As of this writing, we are in the middle of a pandemic that’s been affecting millions of lives and killed people by the thousands.
2020 started with high hopes, and in an instant, forecast the second coming of a great economic depression. We face a crisis that evokes doom and gloom with slim hopes, and consequences that will impact our lives for years to come.
While none of us would like to focus on the depressing facts that we all face during a crisis, it is crucial to prepare for them. Likewise, we face a problem that impacts all of us, but there are steps to help weather the storm.
In any crisis, some businesses have fared better than others. How? They took the necessary steps to invest in crisis-proofing their business, particularly their marketing strategy.
Re-evaluate your brand positioning
- Carefully assess your brand’s positioning (the image your company cultivates to stand out from your competitors).
- Take stock of the industry’s landscape (an analysis of your competitors and their position in the marketing), and use that to determine the efficacy of your brand. Factor in the crisis-evolved market and how it would influence customer behavior.
Leverage your core competencies
- Relate with your customers better by understanding your unique brand value (perceived worth of your brand) and your customers’ brand perception (how customers feel about your brand). Use these as a guide to find out customers’ expectations and deliver accordingly.
- Apply a value-based approach (a strategy that is based on perceived value) to help increase your customers’ brand loyalty to you. Meaning, offer products or services that are valuable or adapt it to the crisis-evolved market to make it accessible.
Be prepared with your best value propositions
- Understanding customer needs and being empathetic is more important than profit. Empathize with your customers while adding value when you craft your value propositions (the promised value when customers buy a product or service).
- Position your brand as a partner in hard times, and your proposition only adds value that can help customers. Remember, brands that have forged lasting bonds with customers are built from trust and are more likely to be remembered long-term.
Always be on the look-out for prospects but take care of your current clients
- Amp up your prospecting efforts to grow your list of new clients. Invest in areas such as email marketing, and lead generation (a process that identifies and cultivates potential customers).
- Focus on your current customers as well, be consistent in delivering high-quality service or product, and back it up with great customer experience. Repeat clients through consistent good service are cheaper than exhausting your marketing budget to get new clients.
You need to invest in data-driven insights
- Tools like Google Analytics give valuable insights about customers through in-depth data analysis collected from your website. Programs such as this are a cost-efficient solution in the long run.
- Understanding your customers is crucial to anticipating possible changes in their preferences. Customer insights (an interpretation of trends in human behaviors) make your marketing strategy more adapted to provide value to your customers.
Spend smart but don’t skimp on marketing
- While skimping on your marketing budget now yields short-term benefits. In the long run, your marketing strategy won’t be equipped to keep up with the demands when the crisis has passed.
- Slashing your marketing budget now also means missing out on possible prospects that will help you stay afloat during another crisis.
Remember, it’s better to spend smart or don’t spend at all. Consistent marketing efforts help your customers remember your brand, and give you an added edge when a crisis has passed.
Motion Cabin is a full-service digital advertising agency that can help you craft effective marketing strategies that are adaptable during and after a crisis, and consistently produce content that aligns with your brand voice.
Collaborate with us! For inquiries, just message us at info@motioncabin.com, and let’s turn your creative ideas into actions.
