Our world has been turned upside down as COVID-19 circles the globe, leaving industries, businesses and communities warped in its wake. While economists in 2019 predicted a US recession by 2021, one that was this sudden and of this scale and magnitude was largely unfathomable. Businesses are facing unprecedented sales declines as storefronts shutter their doors. Demand is decimated across industries such as airlines, hotels, tourism and restaurants. The public is staying home.
Some economists assure us of a recession – we won’t know officially until we experience two consecutive quarters of economic decline – others predict we are closer to a year’s long Depression. The predicted upcoming economic hit will be a unique one, driven by a health crisis and not a financial one. Whilst the health crisis is an immediate shock to the economy, the question remains as to what the new equilibrium will be and what permanent shifts in behavior emerge once the pandemic subsides.
Ultimately, the severity of the economics depends on the severity of the pandemic, or perhaps more importantly, consumers perceptions of the pandemic. And no one can predict the future. We can, however, do our best to counter the likely lower levels of growth and strategize on how best to optimize remaining capital allocations across operations, sales and marketing.
Your guide to cutting ad spend and focusing on customer service and satisfaction instead
At Marketscience, we have conducted a comprehensive economic analysis of the last five major recessions. During this time, we have been building models of consumer demand across clients, providing us with a unique view of the drivers of demand across multiple industries. The conclusion from this study of sales shares, brand equity, customer satisfaction, marketing spends, and operations expenses data are clear: brands that focus on customer service and satisfaction throughout challenging economies win — during and after a recession.
The core message from the available data is simply that those dollars work harder for you; this is a consistent and universal “truth” applicable to all sectors.
Customer experience should be prioritized not just during recession’s, but during stable economic times too. There are three primary ways to prioritize the customer:
- Spend with the customer in mind
- Advance, while others retreat
- Promote wisely
In the WARC article below we elaborate on these three key learnings to assist organizations in making more informed operations, sales and marketing investment decisions that will help one to succeed before, during, and after a recession.
Read the full piece here: https://bit.ly/2WoaGwW
If your organization doesn’t have access to WARC, contact our team who can share the full article.