Smart Marketing for the 2020 Economic Hiatus
The Gate looks at the impact of Covid-19 on the economy and the ability to take the opportunity as a forward thinking marketer to reassess tactics.
Plunging stock markets and economic recessions are nothing new — we’ve been through these before and know what the right course of action is: tighten our belts a bit, keep investing in our brands, and be shrewder about short-term tactics. We know the research will bear this out — study after study* has shown that those companies that maintained spending or invested modestly during recessions gained share at the expense of those that cut marketing budgets.
Some forward-thinking marketers even saw in these downturns a way to reassess the tactics they employed. And, came out of those recessions not only with more market share and stronger brand relationships with their customers, but a decided edge in how to market effectively over colleagues who stuck their heads in the sand.
Now we’re experiencing something we’ve never seen before in our lifetimes — an economic hiatus caused by a global public health emergency. In the months to come, we will turn the corner on this, most businesses will revive, and the stock market will come back. The question is, who will see this crisis as an opportunity to market better, and who will pull back, and miss all the opportunities out there?
You’re going to get a lot of messages from marketing agencies and media telling you the old shibboleths about the value of investing now in marketing. We’re not going to waste your time making any more of a case for them* than we have here — you know them to be true. Instead, we’d like to talk with you about some smart tactics we think you should consider that will help get you through these tough times, find new opportunities for growth, and position you a lap ahead of your competition when this hiatus is over:
- 1. Tap people’s primal need for community
With most of us working at home and strongly encouraged to keep our distance from others, we’ll grow evermore needy of ways to connect, to feel a sense of belonging. This is a perfect time to get serious about social media and foster communities around your brand. Do you manage or belong to a professional association? Offer tips and encourage members to share theirs on weathering the downturn. Market a utility? Offer advice on energy-efficient appliances and alternative heating/cooling systems and ask customers to rate local suppliers and installers.
- 2. Speak to the positive, but make it real
Turn to any medium, and there’s this bizarre juxtaposition of negative news bracketed by upbeat ads that act as if nothing has happened. Yes, people are hungry for the positive, but they’re more likely to embrace positive messages if they recognize the reality of today. “Family feeling a little cabin fever? Here are some great things you can bake with your kids.” “Five sectors to invest in when the market begins to turn around that will help you rebuild your portfolio.”
- 3. Rethink your audiences, and then target messages precisely to them
With the world temporarily upended, who will be most receptive to your products and services may be quite different than you think. There may be opportunities in target segments that weren’t priorities in the past. Marketing insurance? With mortality on everyone’s mind, this might be a good time to talk with underinsured middle-aged policyholders. Selling sporting goods? Grandfathers isolated from their grandkids can order lots of equipment online.
- 4. Turn lemons into lemonade
Financial service companies are always trying to sell young people on investing. And, this may be a time when they’re receptive to saving a bit — after all, they can’t spend their money on drinks out with friends, Uber rides, or movies, so why not start to put a little aside for the future every week? This might also be the perfect time for Millennials to learn how to cook from local chefs working for savvy food and restaurant marketers.
- 5. Give people virtual ways to escape the confines of home
This is a great time for marketers to engage customers virtually with places they can go to and things they can do when the WFH mandate is lifted. Cruises may be impossible now, but why not give customers virtual cruises they can take today to get them booked for the fall and winter? Museums can take people on video tours of exhibits. Car companies can give drivers GoPros to capture some excellent road footage without ever interacting with another human being.
- 6. Be a rock people can lean on
These are scary times — no one is quite sure how long or how bad this will be for our health and for our economy. If you have knowledge that will help people, share it. If you can improve your products or services during the hiatus, let your customers know about how things will be better when they’re ready to buy again. If you can help those in financial distress, skip a payment or two, or refinance, you’ll make customers for life.
These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. Over the next few weeks, we’ll send you more details on each of these tactics. We’ll expand on how they can benefit you, with examples of their application in different industries, and ways they can be implemented inexpensively — with no need for in-person production. If you find them intriguing, we hope you’ll reach out to us so we can brainstorm together how to make them work for your business.
*These are just a few of many studies proving the value of consistent marketing during recessions:
- McGraw-Hill Research. Laboratory of Advertising Performance Report 5262, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1986. Out of the 600 business-to-business companies analyzed, the ones who continued to advertise during the 1981-1982 recession hit a 256 percent growth by 1985 over their competitors that eliminated or decreased spending.
- Greenburg, Eric Rolfe. 'Fortune Follows the Brave,' Management Review, January 1993 found that most respondent firms that increased their marketing spending gained share during the 1990-92 recession and held their own in the immediate years afterward.
- McKinsey & Company (2002) looked at 1,000 US companies over the period 1982-1999 and found that companies that were marketing leaders during recessions had a significant increase in their stock value over competition post-recession.
- Institute of Practitioners in Advertising (2008) presented findings from several researchers that showed that budget cutbacks in recessions have a long-term adverse effect on sales and that increasing marketing in recessions increases share of voice, which increases sales and profitability.
- Ehrenberg-Bass Institute at the University of South Australia (2008) reported on behavioral data that showed that consumer habits, once changed by a reduction of share of voice, are hard to recapture after a recession.
- Gulati et al (2010) studied corporate performance during recessions in 1980-82, 1990-99, and 2000-02 and found that those that outspent rivals on marketing and R&D were post-recession winners.
The Gate | New York is a full-service advertising agency known for making considered purchases worth considering. Our panel of consumer, cultural and category experts helps us identify your “Why”: why customers should choose your product or service over someone else’s. This expertise has led to successful communication programs for clients in finance, consumer goods, luxury, insurance, mining, energy and more.
