In late May, the U.S. military airlifted 70,000 pounds of baby formula from Europe to the U.S. to help with the national shortage.
这是一场全国性供应链危机的又一次令人不安的发展，这场危机仍在影响着从汽车、半导体到木材的一切产品。这对于专注于低渠道营销的营销人员来说是个问题，因为产品可能在短期内无法供应。如果他们在供应不足的情况下继续执行以转化为导向的策略，当消费者意识到品牌无法兑现广告承诺时，他们就有可能失去信任。
This current issue will eventually settle down. However, it offers a lesson that’s applicable no matter what the global supply chain looks like: Focusing on long-term brand building is just as important as short-term sales.
在经济形势严峻的时期，加倍努力赢得眼前的收入是很有诱惑力的。尽管这看起来有违直觉，但现在正是您应该投资于渠道顶部营销的时候。
Just as the Ehrenberg-Bass Institute has long argued, awareness (or “mental availability”) is the best path to customer acquisition. After all, who’s going to purchase your product when they’ve never heard about it in the first place? And with more people shopping online, and with the virtual shelf being infinitely longer than the one at your local grocery store, there’s more competition to beat out.
Brand awareness is critical. On average, a 1-point gain in brand metrics such as awareness and consideration drives a 1% increase in future sales, according to Nielsen’s research.
Plus, Americans these days are especially open to trying new products. U.S. consumers say that 12.1% of their online purchases involve a brand they hadn’t purchased before. And, even if you don’t have any inventory to sell at the moment, you can slightly tweak your lower-funnel activities to further strengthen your brand awareness and consideration.
例如，考虑将 "立即购买 "行动号召按钮替换为 "注册等待名单 "按钮。通过将客户添加到电子邮件数据库，营销人员可以在抢手产品恢复库存时自动提供最新信息，还可以向他们发送其他品牌建设信息，甚至激发他们对其他产品的兴趣。
因此，您不应该将漏斗的两个部分对立起来。即使您关注的是品牌的长期健康发展，这两种方法也会共同发挥作用，最终推动收入的增长。
当然，制定一项能有效实现这两个目标的战略并不总是那么简单。对提升品牌价值非常有利的渠道可能并不适合促进销售，反之亦然。营销人员需要衡量这两个目标的影响，以确保他们的全渠道努力达到恰到好处的平衡。
For more insights on how to grow brand and sales together, visit Nielsen’s Full Funnel Hub.
