In general, digital strategies are gaining in importance. After all, online sales and communication are the best option for working regardless of location, responding to new circumstances in real-time, focusing on the right target group and trying different marketing approaches.
In times of general uncertainty and a weakening economy, companies are particularly dependent on good customer relationships. The strategic focus should therefore be on the customer. If your marketing budget is tight, it helps to set additional priorities in order to bundle resources. Perhaps it is more promising to only address a clearly defined target group. Or it may be more effective to keep existing customers than to win new ones.
Be sure to consider whether a crisis will change your unique selling points. A new brand message and advertising that is adapted to the new situation will encourage customers to continue to shop with you. When it comes to crisis marketing, it is important to appear serious and confident to the outside world and to gain the trust of customers. They should have the impression that they are getting exactly what they need despite the difficult circumstances. Sometimes this requires thinking about other values in order to adapt a business’s image.
Strategic communication is the order of the day when trust is breached. Say a band couldn’t perform or a venue was damaged in a storm - organizers now must relieve customers’ fears that they won’t get a refund for their tickets. Whether you’re dealing with quality problems with products or a bug in the online ordering system, targeted communication and reputation marketing limit the damage to your image and restore your reputation. Transparent and credible crisis communication is often the best strategy.
If the problem is related to the product range or the products themselves, it is important to adjust and zoom in on product development. For example, it makes little sense to rely exclusively on sausage products and meat dishes following a scandal in the meat industry or to offer goods from a manufacturer that has fallen into disrepute.