Marketing In The Time Of Covid-19

Covid-19 is wreaking havoc with the economy. How can SMEs cope?

- Kashmira Chawak

Let’s face it: it’s been a tough beginning to 2020. The rise in the number of COVID-19 cases is impacting most businesses – some sectors such as hospitality, travel and F&B more than others. While businesses brace themselves for potential ramifications of the imminent slowdown, SMEs are highly vulnerable, owing to smaller operations and reliance on immediate cash flow.

Over the last few weeks, I have had conversations with my SME clients on revisiting their marketing approach in the face of this crisis. Here are a few recurring themes that came up in our discussions.

KEEP CALM AND UNDERSTAND YOUR CUSTOMER MINDSET

A crisis is bound to change people’s spending behaviour. Whether it’s necessary precaution or driven by sheer fear, people will be staying home more often, cutting down on discretionary spending. In any case, your digital marketing campaigns are likely to be affected. Multiplying marketing spends and/or making ad-hoc panic-driven changes to your marketing campaigns isn’t going to change that.