Marketing strategies in times of crisis
The financial crisis that the country is currently going through has major repercussions on the way companies see and practice marketing. One of the main reasons is that in times of crisis, consumer behavior changes completely, restricting their purchases to essential items. It is precisely because consumer behavior changes in times of crisis that companies must also change the focus of their marketing strategies. Remember that marketing is not just promotion and advertising but a discipline that also encompasses the definition of products/services, pricing, distribution, and promotion.
Understanding what the consumer wants
The first major change in any company’s marketing strategy in times of crisis is to adapt its products and services to the level and type of demand during this period. This is the case of a washing powder company that creates smaller packages with a smaller quantity of the product, as, in times of crisis, they detected that people prefer to buy smaller quantities in more trips to the point of sale instead of single monthly purchases. Therefore, each company needs to carry out market research to capture changes in consumer behavior and habits in times of recession. Each segment is affected differently but practically everyone is affected. Market research is a fundamental tool for “feeling the pulse of the market”. Attentive businesspeople and marketing departments must adapt their line of products and services considering the intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics of their products that are most seductive and desired by their target audience in this time of crisis.
Reviewing communication
In times of crisis, people tend to become more rational, and impulse purchases tend to decrease. Everyone becomes more selective and the tone of your communication with the market must change to reflect a new way of communicating with your customers. Other convincing elements must be highlighted in the company’s communication process with the market, such as rationality, security, and economy. Every point of contact with the consumer must highlight this set of attributes that are most relevant to your target audience. Due to the particularities of each market, it is difficult to say which attributes should be highlighted in your business communication, but in times of crisis, some benefits certainly become more relevant for consumers, such as savings, reuse, speed, etc.
Concluding
In our marketing consultancy work, we have worked with companies that are readjusting their internal structure, product line, pricing policies, and promotion practices due to this market bottleneck and the economic slowdown.