The year 2020 was a huge cultural reset around the world: almost overnight, entire countries shuttered their major financial centers, manufacturing giants from China and India to the United States and most of Europe all halted production for fear of COVID-19.
With a vaccine still a few years away, all of the world’s industries, from modest home based ones to multinationals, and including ones in the Philippines, must now face sad truths and hard facts: the world as we know it is never going to be the same again, and the only way to survive is to adapt to the situation and evolve the business process.
A Changing World
As revenue starts to dwindle, it’s inevitable that the first thing to be re-evaluated is the marketing budget. After all, with entire cities still under quarantine, how else are people going to receive your marketing collaterals?
The obvious answer is: go digital. The Philippines is one of the largest consumers of digital media in the entire world. From Facebook and IG to Twitter and LinkedIn, there isn’t a social platform out there that Filipinos aren’t a part of.
There’s a ton of ways to leverage digital solutions, but they need to be leveraged properly, especially during a global pandemic. Whether you opt for in-house content strategizing or SEO outsourcing, reaching the Philippine market effectively, and most importantly in a positive manner, requires rethinking what you know about marketing. Here are a few mindsets to keep in mind:
Marketing Needs to Be Empathic
Emotions are understandably high because of the pandemic, which means that being extra sensitive and empathic towards your consumers is key to winning their trust. In the previous decade, marketers shifted from a brand-centric mode of thinking towards a customer-centric one, with a focus on figuring out your customer-base’s common pain points and addressing these so you can add tangible value to their lives.
In 2020, this means addressing the pandemic through your branding in such a way that it provides your customers with a sense of surety and comfort without downplaying the largest medical crisis of the modern world. Be empathic to what your customers want, and they’ll see you as an anchor in these unsure times.
Focus on Shifting to Digital
By the mid-2010s, companies that didn’t go digital struggled to keep up with their competition. In 2020, not only is going digital a surefire way of thriving, it’s now a necessity for your business’ survival.
When quarantines were set in place around the world, online traffic understandably rose, and it rose significantly: online forums saw a 20-50% jump in traffic while some e-commerce sites reported a significant rise in sales. Companies are aware of this, which is why there is now a scramble to put out digital ads around the world.
But going digital is more than just marketing: it’s about completely rethinking your business model from the ground-up, from contactless sales and logistics to leveraging cloud computing for internal business processes.
In these trying times, technology will be the saving grace of companies, and relying on it to the fullest means not just surviving the post-pandemic, but actually thriving in it.
