THE ECONOMIC LOCKDOWN, AND AFTER? WHAT SHOULD WE DO?

Our businesses have been heavily affected by this period of lockdown, hence growing uncertainty in companies. The many crises that have marked our economies have shown us that while they are totally unpredictable and all different, the reactions of many companies are less so. This often results in counterproductive strategies.

Cutting marketing actions until further notice

Of course, companies will have to monitor the impact of this crisis, and economic decisions will have to be taken. However, your marketing strategies are there to help you reach out to your markets. So it's essential to prepare for what comes next by reassessing these strategies and being ready to restart the machine early enough, while your competitors are still asking themselves questions. 

Three advantages of acting this way: 

• Taking advantage of others' absence at restart to occupy the ground. 
• Avoiding further feeding the fall in revenue. 
• Getting ahead, because in time everything will pick up again.

Falling silent 

Companies often lose their voice, whereas they should be managing their communication as precisely as possible with all their stakeholders. 

Internal communication is certainly important, but so are customers, taking into account their expectations and environment, almost like one-to-one communication. With these people, it's essential to keep your remarks concise and not produce long corporate messages that nobody reads. 

Communicating regularly is also key, and there are enough channels to avoid being repetitive or intrusive.

To do this, the company and its management must make sure they set up a communication unit that will help them build and spread messages, and also monitor developments so as to occupy the business ground at the first signs of recovery, while others remain on the defensive.

In short, when everything stops and everyone is uncertain, you have to know how to anticipate and be a contrarian.