It is no longer news that the impact of COVID-19 is being felt by businesses, a vast majority with an exception to some. No marketing playbook prepared you for this and most likely none was ever written for you to digest its content and implement the results. Simply put, as of right now, every marketing strategy we were taught does not apply.
With companies laying off as much as 70 – 90% of their workforce, salary cuts etc and unpaid leave. As communication professionals here’s how you can help effectively manage the brands within your portfolio;
1. Do not stop Marketing
Sounds strange right? Well, keep reading. While this may not be applicable to all brands, it does apply to those who can afford to keep their marketing budget running. We are tempted to save what marketing spend we’ve allocated for the next few weeks/months until the end of the pandemic or when the government will have businesses open up for transactions to begin.
Well, if you can keep that marketing budget on going, do so. This is a time where most if not all of humanity with data and a smartphone are online trying to make sense of all that is going on. Thereby keeping themselves engaged. So while you have to be deliberate with your creatives and content strategy, if you can keep on marketing, by all means, do so.
Besides, some brands are in high demand now, most have seen the need to have their brands online, so digital technology services are in high demand, Logistics etc …
2. Be Human With Your Strategy
You may have to twerk, scratch that, you will have to twerk your initial 2020 marketing strategy to fit into a more human narrative. It is time to show empathy. Craig Mawdsley states that “data tells us two things during these times – people are looking for help and comfort”. So how can you best reposition your brand’s marketing strategy to help with those two things?
3. Plan for Post COVID-19
For someone who has never experienced this before, myself inclusive, this may sound vague. So here’s one of the things we do with brands under our portfolio at Pandora Agency.
Some of the restrictions will be lifted at one point or the other, what will be the most inherent needs of customers peculiar to brands you manage? How can you best address their needs in a cautious but humane way?
Like Craig Mawdsley so graciously stated; “Feeling uncertain, in uncertain times, means you have the emotional intelligence to thrive in the future. But don’t let the uncertainty paralyze you. Think like a caring human being with the resources to help millions. Then act accordingly, in the mutual interest of business and society”.
Leave a Reply