How to manage your company's recovery in the COVID context
Posted: Sun Dec 22, 2024 8:59 am
Since Covid-19 came into our lives in March 2020, I have been looking for the keys to adapting companies' marketing and business strategies ( here you have more than 10 articles and even a book published on post-Covid strategy).
We are in September 2021 and we see how some doubts have been cleared up, but we are still not sure what will happen in the coming months.
In many sectors we see signs of recovery, good prospects in others,… but we still have doubts. We are waiting for the next blow of the crisis. Perhaps we expected behaviour similar to that of previous economic crises that have not come. But this crisis is different from all others.
Covid-19 came at a good time for uk telegram number the economy overall. We were beginning to see signs of an economic slowdown, but we were not in a crisis. Suddenly everything came to a screeching halt and it seems that the economy has been recovering for a few months now.
The economic consequences of this slowdown have been felt in all sectors.
It's like we're coming out of a tunnel and we're having trouble recognizing what we're seeing. It looks like the landscape we remember, but we can't quite place ourselves. We're disoriented.
How to face the probable post-COVID economic recovery
Many sectors are eagerly awaiting the much talked about post-COVID economic recovery (not a return to the previous scenario, they are referring to the other end of the famous U).
As I said before, there are some signs that indicate this. We are starting to recover previous habits, money is starting to flow through the different markets (even though others are still half-stopped),… but on the other hand, we are facing supply problems.
Factories are unable to fulfil orders on time, materials become more expensive and this results in logistical problems, price increases and/or delivery delays (we see this in the automotive or electronic components sectors).
Given this scenario, what is the situation for companies in the marketing field? How should they face the economic recovery?
It is clear that if we want to take advantage of a positive market trend, we have to prepare ourselves. This planning will affect many departments. In the marketing environment we talk about product/service adaptation, distribution improvements, pricing policies, etc. and all this with its different downstream effects on other areas.
From a marketing strategy perspective, how do we begin this strategic approach (which will involve the changes mentioned above)? Where do we put the focus of our strategy?
There are many alternatives, but they usually revolve around two axes: brand and sales . That is, generating trust and visibility, or sales and less visibility.
On the one hand, we need to strengthen the brand to get closer to our customers and not lose market share, and on the other hand, we need to sell as quickly as possible. But there is also a trend in which consumers are adjusting their budgets to be able to afford the usual brands, as they inspire greater confidence and give them the feeling of higher quality/experience while they have spent more time at home since March 2020 (which would support the commitment to the brand). In other words, there is no clear trend that gives us the answer.
Marketing directors are often challenged to achieve both objectives. But to achieve this we need larger budgets and resources, and this again clashes with the need to increase profitability after the losses or lower income caused by confinement and its subsequent phases.
In the marketing field, many entrepreneurs are betting on recovery by reactivating actions similar to those they did before March 2020, and others are starting to invest. But I don't think they have a very clear strategy that will allow them to join the economic recovery. They are simply "pumping gasoline", hoping for results.
The marketing budget must be aligned with the strategy (and its objectives)
In short, we need both (brand and sales), but most companies can't afford the budgets to achieve them. So what do we do?
More than ever we need:
Define a strategy that allows us to achieve specific objectives. To do this, we must start with a diagnosis that shows us the path to follow. We need to find those points to reinforce so that the strategy allows us to strengthen them and helps us achieve the objectives.
Define a budget whose items are assigned to solve problems or achieve specific objectives. To do this, we have no choice but to calculate the budget item by item and based on data or estimates (need A = budget A).
The most common practice is to calculate it based on the previous year's budget or define a percentage based on expected billing. In these and many other cases, we separate the decision from the context and this causes expectations and reality to be misaligned. In other words, it is the basis for a more than likely failure.
Measure each effort made and readjust based on the results. To do this without deviating from the established strategy, in addition to readjusting the budget, we must check for possible deviations in the achievement of objectives and propose corrective actions.
We are in September 2021 and we see how some doubts have been cleared up, but we are still not sure what will happen in the coming months.
In many sectors we see signs of recovery, good prospects in others,… but we still have doubts. We are waiting for the next blow of the crisis. Perhaps we expected behaviour similar to that of previous economic crises that have not come. But this crisis is different from all others.
Covid-19 came at a good time for uk telegram number the economy overall. We were beginning to see signs of an economic slowdown, but we were not in a crisis. Suddenly everything came to a screeching halt and it seems that the economy has been recovering for a few months now.
The economic consequences of this slowdown have been felt in all sectors.
It's like we're coming out of a tunnel and we're having trouble recognizing what we're seeing. It looks like the landscape we remember, but we can't quite place ourselves. We're disoriented.
How to face the probable post-COVID economic recovery
Many sectors are eagerly awaiting the much talked about post-COVID economic recovery (not a return to the previous scenario, they are referring to the other end of the famous U).
As I said before, there are some signs that indicate this. We are starting to recover previous habits, money is starting to flow through the different markets (even though others are still half-stopped),… but on the other hand, we are facing supply problems.
Factories are unable to fulfil orders on time, materials become more expensive and this results in logistical problems, price increases and/or delivery delays (we see this in the automotive or electronic components sectors).
Given this scenario, what is the situation for companies in the marketing field? How should they face the economic recovery?
It is clear that if we want to take advantage of a positive market trend, we have to prepare ourselves. This planning will affect many departments. In the marketing environment we talk about product/service adaptation, distribution improvements, pricing policies, etc. and all this with its different downstream effects on other areas.
From a marketing strategy perspective, how do we begin this strategic approach (which will involve the changes mentioned above)? Where do we put the focus of our strategy?
There are many alternatives, but they usually revolve around two axes: brand and sales . That is, generating trust and visibility, or sales and less visibility.
On the one hand, we need to strengthen the brand to get closer to our customers and not lose market share, and on the other hand, we need to sell as quickly as possible. But there is also a trend in which consumers are adjusting their budgets to be able to afford the usual brands, as they inspire greater confidence and give them the feeling of higher quality/experience while they have spent more time at home since March 2020 (which would support the commitment to the brand). In other words, there is no clear trend that gives us the answer.
Marketing directors are often challenged to achieve both objectives. But to achieve this we need larger budgets and resources, and this again clashes with the need to increase profitability after the losses or lower income caused by confinement and its subsequent phases.
In the marketing field, many entrepreneurs are betting on recovery by reactivating actions similar to those they did before March 2020, and others are starting to invest. But I don't think they have a very clear strategy that will allow them to join the economic recovery. They are simply "pumping gasoline", hoping for results.
The marketing budget must be aligned with the strategy (and its objectives)
In short, we need both (brand and sales), but most companies can't afford the budgets to achieve them. So what do we do?
More than ever we need:
Define a strategy that allows us to achieve specific objectives. To do this, we must start with a diagnosis that shows us the path to follow. We need to find those points to reinforce so that the strategy allows us to strengthen them and helps us achieve the objectives.
Define a budget whose items are assigned to solve problems or achieve specific objectives. To do this, we have no choice but to calculate the budget item by item and based on data or estimates (need A = budget A).
The most common practice is to calculate it based on the previous year's budget or define a percentage based on expected billing. In these and many other cases, we separate the decision from the context and this causes expectations and reality to be misaligned. In other words, it is the basis for a more than likely failure.
Measure each effort made and readjust based on the results. To do this without deviating from the established strategy, in addition to readjusting the budget, we must check for possible deviations in the achievement of objectives and propose corrective actions.