For several months, specialists have been predicting an economic and financial crisis. Nobody thought, however, that the direct cause of the crash would be a global pandemic. In this article you will learn how to marketing during the crisis.
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The crisis has arrived
At the moment, no one wonders when the crisis will come, because it is already here. Regardless of the industry in which you operate, it is worth making sure that the crisis is the least severe for you.
My goal is not to frighten you or create black scenarios. The virus has already scared us enough. I would just like to show you exactly what actions you can take to make it easier and to deal with a difficult situation in the future.
Customers stop buying – how to marketing during crisis
The biggest problem during a global pandemic is the fear that comes with it. When we run by emotions, we can become irrational. This is exactly what we had at the start of the pandemic in Europe, but also around the world.
Often the problem was not that people stopped buying, but that they were buying too many products so-called necessities. Food supply chains have not been able to handle this tremendous increase in demand.
The media also added their “brick” to the general atmosphere of panic. Information about the lack of toilet paper in supermarkets resulted in an even greater increase in demand for it.
After some time, after the market saturated again, the situation returned to normal, but some kind of “trauma” for consumers has remained and may reappear at any moment. In this case, we were dealing with the so-called a defeat of fertility. Of course, only from the point of view of producers or sellers.
What if you are not in the food industry.
Well, in difficult times, people first and foremost try to provide for basic existential needs. When there is a risk of a food shortage, no one will bother buying a new computer or phone. Well, almost nobody.
What can we do, how to marketing during crisis
In times of increasing uncertainty, people are not willing to spend money, quite the opposite. They fear they won’t have enough cash to survive. This is completely natural behavior.
After a long period of unfettered consumerism, it’s time to tighten your belts. Customers just spend less. Does that mean we should accept it and wait it out? Not exactly. The entrepreneur should act proactively, not just “put out fires”. If there is a problem, find a solution. Sometimes a slight correction is enough, and sometimes you have to change your entire marketing strategy in times of crisis.
How to marketing during crisis – tips and advices
Here are some examples of crisis marketing strategies. Specific solutions that you can apply regardless of the type of business.
Firstly save money
Minimum budget. However, it is not about completely resigning from marketing expenses, but about their audit. You should approach the matter rationally. There is no point in paying for the advertisement of a product that is sold, for example, in a DIY store that is closed due to a pandemic.
The money saved in this way is worth investing in brand promotion. The development of a company blog or an additional presence in social media will contribute to the increase of recognition and position of our brand. At this point, it is worth paying attention to the appropriate content marketing strategy.
Many tasks can be carried out on your own, using the human resources you already have. In times of prosperity, due to the large number of customers served, we simply did not have time for many things. When there are fewer customers, it is worth reviewing the outsourced services and arranging adequate solutions on your own.
Limiting expenses on direct promotion of products or services will reduce their prices. As a result, our goods will become more competitive. However, you should not overdo the reduction in price and be careful not to leave your price segment.
Secondly long term plan
It is important that our activities are of a long-term nature. Of course, we will not avoid ad hoc measures, the aforementioned “fire fighting”. However, it should be borne in mind that the solutions applied fit into a wider plan and constitute a certain continuity.
In times of crisis, you need to act quickly, but avoid sudden, ill-considered movements. It’s not a good idea to shift your entire production to a commodity that is only temporarily in short supply. I mean the aforementioned toilet paper, the shortages of which were only temporary.
On the other hand, it is always worth observing constant trends and reacting to them quickly. A good example is the recently very popular shopping over the Internet or remote work.
How to marketing during crisis – individual approach
There are many elements that influence running a business in crisis. However, keep in mind that there are no universal guidelines. Each company has a unique specificity. We will approach a service company differently than a commercial company.
Worse times usually favor large corporations that have enormous capital. Each crisis contributes to the collapse of many companies, but also to the spectacular development of others. Companies from the IT industry such as Google and Facebook can be a good example here.
Read this article in Polish: Strategie marketingowe na czas kryzysu.
