The duration of the crisis is a question mark for the majority of experts, however, almost all agree that a change of model arises in the way of understanding capitalism and in our lives.
Regarding the world of marketing, we believe this is a good opportunity to focus our efforts on offering the best experience and maximum value to our clients.
In short, empathy, the principle of reciprocity (*), which allows companies to adopt the point of view of their customers, is the basis of well-understood marketing. Only in this way will we be able to achieve their trust, an essential requirement for the long-term success of our organization.
If profitability is an essential aspect in times of crisis, we must not forget that this is a direct consequence of the decisions your customers make regarding your brand.
There is nothing more important to your company's long-term financial health than having a strong loyal customer base.
The five ideas included in this document are just some recommendations that go in this direction. We want them to be useful for your business.
Introduction
"Probably now is a good time to rethink what role marketing should play in our organization, both to deal with the crisis and to emerge stronger after the negative cycle."
After an unprecedented stage of economic growth, with the construction sector occupying the role of main actor, companies face a new scenario marked by the economic crisis, and its uncertainty regarding its depth and duration.
In a business culture where the achievement of short-term economic results prevails, reducing investment in marketing becomes a quick and simple solution. Undoubtedly, cutting the marketing budget can improve the income statement in the short term, but there is an obvious risk of weakening our brand image and the relationship with our clients, something that would negatively impact the company's profitability, growth and ability to compete.
We cannot forget that in a context of excess supply, making our brand the preferred one is a much more critical and complex aspect than in times of economic prosperity.
Rethink marketing
Through this article we want to share with all professionals some tips that allow reorienting marketing, from a more traditional approach to a more current one.
At this time, the strategy should not only be to reduce the budget, but to try to maximize the return on our marketing investments in favor of customers and our own business.
Although the path is not the easiest, it certainly has many more guarantees of success than continuing with the inertia of the past.
Decisions of the type "more of the same, but with fewer resources" seem to us completely insufficient to face the challenges of the future in such a competitive market.
As Don Peppers and Martha Rogers say in their recent book The Company on the Move: "the crisis of short-termism, the source of all problems… companies' obsession with short-term results is enormously destructive."
1 Invest in Knowledge
Despite the fact that the term “knowledge society” was used for the first time in 1969, even today there are few companies that have the tools to deepen the knowledge of their clients.
Currently, there are very powerful and economical technological solutions that allow capturing, interpreting and exploiting all the information derived from the relationship with customers, transforming this information into knowledge aimed at decision-making that provides more value to customers and to our organization.
Thus, having a Database manager where information from our target audience is included, such as: preferences, purchasing habits, services used, interaction channels or responses to marketing campaigns, allows the marketing department to send messages, offers and proposals most relevant to each client, which add value to the relationship and improve the effectiveness of communication.
Tip: Spot your best customers and those with the greatest growth potential, and focus your marketing efforts on them.
Marketing in Times of Crisis, Redefining
Having a DB in Excel or access of our clients (current, potential and prescribers) has become obsolete compared to the latest generation web technology solutions, today available to any company, regardless of size.
2 Creativity + Innovation, Keys to Differentiate
What advertising do you remember at the moment? Almost in all probability they will not be many and among them, for obvious reasons, that of its main competitors. There is no single reason why advertising goes unnoticed, but among these is a lack of creativity.
Taking as a reference what others do has become a common practice in the world of marketing, it is certainly a good policy not to take risks, but also to achieve little differentiation from your competitors.
Thus, if innovation and creativity have become the pillars of competitiveness in industrialized countries, at least these should also be the engine of our company's new marketing.
Tip: Bet on innovative campaigns aimed at reinforcing the emotional bond with your target audience and the commitment of your organization to your customers.
The traditional model of repetitive and functional advertising around the product is shifting towards advertising that emphasizes creativity and emotions. Advertising capable of reinvestment, awakening the curiosity and interest of an audience saturated with classic advertising.
3 Technology yes, but not at the cost of quality customer service
The negative stories in customer service are numerous, we all suffer from these kinds of unpleasant experiences. It is a paradox that, being immersed in a service economy, in general, little attention is paid to customer service. Technology has to become a tool that allows us to improve the service and attention to our clients, however many times the emphasis is placed on reducing the costs of this service instead of investing to improve the experience of our clients.
We must not forget that the lack of interest and attention is between 3 and 5 times more important in the loss of customers than the characteristics of the product itself.
Tip: Little details count a lot. Thus, a simple reply email thanking a customer for participating in a campaign can make a difference. It seems simple but it is very unusual.
A Pew Trust study reported that 94% of respondents, that is, virtually everyone, had described the experience of calling a company and hearing a recording rather than a human being as "very frustrating".
4 Collaboration, at the core of the strategy
Win-win has become the new standard in the business world. Also in the marketing area, companies are intensifying campaigns where the manufacturer and the distribution channel go hand in hand to launch projects aimed at the end customer.
If your market is made up of professionals who use your product, it is a winning option to position yourself as a partner, with a value proposition focused on continuously providing you with collaboration and support in your professional work.
This type of client highly values access to useful information and documentation, continuous training, advice, presentation of news and recognition. In short, a magnificent opportunity to build a collaborative relationship that continues over time, full of meaning and content.
5 Loyalty, direct return to the heart of the income statement
Most professionals in the area of general, commercial and marketing management are aware of the importance that customer loyalty has for business success, becoming a vital factor in times of crisis. But despite this, in recent years the investment in traditional marketing, more oriented to attract than loyalty, has been much higher than that of relationship marketing.
Currently, the central objective of marketing is to build loyalty, that is, to capture the value of the customer throughout his life, as indicated by the current definition of the American Marketing Association (AMA). Thus, our main efforts should be oriented to forge a deep and lasting relationship with our best clients, based on mutual benefit. Only in this way can we capture the value of these customers throughout their lives, a value that goes directly to nurture our operating account.
Tip: Bet on loyalty policies. In a scenario like the current one, the phrase "it is between seven and ten times more expensive to get a new client than to sell to an existing client" takes on greater meaning.
Summary
Those companies that succeed in reorienting their marketing more successfully will, in all likelihood, be in a better position to meet the new challenges of the future. A success whose bases are to have a solid portfolio of clients based on trust, mutual knowledge and satisfaction, factors that are gaining prominence in the career of business competitiveness.
A new approach determined by the conviction that the global experience that we are able to offer our clients implies the difference and success of our brand. An experience that goes far beyond the simple economic transaction.
In fact, in a world marked by the similarity of the offer, the brand and how we manage the relationship with our customers are one of the few differentiating elements.
Loyalty is much more than rewarding our customers based on the volume of purchases made, it involves being involved in a relationship on a voluntary basis. Obviously, we cannot leave all this work, solely, in the hands of a gift catalog.
(*) Reciprocity is a human norm that is found in practically all the societies that have been analyzed. Thus, if you make an investment to offer a better service to your clients, they will be more motivated to return the favor with their loyalty.
