From groceries to clothing to insurance, brands can play a key role in consumers’ lives. But how does this change during periods of economic shifts?

For the past two and half years, we’ve all experienced a series of unprecedented global events. However, these circumstances have pushed us to be more adaptable, and, in a way, create a playbook for navigating future uncertainty.

Staying connected to customers and keeping a pulse on their changing needs are always important, but especially now. Amazon Ads’ recently commissioned research with Environics Research in the global “2022 Higher Impact” report shows that 77% of survey respondents worldwide are increasingly re-evaluating their needs to shop more effectively. As brands step up to meet this moment, the customer experience should be at the forefront of their strategy.

Your brand values are important to consumers

During unpredictable times, earning consumer trust and inspiring loyalty can come down to a few things: being agile, quickly addressing consumer needs and leading with your brand’s values.

According to the “2022 Higher Impact” report, 79% of buyers say they’re more likely to purchase products or services from brands whose values align with their own, and 64% report that they’re more likely to buy from a brand that’s willing to take a stance on social issues and conflicts.

What values are currently front and center for consumers? The “2022 Higher Impact” report found that sustainability and diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) are very important, especially among younger adult shoppers. The research also shows that six in 10 consumers say they “actively seek out brands that are sustainable in their business practices,” and nearly half are willing to go out of their way to choose brands with corporate commitments to DEI. Consumers care about these actions from brands and will take note of brands’ public missions of support.

A growth mindset can enable optimization and innovation

During times of uncertainty, having a growth mindset can feel challenging when all you want to do is stick to what’s familiar. The term “growth-mindset,” originally coined by Carol Dweck via her research on the topic, means believing talents and abilities can be further developed and improved through effort, good strategy and input. As part of our marketing culture, I encourage my team to focus on the power of incremental innovation that comes from this outlook. As marketers, we continually test ideas and accept failure as a learning opportunity to improve on our current, and any future, campaigns.

Embracing a growth mindset can help to measure what’s important from what’s not, and can support experimentation to see what’s driving efficiency and incremental impact. As brands optimize their marketing efforts to reach audiences with more agility, taking a look at their upper-funnel strategy could be a good place to start. 

79% of buyers say they’re more likely to purchase products or services from brands whose values align with their own.

For example, a recent analysis conducted by Amazon Ads indicated that many of our U.S. advertising customers are reallocating their budgets from linear TV to Amazon Streaming TV to reach new audiences. This study, conducted from January through December 2021 around third-party incremental reach analysis for Amazon Streaming TV, revealed that Amazon Streaming TV ads reached an average of 10.5% new, incremental viewers compared to linear TV.

As marketers look to engage with customers more efficiently, optimizing upper-funnel tactics can help. According to the study, Amazon Streaming TV ads can help brands reach their intended audiences more efficiently than linear TV by 2.2-plus times. Having holistic ad-tech solutions can help make this possible—like with Amazon DSP (demand-side platform), which has planning tools and measurement capabilities to help you measure your investment impact.

Measurement always matters, and when customers expect brands to meet their evolving needs, it’s important to have agile technology to help you deliver on them.

Navigating times of uncertainty will look different to every business and every consumer. As brands work to be more agile and adaptive for their customers, leading with their brand values and having a growth mindset can help create better customer experiences and drive more growth in the long run.