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‘Marketing during uncertain times’ webinar review
Three weeks ago, Andrew Scott, CEO of Purplex, hosted a webinar for our clients in the fenestration and home improvement industry.
In it, Andrew shared the no-nonsense strategies that he’s used to help hundreds of companies navigate through both good and bad times successfully.
The webinar covered a lot of content, including digital and non-digital, and showed why companies with strong brands bounce back much faster – along with some of the secrets Andrew has used to create market leaders time and again.
If you haven’t had a chance to watch the webinar yet, here is a summary of the key points:
1. Be a pilot
There are five types of business responses during uncertain times.
- The ostrich, with their head in the sand in the hope it will go away.
- The victim, who feels sorry for themselves and blames everyone else.
- The retreater, who knee-jerks and scales back the business.
- The cheerleader, who thinks everything will be fine.
- And the pilot, who is pragmatic, decisive and sees the whole picture.
Now is the time for you to be a pilot; to have a clear strategic view on where you want to be, how you are going to get there and to take the right steps to maximise the results and minimise risk.
2. Keep in touch with customers
Despite having to close your factory or showroom, the customer facing side of your business should be open as keeping in touch with your customers, responding to emails, dealing with enquiries and handling quotes will help you build a sales pipeline so you are ready to go.
And, with more time on their hands, people are more receptive to communications than ever before, so staying visible and sharing valuable information will be appreciated by your customers.
3. Focus on your share of voice
There has never been a better time to increase your share of the market. A correlation exists between your share of voice (your marketing communications, advertising) and your share of the market and companies who increase their share of voice will, over time, increase their share of market. And with some competitors likely to pull back their marketing activity, stepping up and remaining visible and active will help you win more market share.
4. Build your brand
Companies with a strong brand perform much better through uncertain times, with research suggesting they bounce back from a crisis around 18 months quicker than companies with little brand recognition. In uncertain times customer loyalty increases and we are more selective of where we spend our money and gravitate towards brands we know and trust.
5. Don’t wait
Uncertain times can provide a leveller as your competitors are also facing the same challenges. Cutting your marketing activity could be catastrophic for your business, employees and customers, while delaying activity may result in a much slower bounce-back giving competitors an edge that is difficult to recover from.
The hard work starts now…
The economic impact and fall-out from the coronavirus pandemic will be with us for the foreseeable future so it is inevitable that your business will need to adjust. Reviewing your marketing strategy and working with the right partners will be critical.
There may be a silver lining. As consumers have spent weeks in lockdown, they have gained a new appreciation (or not) of their homes. Many will want to carry out improvements or add more space to their property.
Right now, your customers are online, researching, learning and engaging with content – and they need to see that you are taking a prominent role as normal service starts to resume.
The companies that will recover fastest and win most market share over the next year will be those with a ‘pilots’ view, who focus on their customers and their brand, and develop strong, effective marketing strategies.
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