Marketing during a crisis is never easy. Business-as-usual no longer applies, and past messaging might appear tone-deaf without revisiting the context. Use the recovery period to revisit your marketing plan and assets and set up for a fast start.
It’s safe to say that 2020 was never the year businesses expected to walk into. The best-made plans made in 2019 were thrown into the bin by February.
Fast forward to June 2020, countries are tentatively reopening the economy with essential businesses and services leading the way. Travel is on the agenda again; with travel bubbles and fast-track approaches being discussed.
Many businesses – over restricted movement and lockdowns – bunkered in to see which way the wind blows. They have tentatively reached out to customers on database, and loyalty programmes to determine how demand has shifted. Some ran marketing campaigns.
Most brands learnt (or observed) that business-as-usual efforts reaped little results. Some were burnt, as ex-customers deemed their tactics tone-deaf and opportunistic. These brands seemed to be taking advantage of customers reeling from the impact of the pandemic.
Going dark is not a strategy
Given the challenges of the period, some businesses are concerned about restarting their marketing engine.
Going dark is not a strategy though. It only makes restarting the engine that much harder so many months later.
Historical research has shown that brands that spend on marketing during the various stages of a crisis, enjoy more sales over the long term.
Of course, businesses that invest resources on their marketing might not win over the long term. However, they will discover areas about their branding and marketing that needs adapting and even changing.
While customers might not be actively buying at this time, it does not mean they do not want to hear from your business. In the early stages of a crisis, the ‘cash is king’ mindset re-emerges, and customers look to save to make it over the hill.
Marketing during a pandemic?
Of course, the correct answer is ‘it depends’.
Businesses that have been impacted by the pandemic can start by lifting their perspective above the immediate environment.
Don’t market because there is a pandemic happening.
Market to customers – real people – that are experiencing the pandemic across many stages. Some people have been impacted in ways that brands – as an entity – will never understand. The people behind the brand can though.
It bears repeating. Your messaging and positioning is far more important during a crisis, especially a global one that has no precedent. Clear, timely and authentic messaging will go a long way.
Customers have expectations. They want businesses to prioritise various elements of public healthcare, for example, looking after employees, contactless delivery methods, digital payments. These customers will also look at marketing campaigns and judge whether they realistically address current reality.
Start with your fundamentals and provide value.
Provide information – in an accessible manner on your website or social media channels – about operations and changes that are being implemented. Answer what, how and when. Provide reasons why and share who is in-charge and contactable.
For those businesses that adjusted, pivoted or powered through, be open and direct about it. Communicate with your customers, focus on the services you can provide to them as people.
At the minimum, your business should answer the following question: How would your business deliver on your values and brand promises to customers as individuals?
Assume that your business will survive.
Firstly, look towards improving on operational efficiencies. This means re-evaluating your business plan and finances in 2020 to prepare to fund an increase in spending on marketing.
Often, this step requires securing buy-in from the management team and belief that marketing is a long-term investment. It means explaining to management that the short-term pain of spending will lead to a medium-term gain in the marketing outcomes that contribute to revenue. This could be more traffic to your website, or a healthy pipeline of leads.
Secondly, invest in a marketing approach, content, assets as well as a distribution plan. Determine your direction at each stage of the economy reopening, when customer demand returns and if you need to find new customer audiences. Start putting together the content and assets required. Get all approvals done now when there is time. Decide whether the 2019 distribution plan still works; otherwise build a new one.
Invest in branding. Remind your team about values, promises and outcomes. This is the best time to brainstorm and debate about whether past values are still relevant. If not, make new ones that reflect the business currently and for the future.
Revisit your customer journey and touch-points to align and update with any changes to branding, content and assets.
What would be a good approach that signals to customers that you are ready to provide value?
This pandemic has sped up the adoption rate of digital and mobile-first platforms and technologies. Customers have experienced the benefits of convenience and on-demand services, and they will never return to an earlier time when it comes to expectations.
Businesses should consider how they can use digital and mobile means of interacting with customers. This can be as simple as ensuring that their websites are mobile-optimised and communications tools such as chatbots, messaging apps are installed. It can also represent implementing social and e-commerce tools as well as digital payments.
The Singapore Government has shared various grants and subsidies for SMEs to transform digitally such as the e-commerce booster package to get listed on marketplaces or adding payment methods such as PayNow and even purchasing CRM software.
Another approach to consider is increasing brand utility. Brand utility is “…the practice of investing in services or experiences that help consumers or add value to their lives.”. Customers do not look to buy things from businesses if we cannot solve a problem for them. This is basic psychology.
The provision of value to a customer is not a new marketing tool. It has matured though with the growth of digital, and delivery through the internet.
Brands should consider creating and offering relevant information that adds value to the customer touch-point or journey. This means businesses do not sell until they have proven to the customer they can solve their problem.
Get a sense – through video focus groups – of whether your customers are ready to be engaged yet. Offer incentives for spending their time. Consider infographics, toolkits, pay-it-forward initiatives, community-driven outcomes, email or app notifications about discounts. Provide more information and practical use cases then creative entertainment.
As mentioned earlier, many customers are not in a buying frame of mind. It does not mean that they are closed to engaging with your business. Commit to interaction by sharing content with them. Reassure customers that you are committed to solving their problems; and that the business is ready to receive them in time to come. Educate them with practical assets in anticipation of their return.
Build trust, invest in marketing, reap long-term benefits
Demand is relative. As recovery continues, demand will grow and sales will also increase. Your business has little control over many external factors relating to decisions on lockdowns and reopening of services or even the return of employees from remote work arrangements.
However, you can control the plans and investments leading through recovery that will impact the speed at which your business returns to profitability. It is critical to invest in activities that build trust with your customers, and in a marketing approach that provide a strategic advantage over the medium-term as we see the end of 2020.
We are Brand Utility is a business consultancy.
We offer strategy and tactics to support growth outcomes - revenue, scale, regional expansion and market entry – for our clients.
Areas of support include:
Branding: Messaging, positioning, approach to market
Marketing: Content, social media, email, community amplification
Lead generation: Digital advertising, social media advertising, social commerce, e-commerce
Integration of marketing with business operations: Secondment as a marketing or public relations function
Discover more about our services at our website or book a free consultation through this link.
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