We asked the expert - How marketers are dealing with the COVID-19 situation?
To tackle the challenges faced by marketers, we recently hosted Drew Neisser on my podcast, where I discussed how marketing leaders are dealing with the global pandemic situation. Also, how industries are affected economically and how you can take advantage of the current situation in a harmless way?
This episode is based on how we all should look forward to tackling a global crisis like this.
I'm going to break it down for you to understand the current scenario easily.
What Drew has noticed :
Increase in empathy - People are being very understanding in the situation, they are willing to co-operate whether its a delay in delivering some pending work or if there is a change in plan. Also, people who are more comfortable while working are showing great output. People are really being innovative.
People are connecting socially / online more - Be it discussion a new project, an online lecture, a webinar, or a conference call. People now know that connecting remotely is very easy and work can be done even with a remote workforce! Companies should be looking forward to having a remote workforce in the future just to be 'pandemic-ready'
Recession crisis, terrorism & pandemic situation - Drew also thinks that this pandemic situation is the worst that the USA has seen after the recession period and terror attacks of 9/11 which can definitely hurt the global economy for a long period. But many new ways of doing business will emerge and people will have money to invest in new businesses. People will find a way to keep their businesses and companies running
How should a marketer use this situation without exploiting the situation? - The problem with this situation is that we don't know how long it will last and for how long people will be scared to come out. But there's a saying, "People who are lazy will act like lazy no matter what the situation is." So all you have to do is find productive people who can handle a remote workforce with ease.
What will be a long term impact due to this situation? - "Survival is the necessity of all the startups & necessity is the mother of innovation." Companies who were not ready to have a remote-friendly workflow now are having a VPN setup, Slack channels, remote workforce, and everything necessary!
What companies are learning? - I think in the future companies will have software which helps to manage remote work easily on a large scale, which is a burning necessity of today!
Suggestions for Companies / Agencies - If you're spending money on marketing right now, don't think twice, marketing is a really important aspect because customers cannot be kept away from a brand. Marketing is important and people do have time to see what you are telling them. Though there is no playbook, it will be completely uncertain for a few companies, few may succeed few may suffer an economic meltdown.
Alright! So this was a quick read for you from our latest podcast with Drew Neisser.