As we approach August 2020, who would have thought 12 months ago that we would have been in the global situation that we are now.

It is easy to forget that, just a short time ago, no-one had ever heard of Coronavirus or COVID, let alone the global impact it would have.  Personally, I was on my honeymoon enjoying the delights of French Polynesia, and a global pandemic was about as far from my thoughts as you can get.

Yet, here we stand 12 months later, continuing to go through the global pandemic and it has become all too easy to become consumed by this “New Normal”; are we working from home, or living at work?

We have all adapted in varying degrees – being agile and pivoting based upon the information that we have at any given time.  Modern life means that we as individuals are always connected and have multiple sources of information at any given time, which allows us to adjust our thinking and actions– we adapt and respond to stimulus.

So what is GEMO?

Those decisions, thoughts and actions are based on the ever-evolving information that we have – in essence, those decisions are made through a framework of “Good Enough, Move On” (GEMO), until we have more information and potentially need to adjust our thoughts or actions.

This same construct can - and needs to - be used by the brands, products and services that we as customers engage with.  GEMO requires that these brands have the ability to gather rapid input from their customer (and prospect) base.  In the uncertain times that we are living in, brands need to be able to rapidly adjust course and change tactics (pivoting), in an ever increasingly dynamic manner.

The risk for brands is that they are unable to understand and keep-up with their customers’ needs, desires, attitudes and actions, and ultimately become irrelevant (whether now during this period, or when things settle into a new state of normality). Loyalty can be fleeting and consumers will remember those brands that adapted and answered their needs in a time of crisis.

Therefore, brands need an ongoing engagement mechanism, to not just understand the pulse of their customer base, but to be able to establish mutual empathy during this time.  This is where Insight Communities come in – creating understanding, empathy and ultimately loyalty to a given brand.  Allowing brands to pivot and be agile as the situations (and more importantly customers’ needs) continue to change.

While nobody can predict the future, what is certain is that those people and brands that can pivot and adapt at an ever increasing pace will be more in control of their own success, while mitigating against the as yet unknown risks.

To find out more about how Insight Communities can help you get closer to your customers, contact us today and discover everything you need to about 'HX Communities'