It goes without saying that the market is forever changing, expanding and exploding with new and exciting ideas, even consumers almost can’t keep up. And a lot of the times brands find themselves trying to keep up with ever changing consumer needs or rather staying abreast, hence the ever growing spectrum of innovations in the market. However, half the time brand teams are stuck trying to figure out how to make the change and more so what to change. This article will discuss the relevance of change by looking at why brands need to change and when rather than what to change.
The first instance of trying to keep up with consumer needs is trying to come up with new ideas and innovations that will appeal to the market, and often this is done in a disruptive way to create high levels of appeal and talk-ability. When this is done, often brands tend to move away from their core identity and reason for existence. Although this might have worked for many brands, it is for the same reason that some brands never make it very far and end up being lacklustre and undistinguished. It is therefore critical that when bringing about change, a brand needs to stay relevant to market trends and consumer needs, yet be true to itself.
Create a Ground Breaking Idea
When a brand stretches itself to cater for new needs in the market, a couple of key factors need to be considered. First and foremost, there needs to be a new and distinctive idea that will creates waves in the market and also give the brand a bigger license to operate, whilst remaining true to what the brand is all about. This can be a new innovation or idea that will not only be consistent with the brand’s identity, but stand out from what other brands have produced, essentially, cutting through the ‘clutter’.
Be Adaptable
Secondly, the idea needs to be easily adaptable by the brand itself as well as the market. Consumers need to be able to accept the shift smoothly and appreciate all the benefits that come with the new innovation without being distracted from the brand’s core identity. In essence, the brand itself should be able to, as quickly as possible, embrace and embody the new innovation and carry the consumers over without alienating their current needs.
Make The Idea Relevant & Accessible
The brand should also consider what it’s trying to preserve, looking at the consumers’ needs as well as how the new offering / innovation will meet those needs. As the fourth point, brands need to consider the time frame that it will take for the change to happen, by evaluating how the market accepts the change as well as what the market demands. If the change is too rapid, chances are that the idea will also be short-lived. As such, brands should aim to keep up with market demands in real time, however be able to sustain the ideas for a given amount of time to avoid rapid loss of relevance and not being able to keep up with its own changes.
In summation, brand evolution should be steady, timeous, necessary and relevant. It is also key to understand and know your market, how often their needs change as well as what’s key to keeping them. In this regard, market research is therefore an essential tool to keep abreast of consumer’s future needs, current trends as well as weighing a brand’s worth and standout in the market.