For stagnant businesses struggling to find growth opportunities, our question is this: are you squeezing customers or supporting them? When everything is so uncertain, customers want the brands they support to reciprocate. They want an ally in the face of great challenge, to feel like the brands they choose are ‘in this’ with them.

Our insight consistently tells us this is more than just a passing consumer preference. It’s a human need that’s deeply rooted in the larger societal issues at play. When brands take the time to truly understand this; to stop looking at customers through the lens of business objectives alone, growth opportunities open up.

Love That: M&S marks the spot

Named YouGov’s best brand of 2024, Marks & Spencer tapped the zeitgeist of a nation navigating tight times. Extensive research we conducted into consumer behaviours, needs and values helped us to understand how they’re making sense of daily challenges. The subtext was clear: people are not willing to indulge in ‘doom and gloom’; they’re looking for ways to bring more joy into their lives.

The extra thought given to the choices they make speak to a ‘positive pragmatism’. Few can afford to be spontaneous, but many are giving greater focus to controlling what’s within their power to control. This means doing what they can to bring more positivity into their lives. Ensuring their families are nourished by good food, for example, and the people they care for are thriving, not just surviving.

Key to this is a shift in the concept of quality – no longer associated with fine materials and high price tags but deemed a signifier of a choice well made. Adding 10% to the grocery bill to create a delicious dinner that shows you care, for example, feels like a good choice. Besides, this isn’t just food, it’s M&S food.

Align business objectives with customer goals

Our research revealed a broader societal need. People want to feel as though brands are on their side; that they’re invested in helping them to achieve their personal goals.  This calls for a major re-think in terms of brand strategy. Rather than inserting your brand purpose into people’s lives, take the time to understand the role your customers believe your brand plays in their lives, and if it brings them benefit.

Do you know what matters to them during these times of uncertainty? What your business can do to help them take better care of their lives and loved ones? The answers to these questions are the building blocks of your customer relationships. Think of it as creating mutual success.

A recent example we’ve seen is in our work for Skills for Health, that 83% of people agreed that organisations which prioritise social purpose over profit should be the NHS’s primary third-party partners. Armed with this insight, healthcare leaders can partner with suppliers that support customers’ needs and show they’re on their side.

It’s time to step away from the long-established tenets of brand strategy that centres only on identity and purpose – this is far too inward looking. Think instead about the wider issues at play and what your business can do to instigate positive change. You can start by curtailing the bad behaviour that feeds pessimism.

Treat customers with the respect they deserve

Consumers don’t miss a trick. If the price of a chocolate bar stays the same but the bar itself gets smaller, what message does that send? There is a danger that customers think you’re trying to pull the wool over their eyes, seeking to maximise profits ahead of meeting customer needs. This breaks the vital bond of trust.

Likewise, look at the 2025 EFL Championship playoffs at Wembley. Fans travelling to support their teams not only face astronomical train fares but sneaky re-pricing of stadium seats too. While prices have not technically gone up, seating categories have changed, meaning fans pay double for the same view of the pitch. While fan loyalty is intrinsic to football, the fans themselves have been overlooked in the name of profit. The irony, however, is this: our insight tells us that if consumers believe brands are on their side, they’re more likely to pay a bit extra or travel a bit further to get what they need, and are happy doing so, remaining loyal to those brands.

Instead, brands can take a cue from Japanese company Akagi Nyugyo. In 2016, the company created a public campaign to apologise for the 9p price increase of a popsicle – the first price rise in 25 years. The campaign featured company executives bowing in apology and an explanation that rising production and packaging costs were to blame. It might seem flippant, but it took immense bravery for a company to be this vulnerable and honest, and it paid off: sales jumped by around 10% in the first month after the campaign.

Invest in bold choices that yield results

When Tesco introduced the ‘One in Front’ policy in 1994, it became the first UK retailer to offer customers a service commitment at checkout. While it required a risky investment of millions, the company went on to outpace competitors and secure the top spot as the biggest UK supermarket of the ‘90s.

Decisions like these require a shift in mindset from short-termism to longer-term thinking. It’s the former that keeps companies trapped in a cycle of price hikes and no growth. While weighty investments like Tesco’s policy seem risky, especially when economic times are hard, giving priority to immediate profit over more far-seeing impact brings greater risk – specifically one of stagnation whereas investment in customer relationships yields sustainable results.

No transformative long-lasting growth can come through squeezed margins (or squeezed consumers). That’s why we build confidence in the possibility of a new approach. Allyship is an active and ongoing process, and we bring the rigorous insight and strategic innovation needed to be bold in the evolution of your brand. Times may be uncertain, but the future of your business need not be.