By: Wendy Greenwood, Contributing Author
It’s no secret that the pandemic has upended our lives in countless ways. Consumer shopping habits have changed, some perhaps for the long-term. One thing is certain: your customer is in the driver’s seat now more than ever. These changes were already in play, but COVID-19 has accelerated the changes at the speed of light. Marketers need to catch up and then get ahead of it.
Who are the largest producers of media?
People, not brands, business or traditional media, are now the largest producers of media in the world. This was discovered through research more than ten years ago by Matthew Sweezy, principal of marketing insights for Salesforce. They’re communicating people-to-people through texts, emails and social media. Content is everywhere, and the outcome is a lot of noise.
How will you earn your customer’s attention?
The old ways no longer work. It used to be that marketers would evoke feelings in their customers to motivate them to purchase. Google’s solution was to show up in their customer’s moment of need through search engine marketing. But today, it’s how you show up that matters now more than ever.
How are your customers feeling?
Everyone is experiencing COVID-19 differently. Those on the front lines of this health crisis are exhausted and stressed out. Others are enjoying the flexibility of working at home, yet some without a home office struggle to be productive and home school their kids. Millions remain unemployed. Those who work in factories, restaurants, hair salons, retail outlets and countless others don’t have the option of working from home.
How is your brand responding?
Marketers are responding in very creative ways. Burger King has created a social distancing burger with a stack of onions. Skittles has changed its packaging to black and white because “only one rainbow matters during pride.”
Others, such as Sunwing, have demonstrated empathy by repatriating more than 60,000 stranded Canadians, including 3,300 who weren’t their customers. They’ve doubled down on their social purpose by donating 46,000 meals to food programs across Canada as part of a new national partnership with Second Harvest.
How quickly can you pivot?
The pandemic has accelerated the Direct-to-Consumer trend. According to Canada’s Globe and Mail, online shopping has expanded by up to 60% in some categories. Yet many brands have been slow to react – at their own peril. The result has overwhelmed many eCommerce sites.
Agile brands have fared much better. Many retailers have expanded their curbside pick-up service or offered it for the first time. Still others have fundamentally changed how they serve their customers. According to Adweek, ad-tech company Criteo, headquartered in France, has just announced the launch of a self-service ad platform so brands can advertise on retailer’s websites. This is in preparation for a cookie-less world. May 21, Target became the first mass retailer in the U.S. to make its products available through Instagram Checkout, all without leaving Instagram.
Think about what you can do. How can you be helpful? In response to the rise of home cooking, Canadian grocery retailer Loblaw’s recently brought back its “Insider’s Report” with recipes to inspire home chefs.
Will these shifts be permanent?
Everyone is experiencing the pandemic differently – employees, customers and business leaders. Consumers are already in a heightened emotional state, so the old methods of triggering emotions to get them to purchase no longer work. Today, it’s not about evoking feelings, it’s about understanding how customers feel. It’s only then that your brand can show up and really be helpful and authentic.