Brand Resolutions.

Resolutions.

/ˌrezəˈlo͞oSH(ə)n/

noun

1. 1.

a firm decision to do or not to do something.

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Every New Year, we examine the decisions we made in the previous year, personally and professionally and we contemplate what we can do better in the coming months. If brands hope to make more meaningful connections with their audience in 2019, Incite has several resolutions they should make and keep.

(1) Break the Rules – She Does Every Day

Over 90% of women still feel marginalized by advertising – so breaking traditional marketing rules is a must. Your female audience is out there breaking the rules and changing the world every day. If you want her to notice you, you need to break the rules too. Cookie Cutter layouts, standard responses and painfully inaccurate generalizations are not going to cut it with her anymore. She expects you to understand that she has vast interests and is vastly complex, but getting to know her is worth your time and investment, because her buying power represents trillions of dollars and she could be spending with you.

(2) Be Authentic or Don’t Bother

84% of millennials don’t trust advertising. Who do you know that vacuums in their high heels? No One. Life is dirty, messy and complicated and seeing only ideal and unrealistic circumstances in advertising will not resonate with her. Is she the perfect size 0? Not likely, but she’s beautiful regardless. She also expects a brand to stand behind what it believes in – make a stand and deliver on it full stop. You know how mom always knows when you’re lying? Well, she can sniff out a brand’s lies too. And younger generations demand the truth. Millennials and Generation Y shop differently than their predecessors. According to the BCG study, Millennials value brand authenticity only second to loyalty discounts when choosing companies to support.

(3) Listen

Think you know who she is? She is always changing, learning and growing and you need to be on that journey with her. Your female audience is the best resource for your own 2019 improvements, because if a woman feels she is instrumental in building or rebuilding a brand, you will have won her loyalty and a brand ambassador for life. If your end user has something to say about your brand, listen. Whether it be an email to customer service, a phone call or a Facebook post, you’ve got insight gold because when a brand listens it increases profits. HundredX cites a report from Applied Marketing Science that found that customers who receive responses to their tweets are willing to spend 3-20% more on average-priced items.

(4) Treat Your Employees Like Your Most Important Customer

So often, employees are overlooked by brands. They are the ones crunching the numbers, creating ideas and executing on strategies and tactics, yet they are not connected to the brand. Your employees should be your number one customer because those that believe in your brand will only make it stronger. Do they understand who your brand is? Do they know how she dances, her favorite playlist or what she would order for lunch? If they don’t, how can they feel connected? Employee disengagement and unhappiness is, unfortunately, a persistent problem: Gallup’s 2017 State of the American Workplace report showed that a mere 33% of employees are engaged at work. Engagement of your employees will lead to a positive, long-term meaningful result.

(5) Get Going Now

Don’t wait until Q2 or Q3 – change your brand strategy now. At Incite, we strive to create strategies that evolve the female narrative. Evolving the narrative changes how you see her and how she sees herself. That's empowering for you both, because fueling a societal shift is good for her and your business. You'll create more than a future transaction, you'll create a loyal customer that believes in you enough to influence the loyalty of her friends, family, and children. Your female audience can take your business to a better and more profitable future.