We are all feeling the social and economic repercussions of the current coronavirus pandemic. As businesses search for the right answers during these difficult times, it can seem hard to focus on growth and new opportunity. In a way, disruptive events can be a gift; a chance to refocus, reboot, and ready ourselves for a different future. There will be different consumer behavior, different social norms, and an entirely different "normal.” It may be difficult to imagine now, but the future is rich with new products and services, new ways of marketing, and new methods of co-creation.
These are unprecedented times, but we can use them to their full potential.
Reboot your marketing strategy to show your brand is human too.
Businesses are people too, and right now your consumers want to see the human side of your brand. The “Four Ps” of marketing still apply. Product, place, price, and promotion aren’t going anywhere, they’re just transformed. You must pivot your business within the current landscape to ensure you’re speaking to your audience in the ways that make sense now.
Reimagine your offering through your products. Which value propositions are meaningful now? How do you refine yours to be relevant and solve new problems that have arisen during this time? Everyone’s normal has been turned upside down; does your messaging still make sense?
Optimize the customer experience with place. How does your brand meet new and changing needs in the digital space? Are you optimized for an engaging, relevant, and useful online presence?
A surge to e-commerce. Digital transactions are increasingly business-critical. How do you position your business to convert, deal, and partner in times of price/liquidity pressures?
New approaches to communication and promotion. Now is the time to be genuine and human. Brands are increasingly turning toward humanistic approaches to reach their audiences and the world. How are you communicating your brand values alongside your products? Your consumers want to know how you’re taking action and adapting to the new norms.
Take three steps to regain control.
- Know the challenge. Think clearly and act fast. Turn toward the disruption. Examine and understand the transformations in consumer behavior, business, and marketing so you can begin to steer.
- Rewrite the playbook. Recognize that a reboot is required. Relaunch your marketing and sales as part of a designed, proactive crisis strategy. Optimize your budgets, adjust tactics, and act with clear-eyed intention.
- Tap into superpowers. Bring smart people together. The flexibility of remote work opens up a goldmine of focused expertise at your disposal. Acumium is here to help with virtual strategy sessions, remote growth hacker teams, and around-the-clock ideas.
Emerge stronger with curiosity, creativity, and strategy.
Companies that survive crises like this are proactive. They use difficult situations to rethink and reshape, paying attention, staying curious, and showing foresight for upcoming developments. They let go of the status quo and think differently, and they emerge from disruptions ahead of their competition.
By observing trends and signals in changing user needs and priorities, as well as adjustments in market dynamics, we can consider future scenarios and understand their likely implications on our business. We can stay light on our feet. We can plan.
This means we're in control. We are riding the wave, versus having it crash down on us. We can understand emerging value propositions and design products and services that position us for a stable and healthy future.
By thinking ahead, we ensure that, once the crisis passes and demand recovers, we will have the right offerings ready to attract customers and propel us ahead of our competition.
We are here to help.
At Acumium, digital work is in our DNA. We believe in informed experimentation and fast iterations. The current way of distributed remote working is nothing new to us, and we’ve mastered the art of the web conference.
Even remotely, we have a tight-knit team of experts who care deeply about doing great work and are curious, genuine, analytical, creative, experimental, and empathetic.
For more of our thoughts on how to move forward in a crisis, download our playbook: Ideation in a Pandemic. Ready to take the next step? Contact us to help your brand navigate COVID-19 and come out stronger. We are here to help, and we’re ready to put our experience to work for you.