Growing Market Share Coming Back Stronger: A Marketer’s Guide for Recovery While we can’t predict the future, we can get ourselves ready for what most predict will be a strong recovery on the backside. Many experts believe pent-up demand will be unprecedented. Here’s what that demand may look like for multiple industries: HospitalityWanderlust at an all-time high, yearning for the green light to explore. FinanceAdopting contact-free transactions. Software as a ServiceLate-adopters speeding up switch to online services. HealthcareAppreciative of societal contribution and bioscience advances. RetailCelebrate post-hibernation. Time to look good again. Stick with online innovators. Food & BeverageTime to meet…

Growing Market Share Springboarding to the New Normal Brainstorms don’t have to start from scratch. Since we could all use a kickstart right now, here’s a few thought starters to consider how your brand messaging will adapt in the new normal: Digital Everything Working from home and online meetings just became a norm, as is. So is talking to a doctor and coughing into a camera. How will your customer experience change in this new normal? Delivery Essentials have been delivered to us. A trip to the store went from hassle to hazard. What will customers demand of your delivery…

Growing Market Share Pivoting through a Storm Who are you? Where are you? It's a disorienting time for brands. What messaging is even appropriate right now? What channels have a shot at reach? Lots of questions. Here’s the plan. Brand Messaging No matter the approach, this is no time to change your identity. Be yourself. While many are assuming the role of caregiver, you can still give while keeping your unique tone & voice. Audit your messaging. Make sure visuals, copy or promos won’t breed negative sentiment. Double down on creativity. By most estimates, creative can have 5x as much…

Growing Market Share What to Do When Ad Spend Must Be Cut Increasing ad spend during uncertain times swims against the tide. It often is dependent on business health, appetite to scale and whether marketing is viewed as an expense or catalyst for growth. Either way, many marketers will be required to cut their budget in difficult times. But even with a slashed marketing wallet, you can still limit damage and maximize effectiveness. 1. Focus on your core Now is not the time to spread scarce resources across multiple brands or variations. 2. Lean on the math Objectively analyze everything.…

Growing Market Share Recessions Create New Leaders We’re learning in real-time how to take action amidst uncertain economic forces. Today’s situation is unlike any other we’ve seen.At the same time, as marketers we can benefit from the perspective of recent (and not-so-recent) recessions to help inform our path forward. 2008 During the subprime mortgage crisis, many brands were forced to make cuts. Those who grew market share following the recession were found to have reduced fixed assets and admin costs while increasing marketing and product development investments. Source: Malik PMS 2001 The dot com bubble had several brands cutting marketing…

Growing Market Share Giving Instead of Giving Up With health and economic concerns making headlines, it’s a good time — a necessary time — for your brand to be a considerate friend. Today, brands should act according to their principles — the same ones you uphold during normalcy. There’s no reason for your brand personality to shift into a press release robot. Instead, let the situation expose your core beliefs and strengths. Show people who your brand is when it’s not making money. You may not be able to produce a cure, but you can make life easier for somebody.…

Growing Market Share What now? Postpone, Maintain or Double-Down on Marketing Businesses are faced with big questions in times like this. For marketers and the marketing-minded, everything starts with budget: should we postpone, maintain or increase marketing spend? There are three schools of thought resulting in three options. They each have their own merits, but it ultimately boils down to a look at short-term vs. long-term vision. Postpone Mindset “We lack certainty, so we’re freezing everything for now as we collect more data. We can afford to take a hit as we regroup and monitor the situation. We’ll keep an eye…