The face of marketing has certainly changed to an unprecedented level over recent weeks, giving businesses time to reflect. In time, there will be light at the end of the tunnel, and there are proactive courses of action that your business can take to keep your brand light burning so that you are ready for the UpTurn when it does happen. COVID-19 may change the world as we know it, but businesses are using this time to refocus strategies, invest better in marketing tools and navigate this turbulent time for the better. While the coming months may raise new challenges for marketers, the world is in this together… And we will get through it together.
How can your business get working behind the scenes a positively, proactively preparing for the other side of the pandemic? According to Mark Ritson (Marketingweek.com);
“Brands can show their full empathetic support and keep their brand top of people’s minds and hearts.”
“…At some point consumers will return to the streets, the cafes and the various other activities that they have been denied during the dark days ahead. Keep the brand light burning, because the cost of snuffing it out for the rest of 2020 and then trying to reignite it next year is gigantic.”1
There is proof that customers are still listening, but it does depend how you are talking to them – it can be hard to know how to tailor marketing messaging right now.
According to recent figures2, 74%of consumers want to hear from helpful brands during the COVID-19 crisis. 72% think that companies have a social responsibility to offer aid during the Coronavirus. By brands adapting messages, they can show both empathy and consistency and stay in tune with the changing market.
Kantar Insights Global Head of Media, Jane Ostler, advises brands to change their media, messaging and touchpoints to ensure they are reaching consumers with communications they are most interested in;
“Hold your nerve…This will pass, and we will be in a situation where things start to recover. Have a view on the longer term as well as the short-term.3″
A survey of more than 35,000 consumers globally by Kantar found that just 8% thought brands should stop advertising. However, there is a clear expectation that companies should play their part, with 78% of consumers believing brands should help them in their daily lives, 75% saying brands should inform people of what they’re doing, and 74% thinking companies should not exploit the situation.
Another study asked consumers: In the current situation with Coronavirus, how do you want advertising to make you feel? 23% said ‘safe’2.
What can you do right now as a business to remain connected with customers?
Marketers can use this time to think long-term and keep building their brands, still honouring brand values while trying to think smarter!
At OWB, we have a few tools that we can offer so that you are equipped for the business UpTurn and to help you along the way at the next stage of your business journey: here are some essential marketing ingredients.
Refresh your digital strategy…
Now is the time to innovate and harness the power of social media to positively engage your audience. Consumers need support from the brands that they love, and social media provides the vehicle. At OWB we have 20 years’ experience at hand to devise and optimise all the best digital channels for your business.
Now is time to innovate and disrupt…
OWB develop original marketing strategies. We workshop your needs, assess opportunities, plan and devise creative execution, measure performance, report, analyse and refine to achieve success.
Refine your value proposition…
Is your message still appropriate in 2020? We support brands in writing, refining and creating a proposition that sells.
Account based selling…
Talk creatively to the customers that provide the best return on investment. Innovative thinking is our DNA.
Online is growing…
From eCommerce to corporate websites, we devise and build market-leading websites that work.
However, remember that in time, this will pass. Your customers will re-engage and your brand is here for the long haul, so protect it.
At OWB it is business as usual. Over the coming weeks, we’re bringing you our #ReadyForTheUpTurn series, with facts, tips and support sources to help keep your brand light burning and assist you with your marketing strategy. Together, we will get through this, and we’re here to help, every step of the way.
- https://www.marketingweek.com/ mark-ritson-marketing-covid-19/
- https://www.ipsos.com/sites/default/files/ct/publication/ documents/2020-03/creative-fightback-2020-ipsos.pdf
- https://www.b2bmarketing.net/en-gb/resources/articles/how-and-why-your-marketing-messages-should-change-during-coronavirus
