This is Chapter 2 in a blog series. If you’re new to the series, visit the series home page to read from the start.
In the first article, we saw what happens to an economy - it slides in a vicious downward spiral - during a crisis such as the present COVID-19 crisis. We also learnt that businesses entering a recession with a pre-established strategic focus on marketing are better positioned to approach recession as opportunities to strengthen their competitive advantage. Hence, we will explore some marketing strategies that firms on a shoestring budget should opt for amidst a slow-paced economy.
How to strategize?
Creating a focused and differentiated strategy which ensures that you devote your money to only what counts and know when to say' NO.' Instead of trying to be all things for all people, go deep, and make sure you create value for your target customers. Most local businesses have a built-in advantage over international competitors because they know their customers well. Companies will be able to understand their consumers better and represent them better than competitors by pursuing a narrower focus.
The problem is that most businesses in India do not regularly research consumer behavior. Few have a robust segmentation of the market or a thorough understanding of their target consumer's needs and pains. If their sales go flat, they reduce prices in a knee-jerk reaction. If a company wants to win, they need to carry out an ongoing in-depth analysis of market events, which affect their balance sheet. It will help them in understanding the cause-and-effect relationships and project future market scenarios accurately. Business leaders need to question with each market change,' How does it affect my consumers? How's their behavior going to change? How long will it take? Where, if not here, would my customer go? Companies should send 12 of their team members to speak to 12 consumers each month instead of engaging in traditional market research. Only if you connect the dots more quickly than your rivals will you win.
What can Marketers do?
Marketers need to bring out unique and novel ideas to compete on a low budget. Here we will discuss three marketing tactics that will give you an edge over the others.
Retention Marketing - It’s a marketing strategy which focuses on your existing customer base. The goal is to create repeat customers and increase both their frequency of purchase and the average order volume per purchase.
Co-Op Campaign - A Co-Op Campaign is an exclusive, joint promotional campaign supporting mutual marketing objectives. Brands will make a bigger splash than they would alone as they pool their dollars by co-marketing.
Guerrilla Marketing - Guerrilla marketing is an advertisement strategy in which a company uses surprise or unconventional interactions to promote a product or service.
In our consequent articles, we will look into all of the above strategies in much detail, and with real-life examples of how firms have implemented them.
This is the second article of the series. Stay tuned for the third one!
