Have you ever been working hard towards a specific goal and, right as you reach the finish line, the whole world shifts on you?
It just happened to us.
For the past 5 months, we’ve been working towards a goal of relaunching Clarity and had been looking forward to sharing with you our new look and products. We had completely stripped our business down, refining who we are and what we offer to better meet our clients’ communications needs. Many late nights and weekends were spent clarifying our own vision and mission, service packages, website, logo, you name it. There was going to be a big build up and announcement to all our clients and contacts, friends and family. We even had ideas for a fun launch party.
But just as we were about to hit that launch button, COVID-19 hit. And we had a choice to make: go ahead with what we’d been preparing so long for, or change things up and adapt to the situation. So we asked ourselves one question:
“Is this about meeting our needs, or the needs of others?”
Answering this question will help guide all your decisions, not just pivoting your marketing in a crisis. It’s the most basic principle of business, but it’s also something we can quickly lose sight of when we’re hyper-focused on what we’re doing and what we want to be achieving.
Human beings have always struggled with a focus on self. There’s that old adage that pride comes before a fall, so if you’re not keeping tabs on your communications strategy, beware of impending cliffs! We like how the folks at ProductPlan put it: remain vigilant. They write,
“It’s only by staying vigilant that a product leader will be able to spot an approaching threat or opportunity—and to pivot their product’s strategic plan, or their entire business—in time to do something about it.”
In our case, relaunching our brand was focused on us; fine in its place, but of no help to anyone in the midst of the crisis. Instead, we retooled a bit more and prepared some things that can help people. That’s why we’re offering free consultations and our free ClarityVIEW Guide for businesses and non-profits who may be in a situation just like us: they had great plans that suddenly needed to change, and their communications need to pivot fast.
It was still worth all the time and effort we spent refining our brand. With our identity and message clearer than ever before, we now can move with more confidence in knowing who we are and how we can help improve communications for others. We just didn’t get to celebrate it like we hoped.
But the fact that we’re still able to help people during this difficult time is a far better reward.
– Eric & Rick Ames