Yes, many businesses will simply cease to exist. Entire industries may finally crumble and jobs will be lost. But without any attempt to sound ghoulish, business and life must continue.
At the start of the year, brands across industries made projections on how they were going to make a killing this year. Then the coronavirus crisis hits and changes everything. With lockdown limiting movement and business activities globally, the spending habit of consumers has changed swiftly in the last three months. All sales projections and marketing strategies no longer fit the bill. The implication? Chaos.
Staring down the pandemic barrel, it might seem superficially mercantile or even insensitive to discuss brands, pricing and customer behaviour, but the reality for commerce is that marketing is as important now as it was before. Yes, many businesses will simply cease to exist. Entire industries may finally crumble, work culture may evolve and jobs will be lost. But without any attempt to sound ghoulish, business and life must continue.
“Chaos is a ladder” — Petyr Baelish, Game of Thrones.
In the middle of this chaos lies a great opportunity for businesses. These strange times the world is presently experiencing opens up a window for brands to restock on one of the most important commodities of all — consumer trust. Without trust, no business transaction can happen. Now is the time to lay the tracks for making a genuine, truthful connection with consumers. It’s a long game that most might not be willing to play, but will be the differentiating factor when the pandemic is over.
In a world driven by cut-throat competition for the consumer’s purchasing will, a global crisis as this is an opportunity for businesses to show altruism and thoughtfulness now when people need it the most. As the world continues to wade into uncharted waters due to the pandemic, consumers are at their most vulnerable state. As much as they have needs, they don’t want to be sold to at the moment. They want to be comforted, supported and encouraged.
For every business looking for a big break, this may just be the sign you have been waiting for.
What then should businesses be doing today to gain consumer trust during the crisis?
Between 14 and 23 March, Kantar surveyed 25,000 people across 30 markets and uncovered some of the expectations consumers have of brands during this period. The COVID-19 Barometer survey clearly shows that it is expected of businesses to look after employees and help national/global efforts where possible. Another useful insight is that brands shouldn’t just do good stuff, but also talk about how they are being helpful, inform people about how they are reacting to the new situation and offer reassurance. Some 75% of respondents agreed brands should not “exploit” the COVID-19 situation to promote the brand.
Already, we can see brands stepping up to take advantage of this massive opportunity. GTBank opened a 100-bed intensive care facility, Lifebank launched a mobile testing centre, Access Bank is teaming up with Aliko Dangote to provide more isolation centers. Churches are not left out too. Some organizations have set up food banks to help people feed through the lockdown and businesses are offering price slashes to ease the tension.
For small businesses that might not be able to afford expensive palliative initiatives, now is the time to show how much you care through well tailored communications. There are tons of organic communication channels that you can use to win quickly and at little or no cost. Under lockdown, web browsing has grown by 70%, and social media 61%. This means people are paying attention like never before. Brands can use this medium to offer help, useful solutions and relevant messages that will endear the target to them.
Not every time sell, sell, sell.
Rather than focus solely on the next ROI driving campaign, brands should actually be thinking about how they can make a difference through meaningful campaigns. All you need right now is to strike an emotional connection with consumers to build trust that will drive long-term success. consumers are not the only ones that should benefit from the ‘goodness’ of brands. Looking inwards and helping employees transition through the changing work culture will go a long way too.
In his recent article on how brands should market during the lockdown, Seye Bandele, cofounder of Forza Digital said “Personally, I have decided the first set of businesses that I am going to patronize after the lockdown, and this is because of information I have consumed recently.” This statement is true for so many others. People hardly forget that person that came through for them in their time of need. Just by offering ‘help’ during trying times, businesses can create brand loyalty and this connection provides the basis of a consumer-brand relationship.
Now is the time to lay the foundations that will determine whether a business will falter or flourish in the coming years and decades. Businesses should focus on the two most important customers: the employees and the consumers. Without these two, no business can stand.
All eyes are on brands right now, and only the ones that are able to make a difference in these extraordinary times will see extraordinary results in the years to come.
