2020 has been a challenging year and the impact it has had on businesses has been catastrophic, but now is the time to look to the future and plan ahead to ensure success in 2021. This article will look at how businesses can help build consumer confidence and how contingency planning could go a long way towards this.
Consumer Confidence Now
The global crisis has put a strain on businesses due to consumers feeling uncertain of a variety of issues, we have laid some of these out below:
- Their career – with so many people being furloughed or losing their jobs altogether, those who remain in work are cautious as to what the future holds.
- Their health and wellbeing – everyone’s lives have changed to what has been referred to as a dystopian film. This affects people’s mental and physical health and the on-going strain on healthcare services, people are not feeling optimistic about the future.
- Their daily lives – when your daily life changes over night it can take time to adjust and so businesses must be patient, but unfortunately, not all businesses can afford to do this.
As a result of these factors consumers are more cautious than ever, which means it is up to the brands to encourage spending and provide products and services that won’t break the bank. These products and services should also be easily accessible which could mean going digital.
Future Consumer Confidence
Businesses must start by looking at their marketing mix and deciding which (if not all) elements need adjusting.
Product – consider what you are selling and whether it can be sold online, if it cannot, then you must begin to put plans in place that match government guidelines.
As guidelines are changing on a regular basis, start creating your contingency plans based on potential policy that may be enforced. We will discuss this in more detail in the next section.
Price – money is a tricky situation at the best of times, but you should consider lowering prices where possible to help the nation, especially if you are targeting lower income households. If price changing is not an option, then there are a couple of other things you can do:
- Provide discount codes on certain products
- Consider alternative income strategies such as affiliate marketing
- Offer an element of advice for free, such as an initial consultation or add a news/blog section to your website and start to become a trustworthy, helpful brand
Place – people are not as free to come and go as they used to be, so consider where they will be shopping or researching. Generally speaking, this will be local, in supermarkets or online. If you don’t have an online presence then now is the time to invest and you could even consider alternate audiences. Don’t just stick to what you know, as what you know is changing!
People – your target audience may be acting differently and there could be several reasons for this such as income, health, time, a change in priorities and much more. As a business it can be difficult to identify the reasons for this change and if you cannot afford to undertake thorough research then try other types of marketing that perhaps you haven’t done before.
Here are some strategies that you may want to consider:
- Email marketing
- Social media brand identity marketing
- Content marketing
- PPC (Pay Per Click)
- Postal marketing
There are several techniques that can be used, you just need to invest the time and think differently, just like your audience.
Preparing Your Contingency Plan for 2021
If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that we need to plan for future situations no matter how realistic they seem.
Creating a contingency plan can help you identify gaps in your business as well as protect company assets and reduce consumer inconvenience. Plans can be simple, by focusing on offline and online strategies, you are prepared for multiple situations.
It is also important to consider other companies that help your business continue, such as suppliers, couriers and agencies. Keep a record of all the research you did when initially searching for these partners in case you ever need quick backup.
You will never be able to predict every possible situation but it does not harm to try. To find out more you can visit CallCare247 who have recently released a campaign on the subject.