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Marketing During Coronavirus and Beyond

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As the Coronavirus pandemic gathers pace around the world, a few of my clients have been asking me for advice on how to behave as brands and marketers during this challenging time. Here are some tips, based on leading marketing teams through previous crises. You can also get a summary of my latest presentation here.

 

1. Think customer-first

This is a worrying time for everyone and we need to be in tune with our customers sentiment. So Listen, Respond and Listen Again. It's important to have effective listening tools in place and also gather feedback from non-digital touch-points like call centers, retail, front desks etc. We should be empathetic in branded communications and provide reassurance to customers wherever possible. This is not a time to be overly-promotional or to be perceived as opportunistic, so do an audit of your assets and check that you are on-message.

 

2. Dial up customer service touch-points

At times like these, brands are judged on how well / badly they respond. And the marketplace has a long memory. So make sure you are on your game across your customer service touch-points and ramp up resources if needed. Be proactive in offering support and use plain, practical language wherever possible.

3. Adapt Performance Marketing

Driving sales in the right way is more important than ever and there are smart ways that performance marketing campaigns can be adapted. Above all, don't over-sell. Position your products and services in a way that solves problems and adds value. Focus on your most loyal customers through owned channels and CRM and use data driven strategies to target audiences that are still willing to buy. The most recent channel advice from media agencies suggests minimizing out of home, increasing digital (official media, short video, social, news and info sites) and maintaining TV and online video.

4. Put your expertise to work

Think about what makes you an authority and use your expertise to add value to your customers. Can you provide tips and valuable information? Do you have data and trends that would be useful? Can you offer credible advice?

5. Live your purpose

If you have a strong commitment to brand purpose and CSR, this is an important time to demonstrate that in the real world. Many people are going to face difficult challenges in the coming weeks and we should all be thinking about the role we can play.

6. Do some much needed housekeeping

If you have spare capacity, this is a great time to tackle those projects that have slipped in the everyday hustle and bustle of running a marketing department, but will help you to bounce back stronger. Tasks could include building up your content library, creating that blog, updating marketing collateral, capturing video and image content and doing some much needed SEO on your site!  This could also be an opportunity to check off some of those training needs you identified in the last round of performance reviews. There are tons of online training solutions to enable your team to participate remotely. As a side note - I'm adapting my own training programs right now for online delivery and so is the Association of National Advertisers.

 

7. Plan for the rebound

Things will improve eventually and when they do, speed and nimbleness will be vital to ensure you make the most of any recovery. There will be pent up demand from consumers to satisfy, plus there's a strong chance your organization will need to seriously catch up on sales and revenue. The time is plan is NOW! Here are some potential strategies to consider:

  • Create scenario plans for a recovery at different speeds - develop campaign concepts, assets, branding and messaging for each. Be sure to account for geographical differences in recovery within your markets.

  • Identify the trends that will last beyond Coronavirus, such as increased migration to digital, and ensure they are reflected in your plans. 

  • Adapt your media selection to the changed media environment … and anticipate further changes.

  • Consider a redefined or adapted positioning to ensure that you are relevant to the new reality.

  • Test your creative and messaging approaches and monitor customer sentiment carefully - this situation is volatile!

  • Signal a change from the past with new messages, promotions, innovation and launches.

  • Lean into national pride, recognized tent pole moments and holidays to support your strategy.

 

FOR MORE INFO AND A SUMMARY OF MY MOST RECENT PRESENTATION 

CLICK HERE

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