It took businesses several days to digest the new reality of a global lockup over the coronavirus and rearrange the business routine. Now, most businesses are moaning over lost revenues and model scenarios for how to stay alive.
At BeCentric we work with multiple clients around the clock these days to understand how the business landscape is being altered and to plan by the day, realizing that tomorrow we might need a different plan. Our real-time insights and observations for the Ukrainian business as of today are:
- Time for data-driven marketing. Ukrainian businesses can no longer afford to play it by the ear relying on the guts of owners and CEOs. Sector players will need to team up and study how exactly the consumer spending and customer behavior changed. From now on market analysis and research is a must to invest scares marketing dollars. Not doing the homework – which is studying marketing data and surveying consumers, businesses risk to make either false-optimistic or false-pessimistic marketing decisions, when we need to stay rational more than ever.
- Redirect investments into strategies that drive online sales or empower online brand communications. It is as clear as day that businesses will be strengthening their digital marketing capabilities. Still when doing so I would take into account several practical considerations.
- If you are looking for where to reduce spending, sacrifice short-term digital campaigns and keep brand-building and brand awareness campaigns instead.
- Shortlist digital marketing instruments to those which are proven to work for most client groups. They are video content, mobile apps, beautifully designed branded visual ads. It is noteworthy that both in Ukraine and globally TV commercials are still powerful if you are a B2C business.
- Review ads targeting. Significant client groups have lost or will lose much of their buying capabilities. Some client groups might have stopped being clients for a long time for even forever.
- Review product lines. At times of economic downturns and tight consumer budgets, basic, entry-level, commoditized products are typically more competitive than the luxury segment.
- Yet, when you have done all of the above for your business and the revenues don’t get even close to before the coronavirus times, do not blame it on your marketer or the marketing agency. Most sectors will experience severe delays in spending decisions by their clients and lack of growth for months if not a year.
