Key Marketing Lessons I Learned from COVID-19 As a Consumer

Source: Anastasiia Chepinska - Unsplash

Two months ago, who’d expect there’d be a global pandemic? Who’d expect it’d cause a huge economic downturn? Being in business is more stressful than ever, because of the environment we’re in today. The IMF even forecast the economy in the U.S. will decrease by 5.9% and the global economy will go down by 3% this year. These numbers translate to higher unemployment rate and lower purchasing power. The world will be severely impacted until there are effective policies and measures that reduce the spread of the virus. COVID-19 has completely changed the way brands interact with customers. There’s nothing companies could have done differently to prepare for this but business leaders could react fast to the situation to minimize the impact.

While business leaders are addressing the immediate challenges brought to their companies, marketers are also reinventing new ways to interact with customers in light of the emerging challenges. As a consumer and marketer impacted by this unprecedented crisis, I’ve been paying close attention to what leading companies are doing to address COVID-19 and how they are doing it. When reimagining marketing in challenging times, there are three lessons I’ve learned from companies on how they retain existing customers and potentially attract new customers.

Lesson 1: The art of repositioning

Although all businesses are impacted in one way or another, brands that require in-person contact with customers or in the consumer discretionary sector suffer the most. However, if companies can pivot their business in a contactless environment, not only can they help their customers weather the storm, but they can also revive their brand and minimize the impacts on the business brought by the pandemic.

Airbnb is a good example. It is a home-sharing site known for providing vacation rentals and unique experiences to users. With the travel ban, lockdowns and event cancellations, the company has seen as high as 96% cancellation rates in March, according to AirDNA, a market research firm. Financially, this has posed a huge risk to Airbnb and their hosts, not to mention the fact that the company had already lost hundreds of millions in 2019 prior to the pandemic. The hosts have started listing on competing sites making their properties available for longer terms at discounted rates. If this persisted, there would be fewer properties available on Airbnb’s site, which would also imply a drop in the number of users and revenue.

In response to the ongoing decrease in revenue, Airbnb has repositioned as a partner to their hosts, healthcare workers and customers. To retain the superhosts, they created the Superhost Relief Fund, a 17-million program, to help the hosts weather the crisis. The grant doesn’t come with strings and the hosts won’t need to repay it. The company has also pivoted their business by introducing online experiences hoping to keep the platform adoption rate and retain customers through virtual events. To show their social responsibility and help flatten the curve, they’ve also introduced frontline stays for COVID-19 responders offering healthcare staff places to stay where they can distance themselves from their families.

Repositioning is an important way to help companies get through a crisis and even explore new opportunities. Airbnb may still be struggling in the next few months, but they’ve at least implemented new measures to pivot their business away from the short-term rentals, which used to be the bread and butter of their business.

Lesson 2: Reimagining the customer journey and experience

This is business unusual. The world is forced to undergo a digital transformation in the last two months. Given new habits and behavior formed, customer journeys done prior to the crisis have become irrelevant. Companies have to map out a new journey to stand by their customers and serve them better. Inevitably, customers have new goals, frustrations and needs that they didn’t have two months ago. The new customer journey should focus on care and connection and less about pushing for purchases. Focusing on customer experience in recession will yield long term benefits, supported by Forrester’s research. Understanding the new psyche can help companies react to the new changes in customers’ behavior and use their reduced budget more efficiently and effectively.

One of the first steps most customers take is to evaluate where they can cut discretionary spend. Taking measures to adapt to the behavioral change can help struggling businesses reduce losses and retain valuable customers. For example, airlines have extended their customers’ elite status to 2021. CLEAR, a biometric secure identity platform that helps flyers get through security faster, has extended their members’ subscription for three months. Though their customers are not using their services in the short term, these measures were taken to retain their memberships for as long as they could.

Another important change in the journey is the way people consume information. Since the outbreak, people have been spending significantly more time at home than elsewhere. Having more time to kill, not surprisingly 87% Americans have been consuming more content online than before they were quarantined, according to the COVID-19 media consumption research released by GlobalWebIndex in April. 68% of the consumers are searching for COVID-19 updates online, which makes it the biggest activity now. Providing updates and content related to the outbreak is essential and expected. Many corporations, such as Amazon, have a dedicated COVID-19 page. It’s a great way to keep customers informed of what companies are doing to protect their employees, serve the customers and help the local communities.

40% of the consumers are delaying purchases in the midst of uncertainties but it’s still important to be engaging with the customers. Businesses now have a bigger corporate social responsibility to stand by their customers. People are getting sick, laid off, trapped at home with kids while working, worried about inadequate home essentials and so on. They aren’t just staying at home or working from home. They are forced to be away from friends and families. It is a stressful time, emotionally, physically and financially. As a consumer, it’s heart-warming to see rays of light and helpful content online. Some companies are creating timely, engaging content and leveraging digital channels more creatively. The New York Times recently created a step-by-step guide on how to give yourself a buzz cut. KitchenAid created a #MakeItTogether campaign to encourage customers to share their cooking challenges, ideas and inspiration during the quarantine. Lululemon is providing free at-home classes on YouTube. The creativity and positivity these companies bring to customers during a global crisis can serve a bigger purpose and will go a long way.

Lesson 3: Standing by the customers and beyond

This is not just about brand or crisis management. It’s about leading in difficult times. GlobalWebIndex found 65% of the consumers in the U.S. look to large corporations to lead response. People are going to be in favor of brands who do so because people will be more emotionally connected with them. For some corporations, it means providing free trials for an extended period of time or discounts on their products. For the multinational companies, people expect them to do more to help the world. For instance, Apple released a mobility data trends tool on April 14 to support the work on mitigating the spread of the virus and donated 20 million face masks for medical professionals worldwide. Microsoft and Adaptive Biotechnologies are teaming up to decode COVID-19 immune response and provide open data access. Nike has donated $17 million to support the COVID-19 response efforts globally. Through proactively helping the world navigate in challenging times, the corporations are leaving lasting impacts. These efforts are much more valuable than spending millions of dollars on advertising because what corporations are doing is saving people’s livelihoods.

We’re all struggling during this time — consumers and companies, big firms and small businesses. Corporations that put customers first and help them endure through the challenge will build stronger and lasting relationships with their customers.