Anand Srivastava — April 8, 2020 The world is changing and the time might not seem appropriate to talk about business possibilities and growth. However, we need to understand that the coronavirus crisis will surely pass like some of the other global threats and countries will then turn to potent business opportunities for improving the financial standing. Moreover, it goes without saying that the global economic hierarchy is and will continue to take the beating and business, even upon recovering, must duly concentrate on innovative offline and online marketing strategies to drive sales.
The Premise for Reigniting Growth
First things first; organizations will see a massive shift in the sales figures, especially the fall in offline and over-the-counter purchases, once the global lockdown is lifted and the crisis pacifies to a certain extent. Therefore, it can be inferred that a majority of sales will shift online and therefore firms must consider strengthening the digital marketing strategies, more than anything else. However, offline tractions shouldn’t be neglected and companies must opt for philanthropic marketing strategies, going into the future. At the time of crisis, customers will only trust brands contribute towards the society, more than anything else. Therefore, unlike previous years, 2020 will be a year of social presence in addition to some of the other innovative strategies.
Source: Gartner
What Changes in 2020?
It goes without saying that brands in 2020 will have to start from the scratch as consumers will be less trusting of their intentions and credibility. Therefore, opting for corporate scenarios shouldn’t be the approach and companies must increasingly start relying on offering better customer experiences. Even the branding and advertising concepts would change as there would be less sporting events and gatherings. Therefore, the marketing strategy for brands in 2020 should be extremely targeted and anything generic and conventional would fall flat on the face.
Scott Jones, CEO, 123 Internet Group quoted that only a collaborative approach will work for businesses in the long run. The road from here would embrace transformation, reliance of digital channels, and emphasis on remote working environments.
Preparing for Operational Impacts
Before we start enlisting the prospective marketing strategies, it is necessary to understand the hindered operational impacts and make arrangements accordingly. Firstly, this looming crisis has negatively impacted the supply chain which readily urges the brands to become more accountable in future. In order to create a lasting impression, brands must start by making realistic promises whilst living up to each one of them. Once the concerned firm is ready to embrace accountability, the following marketing strategies can be implemented for better results:
- Improve customer handling abilities
Moving into the future, brand must be more than willing to concentrate on better customer services and deliverability. Most importantly, as digital presence will be valued even more due to restrictive gatherings, it becomes all the more important for the companies to train professionals for handling increased customer demands, going into the future.
- Amplify Digital Deliveries
If a brand is willing to make it big amidst operational crisis, it is necessary to promote applications, services, tools, and other forms of digital deliveries. Companies must think of innovative and safe strategies for delivering products. People will be moving out a bit less and therefore digital deliveries will be the most important avenues, which in turn can and should be marketed.
Source: Forbes
- Move Online with Events
As witnessed social gatherings have evaporated and even if the virus ceases to take lives, individuals will still be reluctant to go to events. While this might mean lesser offline visibility, this also points towards online events, digital seminars, and more. In 2020, most of our attention should be towards virtual and online events which would still bring people together without posing threats.
- Content will be even more Important
People will be staying indoors for long and they would definitely consider good reads. Therefore, businesses must start with relevant content creation by adhering to the innovative side of things. For example, a health chain might start posting articles regarding immunity boosting food items whilst offering individuals options to subscribe to the meal packages.
- Secure Spots
The first thing companies would do once the pandemic blunts out is to advertise themselves over digital media and across electronic platforms. A good marketing strategy would therefore be to remain connected with the media planners and book slots in advance.
- Concentrate on Social Presence
While offline endeavors might have slowed down in 2020, brands must find ways to regain the trust of the customers by indulging in societal and philanthropic activities. Setting up foster cares for the impoverished or contributing to the initiatives taken by diverse NGOs, brands can and should make it a point to contribute towards the society. A good way would be to give adequate attention to the website and modify the same by putting out a dedicated segment concerning foster grandparent registration, online donations for the wage workers, food availability for children, and more. People would then see the empathy and start trusting the brand whilst investing in concerned products and services.
- Plan out a Budget
At the start of 2020, businesses might have chalked out the marketing budget but keeping the recent turn of events in mind, it would be wise enough to revisit the considerations. Spending needs to be highly targeted in the next few years and a majority of funds must be dedicated towards online marketing, better content creation, and offline social responsibilities. It wouldn’t hurt if a company hires volunteers to distribute food and clothes to the children and senior citizens by taking out a certain portion of their profits.
Inference
Believe us when we say that the entire world is going to change once we get out of this crisis. However, the real test of character would mean that companies are ready to grind through the difficult times and reorient their strategies according to the global standing, While it is necessary to show concern and contribute towards the cause, one must not forget that from an entrepreneurial point of view, every crisis leads to a series of opportunities and businesses must be more than willing to make use of the same, once the situations are favorable.
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