How Can Marketing Thrive In Uncertain Times?

Maintaining ad and marketing spend, while understanding changes in consumers’ media and shopping habits, is key to building strong brands for the future. Many local businesses are uncertain about the future as well as what type of impact the Coronavirus will have going forward. It is important that, during this time, we remain calm and that we continue to implement measures and precautions while supporting each other as entrepreneurs, business owners and start-ups.

Review Marketing Finances In Different Scenarios

Make use of both conservative and best-case scenarios as you map out your marketing finances for your company. The uncertainties of the pandemic – as well as other “wildcards” that have the potential to impact your company – call for “prudent levels of conservatism” when you outline your financial plan.

This being said, you also can’t be too conservative and then cut out the capacities which will assist you with succeeding when the economy does pick up again. There is a delicate balance between remaining conservative if the future seems to be bleak and being positioned well when the future looks favourable.

Resilient Marketing Leadership

Develop resilient marketing leadership and a collaborative organisational culture. Effective marketing leadership plays a vital role in crisis communication.  If you are the leader in your marketing department, you need to cultivate resilience for yourself and collaborate well with your employees.

A resilient leader should have a clear vision. They should be composed and should also possess reasoning and problem-solving skills. Resilient leaders should be persistent and collaborate with others. In terms of collaboration, it is vital that you continuously build – as well as maintain-  your professional networks. Get support from your employees. This is exceptionally relevant in times of crisis such as we are facing at the moment.

Keep On top Of Consumer Behaviour

Keep up with tracking the changing consumer behaviours in order to understand your customers’ needs. Four consumption trends have emerged, including:

• Online shopping,
• Panic buying,
• Shifting product categories, as well as
• Consumers becoming increasingly more price sensitive.

Despite this, consumer behaviours are still evolving in this fast-changing environment. For instance, many consumers have developed health concerns owing to the pandemic. How are you able to know what your customers’ needs are and provide products and services in order to satisfy their needs, thus keeping loyal customers? The answer is by uncovering customers’ needs by conducting research and continuously listening to the voice of customers (VOC).

You are able to listen, gather data as well as uncover hidden needs merely by asking the correct questions. After this, you can test the hypotheses in order to take action. You don’t need to conduct large-scale customer insights research armed with good amounts of market research budgets.

There are some easy – as well as free  – research methods for businesses to use if you don’t have a massive budget. For example:

• You are able to directly talk to your customers and then ask them to provide feedback to you.
• You could also review your customers’ comments regarding products or services on review sites (e.g., Yelp) or social media. By looking very closely at customers’ social mentions, you are able to figure out what your customers like most like to say and, in addition, what can be improved.

There are some free or inexpensive social listening tools for you to use.

Get in touch with the Digital School of Marketing

If you want to become a marketing expert then you need to sign up for our Marketing Management Course. To find out more about this course and to register, please follow this link.