It seems only reasonable that the first post in our Covidology section be a playbook or guide to re-think the marketing approach to your business in corona-times. The Playbook It’s not of my own making, it has been written by Mark W. Schaefer, but I’ve liked it so much that I wanted to let you know about it.
First things first, if you want to read it straight away go to Mark’s page and download the resource for free:
The Pandemic Business Strategy Playbook
Mark’s approach has helped me rethink both activities and projects. Keep reading and find out how you can implement his approach too.
Here are the sections of this article, for your convenience:
As with many other important things in life, the place and role of your organisation during corona-times starts with a question: Does my business still matter in an economic and social COVID environment?
For many of the companies that closed their doors due to the pandemic only to open them punctually in more recent times (or not at all), the answer is self-evident. People have much more uncertainty about how things will play out, less disposable income or they are afraid altogether.
“So if my business is not relevant, what should I do?”
Well, that is what the rest of the post (and the Playbook, for that matter) is about.
I am afraid. You are afraid. No one knows what’s coming and when, or when we will be able to go back to a ‘normal’ life (what media calls “the new normal”).
The best way to fight fear is by taking action.
First off, think about what your uses/customers/followers might need right now. When we people are in distress, the least we want is to read/watch content that is oblivious to the current circumstances.
I want to read and learn more about the things that affect me, not frivolous marketing communications about things or services that I can’t afford anymore.
Find a way to contribute in your local community and help the people around you, in person, and focus your content creation on topics and themes that are not only informational or entertaining, but relevant according to the current times.
For instance….
Too trekky? Let’s try something cheesier:
Are you having a bad time? I understand, but other few million of you fellow humans are arguably undergoing pretty much the same circumstances as you are. Make an impact by helping others.
In The Pandemic Business Strategy Playbook there are examples of how people are switching behaviours. Go successfully (and be happier along the way) by understanding what the current situation is and adapting to it.
The same adagio in Content Marketing still applies: “give to get”. These days, however, the “giving” part resembles more volunteering Red Cross work than a Mad Men creatives meeting.
Chances are that you have heard about a certain Mr. Maslow and and his omni-present pyramid, the only thing that the general public know from him (it’s like Pachelbel’s Canon in D; I wouldn’t be first one ranting about it).
One of the most interesting ideas I’ve found in the Playbook is to systematically approach our marketing strategies using Maslow’s pyramid perspective. Let me explain.
Usually (as in, non-COVID times) we appeal to the level of the pyramid that is most convenient for our business. Typical example, a home security company publishes ads in which shady thieves force their way into a family’s home in the middle of the night. That would be Safety level.
Another typical example. The manufacturer of newest sedan tells you that if you drive their car you’ll be the coolest in the ‘hood. They’d be appealing to the Esteem level.
Now, due to all the changes that COVID is rapidly forcing into society, more and more people are tending to the first and second levels, by taking care of the basics, and staying in good health.
This is really bad news for your previous way of marketing your product or service, but it has an advantage: you already know where to find your audience, what they need, and hence what to offer to them that would be valuable.
The last idea that I’ve loved from Mark’s Playbook is the separation of the in-crisis and after-crisis moments. Because they are different, they require a different approach. For those who went through/suffered the crisis of 2008, you already know what crisis and post-crisis look like.
Obviously now it’s different, but the idea is to survive, to make it through these bad times, and figure out the best way forward once things get better (because they will).
Move along and don’t stay back. Implementing now pre-COVID marketing strategies will result in failure, the same way that using a COVID approach whenever the situation is back to stable would not be your best move.
There’s a lot to read, watch and learn in order to understand where things are heading. I’m doing my bit to gather relevant, and insightful materials for this process of understanding, and I’ll be sharing them in following posts.
If you liked this article, please follow me in Twitter @LiveWherever
Signing off,
Mr. Wherever
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