Why it's more important now than ever to strengthen your marketing

It’s safe to say many businesses are under pressure at the moment. External challenges such as rising energy costs, pandemic recovery and talent shortages mean companies are starting to look at making cuts – and often one of the first things to go the marketing budget.

It’s sometimes seen as a cost centre and those who crunch the numbers fail to see that marketing is playing the long game. Building brand awareness and loyalty isn’t a flash in the pan though, and sometimes ROI takes time.

Now is the time to be strengthening your marketing activity. Consumers are feeling the financial pinch more than ever, and brand loyalty can suffer as a result of this. It’s not that consumers will just automatically search for a cheaper option – if your user experience isn’t up to scratch, they will abandon you.

We can help you identify your business challenges and how to overcome them. We support you in all areas of strategy including goal-setting, planning and implementation, and ongoing monitoring against objectives and goals. 

Customer-centricity and content

When marketing your business during difficult times, it’s not just about what you want to say, but what your customers want to hear.

Harvard Business Review cites a couple of examples from Coca-Cola and Singapore Airlines during the pandemic, where their marketing content reflected the challenges that consumers were facing.

In 2020, Coca-Cola used its advertising budget to showcase the dedication of frontline workers, creating mini stories about unsung heroes. The Coca-Cola brand features subtly in the background of these messages, reminding consumers that one of the world’s most popular soft drink always has been, and always will be there for you, in good times and bad.

Singapore Airlines showed how its grounded crew were redeployed to help their communities deal with the outbreak. While the airline wasn’t able to operate, it still knew the importance of keeping those touch point with customers.

Content is a vital and powerful element of your digital marketing strategy. Getting it right helps to build credibility and trust in your brand, as well as increase engagement and user satisfaction to help your business grow.  

E-commerce boom

There’s been a boom in e-commerce during and since the pandemic. Some of this was down to necessity for businesses to continue trading and done at break-neck speed. Is what you implemented then still serving the right purpose for your business though?

Have you adjusted your user experience to the change in consumer habits?

If this resonates with you, we can help you look further into optimising your online presence. Websites are increasingly the window to your brand and lead sales generator. Platform optimisation, product presentation, pricing strategy, purchase process, post-sale and customer service are key to user experience and brand loyalty. 

Talent shortage

We’ve established market conditions are tough at the moment – this goes for attracting talent too.

The pandemic resulted in some seismic shifts in work patterns, attitudes and career paths. The new reality involves remote/hybrid working, a switch from career ladders to career lattices (employees don’t have to stay in their departments to grow and develop) and an increase in candidates who have side hustles. The traditional linear corporate ladder is no more. Finding the right person at the right cost is tougher than ever.

If you’re a small company you might only have budget for a single marketeer. If that person is an all-rounder then great. But there’s a risk will they end up spreading themselves too thinly in all that marketing a successful company involves.

If your business is growing fast, great news! But there can be added pressures with rapid growth, bringing people on means training, nurturing and added costs which can be difficult to manage – you also need to watch out for employee burnout.

It’s about working smarter, not harder; employ the right people, at the right time, to do the right job. We can provide that specialist expertise to suit your budget and your needs.

We’re experienced in supporting varying sized organisations at differing stages of their journey.

For some clients, we work with their own in-house marketing team. For others, typically smaller businesses or start-ups, we become their entire marketing function or an extension of their executive team.

Even some of the biggest well-known brands use agencies to support them. They know when to use specialist expertise, whether it’s for specific campaigns or an entire function. 

Don’t think you’re too small or don’t have the budget to ask for specialist help. We’re here to take those worries away and support you in your business growth.