Marketing in COVID - It’s been nearly 6 months now since the Coronavirus started to flip our lives upside down. From having to practice social distancing and getting used to life without the outdoors to continually washing our hands and wearing masks and seeing loved ones and friends getting sick, the Coronavirus is something none of us expected.
Since then a lot has changed and there are new opportunities that have come around when it comes to your (online) business and marketing activities. We have seen an increase in marketing importance during the pandemic.
Priority in marketing shifts
Considering the pandemic impact on businesses - there has been a 62% of increase in importance of marketing during the pandemic.
Considering marketing opportunities, marketers shifted resources toward building better customer-facing digital interfaces (61%), transforming their business models (56%), expanding into new offerings (42%), and building partnerships (41%) over new markets, new capabilities, new automation and data integration.
Long term opportunities over short term gains
When it comes to new digital offerings introduced during the pandemic, we have seen am increased openness among customers, increased value placed on digital experiences and greater acknowledgements of companies’ attempts to ‘do good’.
A global crisis can either paralyze a marketing team or galvanize it to thrive. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, that’s exactly what we’re seeing: some companies are cutting back on marketing (in some instances, laying off the entire marketing team), while others are being more agile and coming up with interesting ways of engaging their audience during these difficult times.
Keep your audience
If you want to stay in business, you can’t stay idle for long. We understand why many entrepreneurs and small businesses would want to cut down completely on marketing activities. Being conservative feels like the safe choice when there’s uncertainly about how long the crisis will last. But we have to balance financial responsibility with the need to keep consumers informed and engaged when things get tough.
In fact, long-term studies show that the right approach during economic uncertainty is to increase — not decrease — your marketing spend. The last thing you want is to be caught flat-footed and find yourself lagging your competitors when the economy revs up again.
For the most part, your clients are receptive to some marketing at this time. A recent study from the American Association of Advertising Agencies found that 43% of consumers find it reassuring to hear from brands. In addition, 56% said they like learning how brands are helping their communities during the pandemic. Only 15% said they’d rather not hear from companies.
Data is money
The bottom line is that fresh data and accurate insights have never been more important. In these uncharted territories, relying on instincts alone is dangerous. If you haven’t reached out to your customers in the past month, now’s the time to do so.
While it’s important to recognize the uncertainties and fears surrounding COVID-19, don’t let this crisis paralyze you. Enabling your team to really understand your customers and act based on timely insights is key to navigating your way through this crisis both for your marketing team and your company.
Comments