There is no denying that the world is changing!
It has been changing from the moment it was created. The change has been pivotal in our growth as a race. While humans themselves have maintained a rather strong position in history, guiding their own change!
But….
Every now and then, nature has its own way of imposing changes.
While humans may find their way around these changes every now and then, the fact of the matter is that they alter how we function. And these changes are irreversible; there is no going back!
If 2020 has been anything, it has been unpredictable. And of course, we talk about the famed Coronavirus when we talk about 2020 being unpredictable. And when the threat of the virus does end, everyone knows that our method of functioning will have changed forever.
Marketing in 2020
But while it is true that nothing after the Coronavirus threat will be the same, it is also true that what happens during this threat will reflect on the aftermath.
And when we say that, our special reference is for organizations because those are the collective forces that everyone is looking at right now other than the government.
The communication and the marketing at this point in time for any organization are going to be a crucial deciding factor for its performance after this threat has subsided. While marketing is essential in these times, it has been seen that in the UK, only 14% of marketing campaigns are going “as planned.”
But as these campaigns subside, the need to communicate in the pandemic grows ever more intense. The only difference is that the strategy of this communication has to be different than ever before. And if the communication is not right, the results could be disastrous. Why? For two main reasons:
1. The Demand
The most significant factor that dictates changes in marketing practices during these times is the demand. With everyone going in isolation and little idea of when everything will open up, consumers are looking to tone down their spending. This seems to be the most logical choice for everyone.
But when consumers do not want to buy anything at all, or just buy the bare minimum, how are organizations going to survive?
Given the uncertainty in the markets, the stock market in several countries has already crashed. The predictions for global regression have also come in time. With this demand already dying, who is to say that your company will be the one to walk out from the recession.
Without reaching out to customers in this pandemic, there is no hope at survival.
2. The Fixed Costs
While the idea about falling demand holds without any thought, another more destructive concept has had considerable sway during this pandemic. The idea is that of fixed costs.
While decreased demand for products and services has meant that businesses are earning less than they used to, they have to pay the same amount of costs. No matter how much the output falls, these costs have to be paid.
But under these circumstances, expenses such as rent, labor, and maintenance costs have to be paid.
As a result, the organizations face extra burdens. What they resort to in the very end is to lay off their extra labor that cannot add any value during these times. This, in turn, hinders the purchasing power of individuals and further lowers the demand for products and services, giving rise to a vicious cycle.
Moreover, with these layoffs, these organizations hinder a significant segment of their market – their employees. With a tarnished image of having let go of their employees at this point in time, they really do not get any positive word of mouth.
Moreover, one way or the other, the government is restricting organizations from letting their employees go during this time. So, letting go, lands them in a problem with the laws that impose extra costs. These challenges really are cumbersome.
How Organizations Should Market
But while much seems to be lost, for some industries more than others, the fact of the matter is that there is still hope. But capitalizing on what hope is left is not as easy as it seems.
It pushes organizations to step out of their “salesy” tone and bring something new to the game.
That is why organizations that market during these times need to connect emotionally. Perhaps some might believe that there is nothing to be gained out of this given that there is no demand. However, even when there was demand, consumers cared about emotional messages that show empathy.
The Importance of Touchpoint Optimization
Still, in these uncertain times, there is no one factor that can bring organizations out of this fix. That is why, now more than ever, is the time for organizations to rethink their entire customer journeys.
What this means is that every organization must study the entire journey their customer takes to buy their product. In that context, every touchpoint that the brand operates across must be optimized. In that sense, they must all project similar images of the brand in order to maintain consistency.
The Internet
With discussions of touchpoints, it is impossible not to bring up the fact that the internet is the biggest medium for engagement. It forms the single most crucial touchpoint and a step in the customer journey that is the most prevalent.
It must be realized that all brands must ensure that they do not reserve the supply of their products and services exclusively through physical channels and touchpoints. The internet must be capitalized to not only sell products but also provide awareness.
Social Responsibility
However, while marketing, many brands will tend to forget that their marketing efforts must always communicate their social responsibility. And while it seems social responsibility is all about expressing your donations to relief efforts, it can be more than that.
For instance, take SCRIBD. SCRIBD understands that being locked in your home without much to do can be tedious and depressing. So SCRIBD ensures that they reached out to people and let it be known that they will let people use their services for free, at least till the pandemic subsides.
On the other hand, you can look at instances like Coursera. Coursera introduced entire portals for educational institutes that were affected by Coronavirus. They let these students avail of their services for free.
What must be noted here is that these organizations do not go out and give out money and donations. But what they do carries equal weight. So, when the pandemic does subside, people will remember how these brands stepped up to the game and made a difference.
This increases brand recall and ensures that these services come out on top in the post-pandemic world too.
Realizing the Opportunity
While everyone keeps talking about the devastating effects of the pandemic and the costs that it imposes on nations around the world, there is some silver lining in the cloud. Realizing this silver lining at this point in time is just as essential to devise a strategy to win.
The opportunity that we talk about is to gain the trust of consumers. This is the time when everyone is sitting at their homes operating on digital channels, watching the television, browsing the web, and whatnot. You still don’t see the timing?
If you just said this is the time to advertise, you would only be half right. This is the time for advertising, but the message in that advertising must change as we have already said. More specifically, this is the time to gain trust.
This is the time that every organization must take to reach out to its customers and inform them that they are valued. Any and all marketing during this time is to show customers that the community must be brought together.
But exploring a little further, this is also an opportunity for organizations to improve on their digital presence. All those brand managers who thought of their digital strategy as something in the future, have only that strategy to focus on now. All organizations have an opportunity to polish their digital strategy.
Final Thoughts
The world has changed, and the Coronavirus has accelerated that change in 2020. On top of that, it had made the world change and adapt before it was ready. And while you can sit back and complain about how devastating all this has been, every organization owes it to themselves to come out of this strong.
Marketing is the only way this can happen. But sticking to conventional methods will not do anybody any good. Breaking barriers is just as important as it is to survive during these times. Therefore, organizations need to look after their communication channels.
More specifically, every organization must look carefully upon its touchpoints, their social responsibility, and the embedded opportunity that comes within. Careful consideration of all these factors will mean that the organization not only survives the pandemic but comes out of it stronger.
But perhaps what is the most important realization for organizations during this time is that marketing is as essential a function as any other. So, the belief that anyone could do marketing for an organization is not rightly placed.
