Branding vital in poor economy

I had a chance to hear a leading Greater Cincinnati branding expert this morning talk about its importance. Wendy Vonderhaar, President of Intrinzic Marketing, was speaking to the Non-Profits Shared Interest Group of the Cincinnati Chapter of the American Marketing Association. Wendy said that in branding it's vital to make an emotional connection with your audience/customers and justify that connection with facts. It occured to me in these tough economic times that customers are less willing to take chances. Wendy put it this way: Each thing you do needs to work for you more. To me it begins with how we understand the brands of our organizations. What is our promise? How are we relevant? How are we different? If we can't answer these questions how can we help our clients or potential clients? A better question might be, Why should they use us?