Today we reached out to Maricel Gatcahalian-Badilla, our resource person on marketing, to give us some tips on how marketing professionals could respond and adjust to the current disruptive business environment.
The world has gone through various crises numerous times but this ongoing global pandemic seems to have hit us the hardest. The recovery period from this crisis will be longer than 9/11 or SARS. Many businesses will be feeling the pandemic’s effects for years to come.
But although the recovery may be slow, creating a strategic marketing plan is best done now. This is not the time for brands to be quiet. This is the time to reach out to your audience, for them to hear we are there for them.
There are three things businesses should consider when coming up with a recovery marketing plan—their market, message and medium.
Market
With many people losing jobs or becoming underemployed, our markets will definitely shrink. We need to ask ourselves if our current target markets could still buy from us or if we need to explore or find a new market. Engage with your customers and remind them about your products or services. Ask for referrals and suggestions. New avenues might begin to open up for you. Practice creativity in pivoting your business from its current platforms to new ways of service deliveries. For example, restaurants with dine-in and buffet services have been most affected by the lockdown. To move forward, they have to offer delivery services, do-it-yourself kits and prepacked lunch boxes, thus providing unique culinary experiences for the locked down consumer.
Message
We also need to craft our message with more empathy and care. Marketing our products and services today is meant to increase awareness and interest, whereas purchase (especially of travel and luxury products) might be withheld for a later time. Still, we would want our brand to be remembered as the brand that cared. Switzerland’s Dream Now, Travel Later online communication campaign is its response to continue engaging and building the trust of travelers, to dream and plan their future trips to this particular destination.
Medium
Contactless options for message and service delivery need to be done, immediately. If your business is not yet digital during this pandemic, it does not exist. Everyone spends more time online than ever before. It’s time to keep the conversation going, perhaps on multiple platforms. Tiktok, for instance, has become the fastest growing social media during this pandemic, are you there yet?In summary, be in constant search for new opportunities. As the old saying goes, when God closes a door, he opens a window. Our recovery marketing plan should cultivate that window until it opens wide.
Badilla will conduct a virtual workshop on “Crisis and Recovery Marketing: Crafting New Marketing Strategies in a Disruptive Business Environment” on Nov. 25 to Nov. 26. For your online learning needs, Inquirer Academy could assist you in designing and facilitating a webinar, or virtual workshop for your organization. INQ
For more information about the workshops and schedule of online courses offered by Inquirer Academy, please email ask@inquireracademy.com, or call 0945-2158935 and look for Jerald Miguel.
The author is the executive director of the Inquirer Academy.