COVID-19, a pause in everyone’s life that has impacted the world as you know it. Today organisations are working on how to develop their strategies for the post COVID-19 period, but do they have the right information to do so.
The focus of any and every marketing strategy is the consumer. Organisations today are trying to survive today, in the hope that we hit normalcy and their market recovers post this crisis. But there is going to be one important aspect that we are all in the dark – Our Consumer.
On average, it takes 66 days for a new behavior to become automatic, European Journal of Social Psychology
We are nearing 21 days to 30 days or complete lock down, if the situation prolongs further, we will be running the risk of creating a behavior, that is different to what have been used to. And this will have a long-term impact.
The consumer priority list can be segmented in two sections
Must have
Good to have
Our basic marketing concepts hinge on creating a demand for the good to have and projecting it as a must have. And what the future holds for us, in truth is uncharted waters.
We are planning for the economy that will see a boom post the crisis, however the reality may be quite different. And the consumer behavior may have changed completely.
So what’s going to change.
Focused spending on Must haves
Lesser spends on Good to have
Lesser risk appetite of the consumer
Maintaining higher liquidity
The evolved consumer that we have seen in the past, will be second-guessing every purchase decision that they are going to make. And re-prioritising their must have’s v/s the good to have.
Is there a solution?
The statement, Consumer is King, holds true even today. If consumers cease to exist, employees too will become a liability.
For starters, we need to understand the sift in the consumers mind for a Must have. Eg. Video conferencing was never a priority but today it a mandatory service that is required by most organisations. Services live WhatsApp, Instagram etc. are all now looking to enhance the feature.
We need to reinvent our product line to create some must have products or services that can be the buffer for revenue, till the time consumer trends are re-formed.
Communication is going to play a key role during this time, keep in touch with your consumers, be with them in this time of need- a perfect way for better brand recall.
And remember
“What you want is not what you need, it is just the lie you tell yourself that makes it is a necessity.”
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