Redefining Marketing Paradigms in the Post-Covid World
The Covid-19 pandemic has necessitated heading back to the drawing board and realigning marketing approaches for the long-term
Picture this.
You are a marketer in a mid to large sized firm and have the arduous task of navigating your company post the Coronavirus pandemic. When the pandemic subsides and you’re back to normal, what would be your next step?
You’d surely be wondering how should marketing strategies align to meet consumer requirements, right? Or how to redefine what you’ve been doing in the past and deal with the new normal?
While the importance of metrics like RoI and market share won’t change, there will still be plenty more on your plate — challenging and exciting at the same time.
With that said and done, let’s check out some paradigms that would change for the short and long-terms, and what you as a marketing manager can do about it.
Reduced Budgets for Marketing
With businesses shut for weeks and some probably months at a stretch, it is a no-brainer that your budgets would be affected. You’d have less money to spend than probably envisioned or set aside for the financial year (an allocation of INR 100,000 may become INR 10,000!)
Fret not, this is the time to be resourceful. Use the budget judiciously — for the right audience, the selective campaign centered around a theme that you believe will bring in the cash, and focused on existing setups.
The Offline to Online Shift
Okay, this is a no-brainer. Traditionally, offline contributes a bulk of the marketing effort for most organisations. But with most of your customers getting comfortable with online mediums, you certainly have to dedicate more time, effort and money towards this channel.
You have to be present online, if you haven’t already.
So, if this was second priority or had just a 10% of budget allocation earlier, it would not be the same now, for the short or even the long-term. Take steady steps to increase your online footprint and keep your customers informed, so they are also at ease with this change.
Changes in Consumer Behaviour
I’d like to mention two points here. One, digital would become an inseparable part of people’s lives, if it already has not. Two, consumer expectations of standards around hygiene, safety and processes have changed, and will definitely not be the same as they were earlier.
Here’s a clue for you to realise the value of being in tune with the changing times. Just have a look at how the online food ordering companies have pivoted their product by sharing temperatures of delivery staff, images of their kitchens as well as precautions taken by their on-ground teams.
This has ensured that their businesses are not deeply impacted. Be flexible and user-centric, sounds good?
Fresh Brand Building Approaches
The most challenging of times are indeed the best to gauge how your brand stands in the crowded marketplace. Emotion is and will always be a part of building a brand that connects with your audience. However, the emotions and expectations will slightly change as consumers begin to prefer brands that have empathy, care and position themselves right.
A recent example that comes to mind is a Good Day video ad showing how everyone’s doing their bit in society, to create a wonderful day for all. Optimism and happiness could be the new mantra to reconnect with customers.
Create Relevant Content, Consistently
The pandemic has shown us that the “C” of communication is very critical in connecting with your customers and informing them how your brand/product can serve their needs, in line with regulatory requirements. However, there is another “C” of content that will be helpful to reach, connect and engage with your target audience.
If you create relevant, consistent content across platforms (preferably with a focus on online) — social media, blog posts, website, email, etc., you would get better results and your sales teams would thank you for it.
Conclusion
To summarise, it’s tough to predict how exactly things would come out once business and life as usual resumes. But we do know that it won’t be the same as earlier.
In such a scenario, agility, adaptability and openness to change are a must. Being prepared and keeping yourself abreast of the developments in the business world will certainly ensure that you are in a good space.
What are your thoughts on the new trends emerging from Covid-19 that marketers would have to deal with? Let’s have a conversation and share some ideas..
