding is what your tribe thinks and more importantly feel about you. How you act and the policies you decide upon when things are hard, will be far more impactful than what you say. Particularly in times of crisis, people show their true colours and now is a critical time for all people to put up or shut up.
Live your brand.
The Corona Virus has hit a lot of people really hard. Particularly small hospitality and travel businesses, so what can you do to help? They need your sympathy of course, but they need your money more. Here are some awesome ways to help that I have heard from my clients and friends which we can all apply ourselves to our favourite cafe, restaurant or bar:
Offer to buy a gift voucher for the future
Order take away from them, even if it's not a normal delivery organisation
Go out and sit at their place, we are not all homebound and having people there will attract more people to come
Post on social media that you are there, so others might head out of their homes and support the businesses too
Buy some stock from them if they have it available. i.e. your local bar might have stocked up on booze and needs to reduce this (of course, check licensing laws)
If you are a supplier, offer longer credit terms
If you are a landlord, relieve rent so they can keep paying their staff
Donate some hard to find goods to them as they can't operate without hand sanitizer, toilet paper and other mandatory items
This is presuming you kept your job or your business is less impacted than others. It may cost you a little in the short term, but you will keep your clients loyal for the long term. Plus it's just the right thing to do.
Of course, we all need to practice social distancing and quality sanitisation which goes without saying.
So what are you going to do? Let's take some action as even the smallest gesture will be well received and lift the pressure off a local small business in your area. If we can lift the mood and add a few dollars to those in need it will go a long way to improving the mental health of small business owners.
I would love to hear of other ideas to help those in need.
Keep well,
Andy
P.S. If you are looking to start a business or grow your current one, building a powerful personal brand can have a massive impact on getting new clients, partners and staff. That's why we partnered with the best L&D company in Australia to build a brand new Personal Branding course - check it out here. (link https://www.socialstar.com.au/personal-branding-course-from-social-media-college)
