Successful brand management - even in times of crisis

Put your employees first

"Smart brands focus on their employees. For others they are just a means."

Karsten Klilian

One of the biggest mistakes one can make in brand management is not properly involving the employees, keeping them in the dark, confronting them with a fait accompli. There are not always good days. But especially on the bad days it shows how solid the cohesion is within a company, how strongly the employees identify with a brand and what they are willing to do for the brand based on this identification. For example in a crisis. Employees are a company's greatest asset. At least they should be! Because that creates identification, increases commitment and improves performance. The aim of internal brand management should therefore be to to encourage employees to identify with "their" brand and to anchor the brand identity in employee behavior. Employee orientation If you look at corporate websites today, you can read almost everywhere how important the team spirit is and every single employee in the team: "The focus is on the employee". A company that has to communicate the importance of the team concept separately ... . A crisis like the Corona crisis is the ideal time for these companies to actually live the internally communicated employee orientation. In all of the company's activities it must be clear that everyone in the company pulls together. Managers lead by example. The "why are we doing this" is clear to every employee. And every employee receives the support they need from the company to achieve their best possible performance - for mutual success.

Take care of

Smartly managed brands see a crisis like Corona as an opportunity. That is why they do not allow employees to feel in a crisis. Rather, they strengthen the sense of community and look ahead. Also or even more so from the home office. Then regular town hall meetings take place online, in which successes are celebrated together and news is communicated promptly. At the same time, it helps the employees in the "forced" home office that the ceiling does not completely fall on their heads.

Corona brings different challenges for every employee. Working from home, separate from the team, separate from colleagues, is one thing. There are also supply bottlenecks: be it home schooling or a complete quarantine. Here, too, the company is in demand to provide support. Here, too, it makes sense to transfer the employee orientation into real life. You live towards and for the employees.

Incidentally, consumers also expect companies to look after their staff during the crisis. If this happens credibly, they are willing to accept restrictions elsewhere, for example in service.

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