On Opportunity, Ambiguity, and Pulling Back the Curtain

The Opportunity with Ambiguity

I don’t know about you, but it’s taken me the first three weeks of January to really get my feet under me and start moving. I’m annoyed at myself for getting such a slow start to the new year, but am reminded that sprinting forever isn’t sustainable and it’s okay to move a little slower sometimes (especially in a pandemic, a disruptive political climate, and an uncertain economy). That said, last week brought with it so much hope, beauty, art, and pride that I’m feeling refreshed—and hope that you are as well.

Still, the future before us is rife with ambiguity. Those of us in physical retail and hospitality are holding our breath for a swift and orderly vaccine deployment under the new administration. In my home state of New York, at the current rate of distribution, it will take 47 weeks to reach the crucial inoculation level of 70% needed for herd immunity. That’s nearly a year. Now, before this post takes a depressing turn, let me say I do believe things will accelerate but how much and how quickly is anyone’s guess. Herein lies the ambiguity—and the opportunity.

Because nothing is “normal” (and we truly can’t fathom the meaning of the word anymore) there is a window of opportunity where brands have permission to experiment. Now is the time to test new tactics with consumers. If something works, it becomes part of the experience, if it falls flat, it’s a pandemic and everyone shrugs and moves on. Brands have a chance to be a little less precious about certain aspects of their image. Of course, they should continue to hold fast to their core values and principles, but should also recognize that consumers are changing—and brands should too. 

ICYMI

Homegoods continue to be the talk of the retail town. Consumers continue to level-up their living spaces which has been a boon for DTC furniture brands. I spoke with Modern Retail about furniture brand Outer’s program that turns customers’ backyards into a network of showrooms (tl;dr it’s brilliant) and about how Model No.’s ability to 3D print its furniture gives it a leg up in the custom furniture space.

I also spoke about the accelerating trend of brands and retailers exiting malls in favor of open-air centers and even strip malls. I continue to believe that only “A” malls with population density and a willingness to update their centers will survive retail’s next era.

Lastly, I was thrilled to be included in Retail Brew’s 2020 Overlooked/Overhyped report. 

Now, let’s look at one of the most underrated tools in a brand’s affinity-building arsenal: the peek behind the curtain.

How your brand can pull back the curtain to gain affinity and loyalty

Everybody wants to be an insider. Possessing information that others lack makes people feel special—and when those people are your customers, that feeling translates into affinity and loyalty (aka revenue). Your brand should use the permission it has during this ambiguous time to pull back the curtain. 

Test in public. Include your customers or potential customers in your tests. This could be wear testing for products, voting on packaging, or even weighing in on a new ad campaign. When customers are brought into your process two things happen: 1. They’re likely to be more forgiving if they don’t like whatever you’re testing, and 2. When they do like it they will be instant promoters because they were included in the decision-making process.

Reveal your secrets. Not all of them, of course. But think about how you can let your customers get a behind-the-scenes look at the brand. If there’s something really unique about the way you make a product, or the way you made decisions (or anything, really), put it out there. One of my favorite new year’s emails was from a brand that told me its new years resolutions as a company, instead of what mine should be. 

Showcase your people. They are, after all, your biggest brand fans. Look for ways to highlight the people that keep your brand running—its employees. This goes well with “revealing your secrets” since you can highlight different teams, what each does for the brand, and how it relates to your customers. Not only does this give your brand faces (not just logos) for customers to identify with, but it builds loyalty amongst your most important customer base—the internal ones.

In a sea of content sameness, these are just a few things you can do to break the monotony and stand out. 

I create exceptional retail experiences and scalable practices for the next era of consumer brands. Want to explore how we can work together? Schedule a time to chat.