Marketing planning for when it's 'normal' again
Kiani, Isar . Rochester Business Journal ; Rochester Vol. 36, Iss. 38, (Jan 1, 2021): 22.
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ABSTRACT (ENGLISH)
When customers experience an extended disconnect from a setting that they previously visited and enjoyed, the
chances are that previous experiences fade their glow and retreat to becoming just another ordinary pick within
customers evoked set Consequently, following such an extended period of closure, the likely outcome is that as
businesses see their past gains in customer favor gradually dissipating, they have to reinvest in marketing efforts
all over again in order to reestablish themselves as a preferred customer choice. In an effort to minimize the risk of
such occurrences and to retain customer loyalty, some business owners may decide to keep up their marketing
expenditures in order to remain fresh and choices oftheir customers- While this approach has some rewards, it
also has several risks, which business owners need to consider. If your audience starts to scroll down on your
page, after a while, that page wifi become hidden from their view. [...]it is important that if you post content, your
posts get clicked on or liked by those who come across them.
FULL TEXT
Many businesses are struggling with the uncertainty of whether and when they can reopen and resume their
operations. With the CO VID-19 pandemic still present, state and local governments keep setting new directives in
order to ensure public safety. For businesses such as restaurants and indoor entertainment, perhaps just as bad
as the pandemic itself is the fact that they have very little clarity on whether and for how long they can stay open
after each new update on the status of infection rates. To add to the complexity, state andlocal governments keep
overriding the very protocols they have set themselves, making it literally impossible for business owners to plan
ahead. Those who have owned and operated businesses are aware that performance following each resumption of
operations does not follow the trajectory that it had pre-closure in a linear way. With every closure and reopening,
there are tremendous costs resulting from staffing, sourcing and regaining momentum. Under such extreme
uncertainly, many businesses may fall into a cycle where their revenues cannot justify their costs. An increasing
number of business owners may decide that until there is more clarity and state and local governments are
committed to following the protocols, it may not be worth staying open altogether. With such decisions comes
another risk, which down the road may result in added costs to resumption of operation, and the cost is that of
marketing.
Restaurants and indoor entertainment businesses capitalize on creating a hedonic experience which builds itself
into the processes of consumer decision making. Good memories, joy and other contextual factors that create a
pleasant experience during each visit play a role in future preferences. When customers experience an extended
disconnect from a setting that they previously visited and enjoyed, the chances are that previous experiences fade
their glow and retreat to becoming just another ordinary pick within customers evoked set Consequently, following
such an extended period of closure, the likely outcome is that as businesses see their past gains in customer favor
gradually dissipating, they have to reinvest in marketing efforts all over again in order to reestablish themselves as
a preferred customer choice. What can make things even more difficult is the possibility that customers
consciously decide to give preference to businesses they previously did not interact with, furthering the negative
impact of an extended closure. In an effort to minimize the risk of such occurrences and to retain customer loyalty,
some business owners may decide to keep up their marketing expenditures in order to remain fresh and choices
oftheir customers- While this approach has some rewards, it also has several risks, which business owners need to
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consider. To avoid those risks and in order to maximize the benefits, business owners can do the following:
Dont outspend yourself. The last thing businesses need when emerging on the other side of this pandemic is to
lack in financial resources. There will be many gaps in tlie market after things start getting back to normal, and
these gaps range from supply to competition. Some competitors will ramp up their efforts more aggressively to
dominate the open field, and many businesses will struggle to find affordable sources of supply, as they did before.
Money will be king. Fortunately, there are many affordable ways for marketing without having to overspend. Social
media, business webpage and many other channels exist to enable businesses to announce that they are still
around, without the need to reach deep down ones pocket If you have pictures and information from pre-pandemic
customers, share them. Be careful not to go too deep into the waters of nostalgia Nostalgic memories are great,
but they are reminiscent of the past. You want your business to be successful in the future, so tread the line
carefully.
Anticipation is good, anxiety isnt Keeping your customers on their toes may seem like a good idea if you are about
to reopen. But given the nature of the pandemic, any reopening may follow up with another swift closure. If your
business is about creating pleasant hedonic experiences, then make sure that you keep it pleasant, not
nerveracking. Keep providing periodic updates, but leave the anticipation until the moment you have more clarity.
News is news, as long as it is news, otherwise, it is just routine. Some businesses overdo things with posting on
their social media There are a couple of things that one needs to consider: the way social media platforms work,
and the way brains of customers work. Most social media follow algorithms to prioritize and/or hide information
based on how they are relevant to audiences. Otherwise, we will each wake up every morning to pages and pages
of information shared by our friends, and which are of no interest to us. If your audience starts to scroll down on
your page, after a while, that page wifi become hidden from their view. Therefore, it is important that if you post
content, your posts get clicked on or liked by those who come across them. Here, the frequency of posts will start
to matter. Dont allow your posts to become a scrolled over routine. Make sure your posts have information that
instigates reactions from audiences.
Sympathy only reaches so far. Confidence is what wins back customers. Many business owners have opted to
emphasize them being the underdogs in this struggle, and in many cases, they are right Unfortunately, the
underdog card only travels so far and if you are looking for customers who keep coming back, it is important to
demonstrate that your business will weather these storms and that you are and will remain a reliable destination
after reopening. Most people prefer to interact with businesses that know what they are doing, and while these are
extraordinary circumstances that we deal with, customers will likely associate survival of a business with the
know-how of those who run it.
Pick your timing right The fortunate news is that this pandemic shall pass, which means that businesses need to
be prepared. It cant be emphasized enough that when things start to revert back to normal, businesses need to
ramp things up in order to regain and retain their position. For that, if you are on a low spending marketing budget,
itll be time to revisit your budget again. Monitor the environment, look at your competitors, scan adjacent markets,
and track the news. Make sure that you have enough information to decide when it is time.
Isar Kiani is an assistant professor of marketing at St. John Fisher College, a marketing consultant and an
entrepreneur.
DETAILS
Subject:
Brand loyalty; Marketing; Customers; Costs; Pandemics; Social networks
Business indexing term:
Subject: Brand loyalty Marketing Customers Costs Social networks
Location:
Rochester New York
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Publication title:
Rochester Business Journal; Rochester
Volume:
36
Issue:
38
Pages:
22
Publication year:
2021
Publication date:
Jan 1, 2021
Section:
OPINION
Publisher:
Rochester Business Journal
Place of publication:
Rochester
Country of publication:
United States, Rochester
Publication subject:
Business And Economics
ISSN:
08963274
Source type:
Trade Journals
Language of publication:
English
Document type:
Commentary
ProQuest document ID:
2478615760
Document URL:
https://search.proquest.com/trade-journals/marketing-planning-when-normalagain/docview/2478615760/se-2?accountid=17242
Copyright:
Copyright Rochester Business Journal Jan 1, 2021
Last updated:
2021-01-31
Database:
ABI/INFORM Collection
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