Why a Wait-and-See Strategy for the Post COVID-19 Recovery Won’t Work
A recent webinar broadcast by Kantar revealed an interesting soundbite: strong brands recover from a crisis or market downturn nine times faster.
Let’s allow that to sink in a little. Nine times faster. During these days when we’re all trying to navigate our way towards some kind of normal, while wondering when actual normal will return, it’s a startling statistic. Not only does it prompt us to plan for a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is over and the recovery has begun, but it also prompts us to do that now.
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At CME, we believe that all effective marketing campaigns begin with a clear and evidence-based strategy. We have a proven methodology in place to develop bespoke strategies for clients and a clear process to align all activity to the agreed strategy and measure it accordingly.
For many companies the arrival of a huge, unplanned and unwelcome event like COVID-19 has been like taking a sledgehammer to their business. It’s unavoidable, for now, at least, because, day-to-day everything has changed and there could be further change ahead. But now is not the time to retreat and wait for it all to blow over. Businesses can’t just keep calm and carry on as though nothing has happened. Nor should they panic. Now is the time to take a step back and think about what you would like the recovery to look like and what opportunities it might bring. Looked at from that perspective, the COVID-19 crisis offers an ideal chance to scrutinise strategy, plan ahead and implement important groundwork, ready to leverage commercial strengths after the pandemic. That’s where CME’s expertise in strategy and brand building can help.
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Coping with the Unknown
Lots of companies have been busy sending out emails and posting statements online about how they’re operating on a business as usual basis. That’s nonsense. It simply isn’t possible to operate ‘as usual’ at the moment because social distancing regimes are essential to keeping everyone safe. Here at CME, we’re continuing to operate during the COVID-19 crisis, providing services to clients, keeping projects moving and even signing up two new clients – but we’re doing it all with the help of technology and a work-from-home policy. We could take our foot off the gas and accept that some of the things we’d planned can’t or shouldn’t go ahead as scheduled. But now is not the time to give up and sit back; our clients need us more than ever because we can advise them on the right strategy for communicating with stakeholders now and getting ready for the recovery.
The hard part is that no-one is quite sure when the recovery will be, or what it will look like. We’ve been told the most vulnerable need to stay indoors for 12 weeks, but this may not reflect the period of social isolation for the majority of the workforce. Potentially, we could see travel, work and social restrictions continue beyond this three month period: that’s a lot of time for any company to remain quiet and opt out of planning.
The key point here is that it may be hard to plan, but it will be harder to generate success during the recovery if you don’t. What’s required is a clear understanding of your marketplace and a strategy that enables a level of flexibility in what marketing tactics you implement and when.
CME can help with this approach. Our proven strategy development process combines market intelligence and an understanding of your commercial objectives with an array of marketing tactics that can be cherry-picked to communicate the right messages to the right audiences at the right time.
Memorable and Meaningful
So what’s our advice for optimising the value of this period of uncertainty? The first thing to remember is that this is not a period of uncertainty for your business; it’s a period of uncertainty for every business.
In that environment, it’s the company that keeps a clear head, develops a strong strategy and implements a coherent plan that wins the day. In an atmosphere of panic, it’s easier to take the lead as the voice of reason. And in an environment where others are keeping quiet because they’re not sure what to say, being the voice that customers hear and remember should be a key goal.
It’s for all of those reasons that we believe now is the right time to invest in developing a strategy and planning current and future activity. With some projects now off-site and decisions on new jobs being postponed, it’s also a quieter period, which, despite the challenges of working from home, gives you space to think beyond the day-to-day and consider the bigger picture.
Our approach at CME is to develop a bespoke strategy for each client in partnership with their leadership, based on an analysis of their business, their goals and their market. There are two core elements, however, that now, more than ever, must be central to any commercial and marketing strategy:
Be front of mind and memorable
Differentiate in a meaningful way (differentiating on price alone is not sustainable in a competitive market and does not add value to your customers.)
At CME, we can help you achieve both visibility and differentiation by developing a strategy that helps you maintain a strong presence during these difficult times and achieve the right tone. People will remember the companies that got it right during this challenging period and the way you engage now will maintain and establish relationships that continue to be of commercial value moving forward.
We can also enable you to plan the activity needed to help you maximise the opportunity of the recovery. Let us help you consider what you want to achieve and advise you on how to deliver those objectives, utilising the assets in your track record, your team and your USPs, across the right channels at the right time.
The Future Starts Now
None of us were ready for this, but we can be ready to come out the other side. Now is the time to prepare by engaging effectively with the stakeholders who will contribute to your commercial success in the future. It’s also the time to plan for how you’ll optimise that future when it finally arrives.
CME can help by advising you on your marketing strategy and helping you build your brand presence. Call us on 07590 255415 to find out more or email sarah.reay@constructionmarketingexperts.co.uk