I think people respond to fear in one of two ways:
- It paralyzes them.
- It catalyzes them.
This is basically what’s meant by “flight or fight.” When confronted with something scary, people will fight against it or run away.
Brands can do the same thing. An industry is changing, customers are aging, technology is advancing – any of these three scary crises could confront your company. How would you respond?
You could do nothing. You could wait to see if things are really going that way. You can do more market research, take time off for a laborious strategic plan, hire expert consultants, or just wait it out.
Or you could lean into the changing winds. You could get smaller. You could work smarter, develop new products, build a new web presence, or market differently. You could move.
The New York Times is in this predicament. They now have more Twitter followers than print subscribers. How should they respond?
What about your brand? What crisis is looming?
- Are you thinking about Indonesia?
- Does your company offer a luxury brand? Should it?
- Do you “fish where the fish are“?
- Are you reaching out to Generation Y?
And these are just the crises we know about. If you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backwards, even if you think you’re standing still.