What a COVID-19 Second Wave Will Mean for Marketers
As 2020 rolls on with a tremendous amount of uncertainty, both consumers and businesses are faced with the possibility of a COVID-19 second-wave of shuts downs across Australian cities.
The mere thought of a second-wave of forced COVID-19 shut-downs, would not only be catastrophic for Australian businesses, it could also cause unparalleled economic-ruin for Australians across the board.
To understand the severity of what a COVID-19 second-wave could look like, we only have-to look at what issues the COVID-19 pandemic has caused so far, some of which include:
- Business down-turns of up to 100% in some cases
- Employees being retrenched across the board
- Employees working reduced hours for less pay
- Businesses being forced to scale-back operations to unprofitable standards
- Unemployment rate doubling
- Landlords being left with tenants who simply cannot afford to pay their rent
- Not to mention Mortgage & Rental stress for consumers across the country
These are only some of the significant issues Australians are currently facing. As a nation, we have been forced to not only rethink how we manage our lives, and in some cases, we have also been forced to learn new skills which have higher prospects for job opportunities.
Economic challenges like these, have not been experienced since the Great Depression in the 1930’s, and as a generation most of us have never experienced significant hardship in anyway. However, regardless of the current economic climate, business must still go on, and it is vital during these difficult times, that we as Marketers, explore new and innovative means for our brands to connect with their consumers.
As terrible as it sounds, this pandemic has also provided Businesses and Marketers with unique opportunities, which have provided brands with the following:
- Ability for brands to increase market share as competitors diminish
- Innovation of new products and services with demands at unprecedented levels
- Agile brands being able to take advantage of online sales opportunities
- Employment opportunities for staff to work remotely, hence extending boundaries
- Encouraging Marketers & Brands to rethink their marketing and sales strategies to be more in line with the opportunities that present themselves
What we are being reminded of, from the Scott Morrison Government, is that “Australia cannot shut down to contain a second wave of Covid-19” as highlighted in the “Guardian online edition 14th July 2020”. He states that “By shutting down the economy, would only double the unemployment rate but would also be completely unsustainable for the economy”.
These sentiments are also shared amongst the business community and consumers in general. Australians understand how catastrophic this would be for us as a nation, to be forced into a second round of lockdowns. It is unfathomable to even consider what this might mean for the economy as-a-whole.
- How would the landscape look if brands that we know and love are gone forever?
- Would the price of goods increase as a-result-of a less competitive marketplace?
- Would our wages decrease due to increases in unemployment?
- Would there be a bigger divide amongst the social classes?
- How would our way of life be effected as-a-whole?
If Australian Businesses and Consumers have had to change to what may be the new norm for some time to come, what would the landscape look like for marketers who wish to help their clients promote their brands and how would Marketers effectively reach consumers?
During this COVID-19 pandemic, we as marketers have learned to adapt to the situations that we have been confronted with, whilst implementing new measures to ensure ongoing growth remains front and centre of our mission for the future. The following points highlight some of the ways in which we are helping our clients navigate their way out of these current economic hardships:
- Shifting advertising budgets to channels where people are consuming more content
- Encouraging our brands to reward their customers with incentives for being loyal to their brands, hence stopping them changing to competing brands
- Encouraging brands to explore new advertising and marketing strategies
- Helping brands be more prudent with their advertising and marketing budgets
- Investing in employment growth strategies to foster new talent
- Making sure every touch point of our clients’ brands is professional
As a leading Digital Marketing Agency, we are responsible for how our clients’ brands are represented online, but more importantly we are responsible for ensuring their advertising and marketing dollars are used as effectively as possible. In a time where there is the potential for more businesses to shut-down, and more people to be out of work, it’s vital that we focus on helping our brands do the following:
- Focus on Repeat Customer Sales, reducing their cost of Advertising and Marketing
- Increase Brand Awareness, when competitors may not be able to afford to do so
- Encourage innovation for brands to diversify their product and service offering
- Focus on long-term marketing initiatives to provide a great foundation for the future
What is most worrying for businesses and consumers during this pandemic, is the uncertainty of how long it will last. We are listening to our economic leaders saying that a vaccine is on the horizon, whilst other leaders are suggesting there won’t be a vaccine until the end of 2021.
What is certain, is that every day poses a new challenge but with that comes the potential for a new opportunity. Unfortunately, it may be true that only the strong brands and businesses will survive in the most favourable way, but we as Marketers also have a responsibility to ensure we focus our efforts on ways to help our clients thrive in what is shaping up to be the most challenging times we have seen in our generation.