Save the best for last: Branding during covid-19's war

• Main Authors: Charlie Albert Lasuin, Azizah Omar
• Format: Proceedings
• Language: English; English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sabah 2021
• Subjects: HD2340.8-2346.5 Small and medium-sized businesses, artisans, handicrafts, trades; HF5549-5549.5 Personnel management. Employment management
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31483/1/Save%20the%20best%20for%20last%2C%20Branding%20during%20covid-19%27s%20war-ABSTRACT.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31483/2/Save%20the%20Best%20for%20Last%2C%20Branding%20During%20Covid-19%27s%20War.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/31483/; https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fEDZliMTjTzkjDwn3BF86-eXNMa8Gnc5/view?usp=sharing

A year ago, the world population was mesmerized with the infamous disease that was predictably began in Wuhan, China. The disease shifting its activity from the endemic into epidemic until reached out the pandemic status. The virus named as COVID-19, struck drastically into almost everywhere around the world, leaving grief of sorrows such as deaths, political instability, economic depression and social disintegration (distance relationship, depression, social and physical distancing). This horrible scene impacted the local business and entrepreneurship normal activities. Many local industry especially small and medium enterprises (SMEs) lost their profits, customers, workers and the business itself. Many unable to survive and sustaining their business operations due to lockdown. This paper will elaborate and discuss Bumiputera-owned SMEs maximising their brands for their sustainability in facing COVID-19. In Malaysia, Bumiputera-owned SMEs also no exception towards the pandemic. Majority of Bumiputera-owned SMEs belongs to micro and small as their main objective is to generate more profits for their cash-flows security. Thus, they put aside their important asset in their company that is the brand. Brands considered an item that belongs to large and multinational corporation. Bumiputera-owned SMEs missed out that brands will help to uphold their products and services to be more visible for their customers. In addition, brands also provide an extensive promotion to products and services as it will create more awareness, loyalty and perhaps repeat purchase among customers. In conjunction with the emerging of digitalisation and the Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0), Bumiputera-owned SMEs should integrate their brands together with digitalisation, online business, social media and electronic marketing as to make their customers know that the products and services are still available and relevant to them. Bumiputera-owned SMEs need to take every single way of promoting their brands as to save the best for last!