The power of the pivot (and why brands should never be afraid of change)

Yes, we know, not everyone likes change. But when it comes to brand marketing, change is everything. 

Brands that want to remain relevant and capture the attention of new audiences must have the courage to adapt. 

Failure to respond to the changing needs of consumers or evolving trends could mean you get left behind with stagnant strategies that fail to generate cut-through. 

So, how do you know when it’s time to pivot? 

Here is our top advice on what metrics to monitor to help influence positive change and take your brand to the next level… 

Measure marketing trends 

When you’re immersed in your industry, it’s easy to live in an echo chamber and think you know exactly what your consumers want. However, it’s vital you take a step back and look for ways to get an objective view of user behaviours. In addition to this, it’s important to look at your audience data and demographics and see how your audience and particular need states have evolved over time. 

There are a number of ways you can do this. For example, you could collect data and insights by commissioning an SEO audit that includes consumer insights and a competitive gap analysis. 

This research is invaluable to see what keywords and longtail terms are driving traffic to competitor sites and what topics audiences are connecting with the most. These insights can help you to reshape content marketing plans to aid discovery through SEO. 

You could also enlist the support of a market research team to run focus groups or use social media listening tools to temperature-test what people are talking about online. This type of research is fantastic for understanding your audience, the channels they’re using and the type of content that drives the most engagement. You can then use these insights to strengthen your social media plans to build authentic connections with your audiences and influence purchasing decisions. 

Test, learn, adapt

Whether you’re driving traffic organically or via paid campaigns, it’s essential you set KPIs, outline benchmarks and monitor performance. 

If your tried-and-tested tactics fail to deliver the same results they once did, you need to investigate the details and determine what’s going on with your campaigns. 

The best way to ensure success is to take a test-and-learn approach – gain insights and adjust plans to optimise results. 

If activity is failing to drive the expected ROI, reallocate spend and resources where activity is thriving. Stay close to the details, interrogate the data and make smart choices to drive success. 

Measure brand sentiment 

If you’re spending a lot of time, energy and resources into securing new business, it’s important you understand how consumers feel about your brand after interacting with you. 

After all, reputation is everything. 

Look at the type of engagement you receive on social media. Are your followers liking your content, commenting positively and sharing posts? 

Are they leaving online reviews and are you investing in appropriate community management to create the right impression for both positive and negative commentary? 

People buy from brands they trust and those that appear credible, so ensure you’re taking care of your brand reputation on all marketing channels. 

Bring the good and the bad to the boardroom and challenge perceptions to see how your business can improve. 

Keep an eye on the competition

The landscape is competitive, attention spans are reduced, and consumers are inundated with content, so you need to pay attention to what your competitors are doing and how they’re generating cut-through. 

Look at the campaigns they’re launching, the type of PR they’re generating and how they’re influencing online engagements. 

Get serious about your marketing campaigns and challenge your teams to get creative. Set budgets and be brave, take chances and see what works. It’s all about the test-and-learn approach.

When you know what resonates with audiences, you can use these insights to go further and help your brand stand out in a sea of scrollable content! 

Reevaluate business goals 

It’s not uncommon for business goals to change, but you do need a plan that is adaptable enough to pivot and help you achieve these goals. 

Whether you’re expanding into a new market, enjoying faster business growth, or introducing new products and services, ensure you take the time to reevaluate planned activity and give your teams time to invest in the change you need to drive results.

Stay close to the evolving news agenda

In recent years, we’ve seen how quickly our lives and circumstances can change. So, being reactive and adaptable to changing circumstances is really important to the success of your business and consumer loyalty. 

Customers expect brands to be an extension of their values. So, if something that impacts them happens, find a way to connect or offer solutions that are important to them. 

Economic downturns or booms might necessitate shifts in marketing spending, messaging, or targeting to reflect the current climate, so always stay close to the news agenda and see how it could impact your business and your customers. 

Words of advice from our experts… 

“When we work with clients on developing their websites, we always look for ways to future-proof brands and designs with modular builds that empower businesses to continually improve their websites. 

“All too often we meet clients with legacy websites that offer limited functionality that aren’t built to support the evolving needs of their business. 

“We actively encourage our clients to review user behaviours and use A/B testing to improve functionality. 

“By taking a customer-centric approach to website design and development, you can continually shape a website that truly services the needs of your audiences, which ultimately leads to enquiries.”

“Your brand objectives can remain the same for quite some time, but your brand and marketing strategy should constantly evolve to help you reach your goals. 

“There are lots of factors that can influence change. For example, business growth, audience profiling, market needs, economic changes, and competitor growth can all impact existing strategies, and knowing when to pivot and adapt is vital to successful strategies. 

“Monitoring, measuring, testing and learning is key to developing strategies that deliver incredible results. Don’t be frightened of change, don’t be scared to take a chance and try something new, but always understand why you’re doing it and the value you want to get from it, and you’ll keep your strategies fresh, exciting, relevant and engaging.”

“Creating content you think your audience will like is easy, but creating content you know your audience will love is something else entirely. 

“Get closer to your audience, measure brand sentiment, pay close attention to the content that resonates with your audience the most and tap into topics, themes and threads that help them form authentic connections with your brand. 

“Invest in social listening tools, hold focus groups, connect with loyal brand fans, and you’ll uncover incredible insights that will transform the way you connect with your audience.”

Is it time for change?

Whether you want to revitalise your brand, develop an innovative business app or website or want consultancy support to help drive your business strategy forward, we would love to speak with you. 

Get in touch to arrange a free business audit to see how we can help you.