I’m not unlike any other marketer. While I’m watching my 412th episode of Parks and Recreation or taking my dog on his fourth walk of the day just to get out of the house, I’m always focused on what our business is going to look like after this. How does our marketing strategy need to change for us to stay relevant?
We’ll all have to come up with new strategies, but I think we need to go back to the basics of what drives our product and engagement with our brand. As a purist, I am thinking all the way back – we have to check our five P’s of Marketing. My high school marketing teacher would be so proud.
I certainly don’t claim to have all of the answers, but below are a series of questions you might ask yourself.
Product: Is our product still relevant in a post-COVID-19 world? What modifications do we need to make to our offering? Are these modifications temporary? Are they permanent? What warranties do we need to make, if any, about our product?
Price: Is our price still palatable in the current economy? Do we need to offer discounts or change payment terms? Will we need to switch from physical point-of-sale systems to contactless payments?
Promotion: How does our advertising need to change? Should we increase our public relations activities? Is our message different now? How do we ensure we are still an essential part of our customer’s lives?
Place: Are our distribution channels still intact? Do logistics need to change? Do we need to expand how we distribute our product or change HOW we distribute it?
People: People needs to be broken into two parts:
Coworkers: Has the setup of our company changed? Can we still provide the level of service we desire? Is everything being covered?
Consumers: This is where I spend a lot of time theorizing. Is the consumer of our product going to change? Maybe not drastically, but enough that we need to change our look-a-like models, and our messaging?Is the person who is going to invest in our product the same as it was three months ago? If not, how do we not lose sight of those that engaged with our brand before but evolve with this new audience as well?
Marketers need to re-introduce their brand to even their most loyal customers. What are the features and benefits someone gains in engaging with your brand in a post-pandemic world? Consumers’ priorities will likely be different for a while; don’t become one of the things they decide they can live without. As we move into this new phase of marketing and buying, don’t forget to check your basics.
