The Transformation of Marketing in a COVID-19 World

Marketing is always changing… most recently the advancement of technology has given us the digital age. Digital marketing has changed traditional marketing over the last few years with a huge wave of transformation. Everything from the multitude of social media, the power of computing and the convergence with the mobile phone. As well as Google with AdWords and the army of search engines and eCommerce websites have changed how we all purchase just about everything.

Enter 2020 and the emergence of COVID-19 the most contagious coronavirus in more than a century.

It represents the potential of millions of cases and hundreds of thousands of deaths worldwide as the John Hopkins data has reported.

In a period of less than 60 days it has brought the most robust economy in the world to its knees and affected nearly every country and territory on earth; and it is just beginning its reign of terror. Commerce, economies, medicine and politics are all in a state of hibernation or flux with transformation being the order of the day.

Marketing and most every other aspect of our lives has now become the target of change. This transformation will continue throughout the periods of infection, recovery and ultimately rebirth of the world’s technology, economy and infrastructure.

BRAVE NEW WORLD

So, what will marketing look like in the new world? What will the adversity and challenges we faced with COVID-19 do to the way we market in a world that has survived a brush with mass extinction? Will we just pick up where we left off or pivot into something new like Darwin noted when he said that only the fittest will survive?

Savvy marketers will take on the challenge of a transformed world and adapt to whatever is necessary to achieve the desired objective or what must be done to survive. Here is an example:

A small but very popular boutique gift shop in Dana Point, California has a stable of loyal customers as well as ample tourist traffic. But was completely shut down when California imposed a statewide lock-down and sales plummeted. What did the owners do? They created the first Virtual Retail Therapy Session on Facebook to market their new Spring Collection!

They had a great email list and sent out an invitation to all with a link to Facebook inviting them to the Virtual Retail Therapy Session. Using video, they broadcasted live to mobile phones and computers. They displayed each item in the collection allowing viewers to either call in or use chat on Facebook LIVE to express interest or execute a selection and purchase. They offered free shipping as an added incentive.

The program was a resounding success by providing a fun way to shop while providing social connection and maintaining required social distancing. The original plan was to continue the program until the lock-down was lifted but now plan to continue indefinitely on a monthly basis. Necessity is the mother of invention!

What other changes are taking place or are likely to become the new norm in marketing in a COVID-19 World?

DIGITAL MARKETING

I recently read an article that properly positioned digital marketing in our current world. The article coined the phrase, “There is no digital marketing only marketing in the digital age.”

People often talk about digital marketing as though it is a silo – different from the rest of marketing. They think in terms of channels when building a marketing plan – building the plan for television, print, radio and then of course digital marketing.

The challenge is that we aren’t doing traditional marketing and digital marketing. We are marketing in a world that is digital. Here are some examples:

• People spend more time on their mobile phone than watching television.
• Our mobile phone is often that last thing we look at before going to bed.
• We look at our mobile phone within 15 minutes of waking up if not right away.
• We use desktop and handheld devices to solve almost any problem, do research and find information.
• The world we live in is digital and we are simply marketing in it!

Marketers need to first think of the problem they are trying to solve and then think about the tools that will best solve it. The tools should match how people are influenced and how they make decisions.

When you build your marketing strategy, don’t think in terms of digital marketing versus traditional marketing. Think about the problem you are trying to solve and the touch points that you can use to solve it.

An important strategy is to consider where your audience spends their time and meet them there.

Here are just a few other changes to consider:

#1 TREND: COVID-19 plummets store visits by 90% in one month (March 2020). Brick and mortar stores may never be the same. While already on the way out, COVID-19 put the nail in the coffin!

HOW TO RESPOND: Get your business online.

#2 TREND: COVID-19 dominates new searches.

HOW TO RESPOND: Adjust your Pay Per Click campaigns for new opportunities.

#3 TREND: Mobile search traffic cut by nearly 25% in March.

HOW TO RESPOND: Adjust your Pay Per Click campaigns for less mobile traffic.

#4 TREND: Cross-network opportunities grow as Google search traffic falls

HOW TO RESPOND: Reach your audience on other networks

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

8 Tips to Create an Effective Marketing and Communications Strategy during the COVID-19 Pandemic Crisis and Recovery:

1.     Assemble Your Crisis Management Team

Consider skill sets and experience but also representation from key functions or departments.

2.     Conduct a SWOT Analysis

If not already done do an analysis of your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats

 3.     Protect Your People

Competitors and others may try to recruit your key talent.

4.     Evaluate Various Possibilities and Create a Communication Plan

What are your strengths and weaknesses? Be preemptive in communicating with customers and prospects.

 5.     Pick the Right Communication Channels

Identify who you need to inform and select the best vehicles to reach them. (email, letter, personal, etc.)

6.     Develop Marketing Contingency Plans

Always plan for programs that fail or are not as successful as necessary. Be prepared!

 7.     Find Alternatives to Deliver on Your Promises

As with contingencies always have backup plans for keeping promises made to clients and prospects.

 8.     Prevent the Spread of Misinformation

Have a written plan and share it with all staff to ensure people know what to say and what not to say and who to say it too!

 Finally, be proactive… Create content your customer can use, and remember adversity demands innovation and creative solutions!

TRADITIONAL MARKETING

Digital marketing or marketing in the digital age has dramatically changed traditional marketing including print, radio, television and direct mail. While they all still exist and will for the foreseeable future their market share has been dramatically impacted with a reduction in volume and revenue share of the marketing pie.

COVID-19 will take an additional slice of the marketing pie as international spending will be reduced in traditional marketing as countries like China and Japan. China will suffer a reduction in tourism for the unforeseeable future as it is victim of anti-China sentiment over the handling of the Coronavirus. Japan will lose significant advertising revenue due to the delay of the 2020 Olympics to 2021.

Additional negative consumer fallout from China will impede commerce including supply chain issues and lack of confidence in products and foreign components due to COVID-19 continued impact.

Digital marketing will continue to erode print advertising revenue and market share as it maintains and expands is dominance regardless of the COVID-19 influence.

Again, traditional marketing will continue to be a player but what is unknown is how long it will take for it to rebound from a major recession or possible depression as a result of the COVID-19 disaster.

 e Commerce

The earlier mention of the Virtual Retail Therapy Session on Facebook is just one example of survival of the fittest attitudes that drive innovation. The problem was the closing of a non-essential store front. The solution was the use of email, social media, video and the Internet to facilitate a new way of marketing a local boutique gift shop and keep the business viable by creating a fun solution.

What other ways will eCommerce be transformed in the current and recovery period of the COVID-19 world?

COVID-19 concerns will boost eCommerce as consumers avoid brick and mortar stores for the unforeseeable future. A February 2020 Coresight Research survey also showed that 27.5% of US internet users were avoiding public places. But it also indicated that 58.0% would do so if the Coronavirus outbreak worsens in the US. Shopping centers/malls were expected to be the most-avoided places, but more than half of respondents said they would also avoid shops in general.

More than 8 in 10 (85.6%) respondents ages 60 and older said they were likely to avoid shopping centers and malls. That’s not surprising given that COVID-19 has hit older people the hardest, but it may have an unintended consequence on their shopping habits.

“Since older individuals are the ones for whom the virus has been most fatal, they may be especially likely to alter their behavior,” said eMarketer analyst Mark Dolliver. “This could mean more adoption of eCommerce, an area where they’ve been laggards. People whose attitude has been ‘I’d rather die than buy online’ may rethink this if they feel going to crowded, germy stores truly could kill them.”

That’s proving to be a benefit and a challenge to digital retailers like Amazon. The click frenzy is likely to bring in more paid search dollars, but as supply chain issues mount, third-party sellers are looking for ways to limit the impact, including by reducing their ad spending.

“The intersection of merchandising and advertising has long made media-buying on Amazon complicated: You can't just "set and forget" a campaign if you risk running out of stock or if your pricing isn't competitive enough to convince shoppers to convert,” said eMarketer analyst Nicole Perrin. “But the combination of supply shocks and demand shocks due to the novel Coronavirus means the situation is more complex and faster-moving than ever before. Advertisers need to be on top of their own supply chains as well as the latest news driving consumer behaviors.”

No doubt the digital transformation that was in full motion before COVID-19 has gained momentum and will continue during the recovery period and beyond. But the change will be shaped by consumer behaviors more than by corporate strategy. Although both will have influence ultimately what the marketplace dictates will drive the transformation.

CONCLUSION

A brave new world is what technology experts and consumers are in for as a result of COVID-19! While I have likely described the most obvious changes here, there will be much more transformation driven by changing workflows in corporate America. What that will include is to be seen and experienced.

One thing is most certain before COVID-19, digital transformation was likely to be accomplished by mostly assimilation of new technology with existing workflows. But after COVID-19, with the changes in workflow in a state of major flux influenced by factors like working remotely, existing workflows will be out the window! The result will be a paradigm shift away from business as usual into a defined effort to fit workflow into the new technology.

Accordingly, businesses will be more apt to look for other ways to modify or develop new workflow that will be driven by digital transformation. A complete opposite approach than before COVID-19! This will lead to levels of change and innovation never seen before. Resulting in a truly brave new world.