Covid-19 has had an immense impact on our personal and professional lives. We experienced what it means not to be able to travel freely. And the majority of us started to work from home on a full time basis.
In the last few months figures have shown that most businesses have experienced a significant drop in revenues and operations slowed at such a point that some companies have had to reduce their staff and cut costs.
So what impact has Covid-19 had on marketing?
Being a marketing person, I have observed what some businesses have implemented in the last months in their marketing. This is what I have noticed.
1. Empathy
Brands have understood that in this global crisis it is better to be empathetic with customers. It pays off to support customers with relevant information and to provide discounts of any sort.
Some wise insurance companies for example have provided customers with car insurance discounts given that most of them were stuck at home in lockdown and not driving as often as they did before. Some airline companies provided up to date Covid-19 information to travellers and travel vouchers in a timely manner. A good example of this is EasyJet's Covid-19 information portal.
2. Agility
From a marketing operations perspective, costs had to be cut in each function and in all sectors. And we know that marketing is often considered a cost and it is the first to see cost cutting when businesses slow down. However, it's in challenging times that marketing becomes even more crucial. To achieve effective lead generation marketing needs to adapt and become more agile with the production of super relevant content that customers find useful. For example, startups that are looking at funding are highly engaged with content that can direct them to the rights sources of information and to the right funding partners for their businesses.
3. Alignment
Marketing and sales are working more and more as one team to win deals and keep the business going. We all know that full alignment between marketing and sales is one of CEO's dreams.
In difficult times like this global pandemic, I have noticed that there is even more need for a full alignment between these two functions as this will ensure winning customers faster and making your business more efficient. You can see these in how marketing content has clearer calls to action, aiming at capturing business leads more effectively.
Nurturing programmes are streamlined and leads are shared with the sales team at an earlier stage. Sales teams start to share marketing content with their contacts and on social media. And marketing teams are getting more and more familiar with numbers and KPIs as they feel the pressure to deliver short term results.
4. Brand
Tone of voice and messaging is more important than ever. Although branding activities might be perceived as expensive and with a long term return on the investment, in the last few months businesses have had the time to reconsider their brands and assess whether they are still engaging with the right customers. If this is not the case, this can be seen in low quality and high volume lead generation activity. Business need to see where their brand is positioned in the market, what their customers need and want right now and how they can stand up from the competition with the right messaging and brand identity.
I have seen a few cases of businesses trying to slightly rebrand to better position themselves during the pandemic (see for example Revolut). This can only work if there is clear reason behind the rebranding. Today's customers are expecting more clarity from brands and are willing to switch from one brand to another easily if their needs are not satisfied. Customers are also more price sensitive as they have to deal with job loss, a global recession and a weaker purchasing power. So price remains one key marketing element to watch.
If you like to discuss your marketing strategy in the 'new normal' get in touch via info@intelligoconsulting.co.uk or leave a comment below.
Thank you for reading.