Coronavirus and marketing: success during the crisis

Events are moving fast and very few people know how the coronavirus situation will develop. Restrictions on public life and freedom of travel are changing how people consume, with drastic effects on the economy. In this article we explain why the coronavirus crisis is as much an opportunity as it is a threat.

Business owners and the self-employed

The question remains: what can I do, and how should I act as a business owner to offset the effects? What could a strategy look like that turns the new conditions to my advantage? In times of crisis especially, the right marketing strategy is crucial. A natural reaction is to slash the advertising budget. Cutting marketing costs, however, is certainly the worst solution. Why should you give up your company’s visibility right now, when customers are focusing above all on online channels? Where else would they turn when the shop is closed?

The first thing is to stay calm. Don’t make hasty decisions, and try to meet the most important conditions for a good market position. Let’s look at the changes we can expect and work with in order to maintain customer loyalty:

A) Consumer behaviour Wishes and needs remain, even if they are satisfied later. In the short term, given the situation, we can expect customers’ buying behaviour to change.

B) Alternatives to the bricks-and-mortar shop Our prospects are now using online channels more and more, quite simply because the shops are closed and people have been asked to stay at home. So we can assume that (apparently worldwide) far more potential customers are browsing online shops than before.

C) Sales psychology Customers’ purchasing decisions are strongly influenced by the coronavirus crisis. People are in a phase of thinking about security. There is plenty of information and many examples showing that in challenging situations people look after themselves. They increasingly use services and goods that revolve around their own security. Once the crisis is over, people’s thinking changes too and moves into a phase of thinking about rewards: “We fought for our security for so long, now we can treat ourselves.”

D) Competitor behaviour The next steps, statements and changes are crucial. If you react wrongly now, your competitors will take advantage of it. Conversely, this also means you need to watch what the competition is doing and how you can position yourself to your advantage.

The after-show party

Even if it is hard to predict what will happen, it is certain that there will be a time after the crisis. People will be able to get vaccines and medication, the hysteria will subside and normality will slowly return. Companies that have managed to convey appreciation, consistency and trust during the crisis, and have positioned themselves well through optimised and refined sales channels, can use the upswing of this phase and will emerge as winners. So get a clear overview of the existing and possible sales channels through which customers can buy your products.

If you are now wondering where to start and what exactly to consider, don’t hesitate to contact us. We help you position your brand better, strengthen customer relationships and keep an eye on important trends. Foresight and continuity are what is needed now.