Why Building a Resilient Brand is the Key to Long-Term Business Success

At a time when brand competition is fiercer than ever, the challenge is not just to exist—it’s to persist. Many brands begin with a lot of energy, but fizzle out quickly, reduced to another flash-in-the-pan. Building resilient branding from the ground up has never been more difficult, or essential, to maintaining long-term business viability. It can be tempting to capitalize on trends and fads in the marketplace, but this tactic only gets you so far if your brand isn’t founded on enduring, long-lasting principles that keep you relevant year after year. The market is a volatile place, and there are many variables outside of your control that can impact your success, growth, and visibility. Sometimes these obstacles come in the form of larger marketplace trends; other times they originate from internal issues ranging from employee turnover to changes in company leadership. Some of the many challenges brands face include:

• Personnel turnover: Employee attrition can cause a lack of stability and consistency throughout your business, which can diminish the strength of your branding. 

• Illness or death of a key leader: Leadership plays a critical role in establishing the tone and culture of your brand, so the loss or illness of an important leader can destabilize your brand vision. 

• Change in suppliers: Sudden shifts in suppliers may create significant logistical issues in the production and marketing of your product.

• Customer base shifts: When your customer base begins to evolve and/or shift, it can be difficult to keep up with the changing tide and adapt your branding strategy accordingly.

• “Acts of god,” i.e. problems beyond your brand’s control: 

  • Pandemic

  • Fire

  • Accident

  • Economy crash

• Loss of interest or inspiration: Decreased passion and/or inspiration by your employees can cause your brand to lose spark and energy.

• Loss of investors or funding: Sudden losses in financial backing can be extremely difficult for a brand, halting its growth. 

• Competitor success: When a competitor starts to skyrocket, it can leave your business scrambling to keep up and may pressure your brand to differentiate itself.  

No business, no matter how well-established, is immune to the unexpected challenges that unfold internally and in the marketplace. However, what we can control is how resilient our brand is when those obstacles inevitably appear. Building a resilient brand means not just weathering the storm of unforeseen changes, but evolving to become stronger and even more robust because of those changes. The defining quality of resilient brands is that they’re future-focused. They build brand strategy in a way that can accommodate long-term change, has the flexibility to evolve with market trends, and reflects a clear, robust vision with lasting relevance. These are brands that listen to their customers, really listen, and stay in conversation with their customer base to continually understand what they value and how they see the world. Most of all: resilient brands are the ones that invest in long-term, future-oriented branding strategies.

This begs the question: is your brand resilient enough? And how do you set your brand up for long-term success? Ask yourself the following questions to find out!

• Are your brand visuals trendy or tied to one particular era or time period? If so, you may be capitalizing on a momentary trend rather than thinking toward the future.  

• Is your voice and tone flexible? Or is it rigid? Flexibility in voice and tone of a brand is critical in adapting to sudden change and addressing timely, contextual changes, whether it be from the customer base, within the marketplace, or even societal. Also ensure you’re being consistent with your voice/tone so it doesn’t come across as disjointed to a customer.

• Do you listen to your customer base and pay attention to changes in the market? It isn’t enough to know your customers in an abstract way -- you have to continually check in with them to understand who they are, what they value, and how they see the world at any given moment in time. 

• Is every aspect of your business rooted in your brand values? It’s critical that your brand identity be woven into every single element of your company—from your products to your website to your treatment of your employees.

• Do you have a clear vision for the future? We can’t grow in meaningful ways if we don’t know where our destination is. Make sure you’re constantly evaluating where you want to end up 1, 5, or 10 years from now so your brand strategy can reflect those aspirations.

• Are you willing to adapt to shifts and changes, while also ensuring these changes align with your brand values and vision? Embracing change is critical to maintaining resilience, but it’s important to never stray from your brand’s identity in doing so. 

• Do you revisit your values and vision and make adjustments as the world evolves? No brand can function in a bubble and it’s important to consider events and changes in the world as part of shaping your brand values and vision. For instance, many brands now include statements about social justice and responsibility in their website and marketing materials. 

• Is your website functional, not outdated, and continually updated and maintained? Your website is often the first contact point between your brand and the customer. Ensure you make the perfect first impression by keeping your website fresh and innovative. 

• Do you communicate with stakeholders and key partners? Staying in conversation with key stakeholders and partners is critical to ensuring you maintain long-term financial viability and that there’s alignment throughout the organization.

Are you struggling in any or multiple of these areas? Not to worry - that’s what we’re here for! Here at The Look & The Feel, we’re committed to helping your brand become as resilient as possible. When we work with our clients, we strategize the best way forward to ensure their brand look and feel helps set them up for success. From brand resources and guidelines we develop, to our post-project review at launch, our intention is to ensure a brand has what it needs to succeed. With our method, it’s not just about creating a brand—it’s about building a brand that successfully engages, grows, and evolves as the business evolves. 

You can find out more about our services here or feel free to reach out to us to learn how we might be able to help.