An unpleasant surprise There were two pieces of news for outdoor advertising operators at the end of the year:
The agency cited two reasons for the rating downgrade. Firstly, the increase in placement costs, which is the result of bidding for outdoor advertising, which took place in Moscow in 2013-2014. During these bidding, a significant increase in prices for the right of placement was noted advertising structures, the cost of one design has also increased due to an increase in the price of approval of installation from all authorities.
The second reason for the downgrade was the worsening economic situation in Russia. According to agency specialists, the influence of this factor is manifested in the fact that outdoor advertising operators will not be able to fully compensate for the increase in placement costs by increasing prices. An increase in prices for outdoor advertising was recorded already in the fall; the dismantling of old structures was completed only a year later, which deprived the Gallery company of part of the expected income from the price increase.
Prices for outdoor advertising are a sore point for the entire industry; during a crisis, the price of one design becomes an automatic item in the loss column rather than profit, since it will not be easy to find advertisers to place on each billboard, whereas in normal times such a billboard would be a source stable income due to a continuous queue of orders for advertising space.
2) Banks cut advertising costs for the first time since the last crisis
As the newspaper Izvestia reports: Izvestia studied annual statistics banks' advertising expenses - from October 1, 2013 to October 1, 2014. It turned out that during this period, banks reduced advertising costs for the first time since 2009 - by 12.1%, to 22.5 billion rubles. As of October 1, 2009, the drop in the indicator was 28.9% (to 9 billion rubles), after which, over the course of 4 years, progressive growth was noted, the rate of which reached 50%. This follows from the profit and loss reports of credit institutions (Form 102), which the Central Bank publishes quarterly.
Banks are one of the most attractive advertisers and in the long term you should not expect an increase in the advertising budget in this sector of the economy. The advertiser will “go online,” where advertising costs are not lower, but are offset by the ability to track and calculate user metrics.
How to advertise during a crisis?
Not all markets are experiencing a decline in activity; at a recent forum in St. Petersburg, representatives of the construction market in Russia noted not only a commitment to old conservative advertising formats with wide coverage, but also a slight growth trend:
Agencies promote specific offers, so their tool is line advertising. The developer has larger budgets, so not only line and contextual advertising is used, but also wide-ranging advertising. We optimize advertising budget, focusing not on the crisis, but on conversion
Daria Baranova, Marketing Director at O2.
We can’t say anything about the impact of the crisis on the choice of communication channels - everything is fine with us
Elena Kovalenko, Deputy Head of the Advertising Department at KBC
Crisis sentiments are dangerous not so much for companies representing the market; they can either cut costs or play with the price of structures, focusing on demand. The danger lies primarily with the advertiser who is tempted to cut back. most of budget spent on seemingly meaningless brand development in a situation of declining demand. However, closing promotion channels means leaving without a fight, and also dooming yourself to the position of an outsider at the moment when the consumer chooses a brand that has served him faithfully in difficult times. It won't necessarily be an "economical" product, but we can say with confidence that it will achieve reliable status.
This is not the first crisis in Russia; the memory of the 2008 crisis is still fresh, when the advertising market shrank by almost a third. During this time, many professional communities have compiled not only instructions for overcoming specific crisis situations, but also analytical reports containing an “outside view” of the problems that large advertising agencies have faced and overcome in the most difficult circumstances for advertising producers. With translation from one of the best complex works ACAR (Association of Communication Agencies of Russia) introduces us to the European advertising market.
Full version research "How agencies can reduce the impact of a recession" on the website Akarussia.ru
In addition to the certainly useful market research, the Association publishes its own advice, addressed primarily to community members who may report violations either from the client or from an unscrupulous competitor. Protection is a top priority intellectual property and insurance of tenders. In essence, the guide to action is a good defense textbook in difficult situation. Instead of an aggressive policy of market capture, specific steps are proposed to control the current situation, to build competencies and increase customer loyalty through the quality of services provided.
- What would you advise Russians during the crisis that began in 2015?
- We need to have fun, spend money. The crisis is not only in Russia, but throughout the world. I don't understand why we ended up in this situation. This is a problem all over the world, and it seems paradoxical, because there is enough money in the world. You need to change your attitude towards life, your worldview.
Good advice not only for the end consumers of advertising, but also for players advertising market
During a crisis, business life does not stop. Instead, it is slowing down, becoming a little more dangerous - and forcing specialists to be more careful when making decisions, to analyze the market more carefully and monitor competitors, and to be more careful in choosing clients and contractors. Working during a crisis is like wandering in the dark, trying not to stumble, trip or fall into a hole, since troubles that are forgivable in daylight can lead to very sad consequences in the dark.
Advertising is a lifeline
In the midst of a crisis, many companies cut production, reduce prices, fire employees, save on literally everything in order to stay afloat for a sufficient amount of time. The advertising budget is also being reduced: some companies reduce their advertising activity almost completely, severing relations with advertising agencies, for some reason classifying this area as optional. They decide that they can do without advertising for a couple of years... And they are wrong.
No wonder it is said that advertising is the engine of trade. During a crisis, the “motive” forces of advertising do not diminish at all, on the contrary: for many companies, it becomes the lifeline that allows them to keep the company afloat. Statistically, the most difficult times (the crisis of 1998 and 2008, if we talk about our country) were experienced most painlessly by those companies that were not afraid to invest in advertising when, it would seem, the situation for this was the most unfavorable. The expenses paid off with interest. They almost always pay off if you approach the issue of promotion wisely.
During the crisis, two trends can be clearly observed: when some companies rapidly cut their advertising budget, while others begin to actively expand it. As a result, the former completely disappear from the field of view of potential clients, and their place is taken by the latter - hitherto less known, but more “vigilant”, not afraid to be active at a time when the economy is in collapse. Every correctly invested ruble in conditions of general silence from competitors is able to bear fruit - after all potential client at the time of crisis does not disappear anywhere.
In any unclear situation, it is customary to invest money in gold and real estate. However, gold and real estate are becoming cheaper, and if you need some kind of long-term project, some kind of “safety net”, then the best solution There will be advertising.
In addition to a relatively quick result - an increase in the number of sales and an influx of customers - advertising will become a fairly reliable “buoy” during a general economic “flood”.
Crisis measures
During a crisis, a client also becomes cautious, selective and careful, but he does not go anywhere. Like the manufacturer, he wanders in the dark, afraid of slipping or taking a wrong turn. This makes him distrustful, forces him to be more careful about his choice, to sort through options - and advertising plays an important role here.
Good representation of the company with the help of high-quality advertising really saves, otherwise how will the client know about the product or service? Advertising catalyzes a kind of chain in the consumer’s mind: the product is advertised - the company has funds for advertising - the company does not experience problems during the crisis - the company has customers - they are satisfied with the product - they continue to buy. Consciously or subconsciously, the client comes to the conclusion that the advertised product is worth paying attention to.
Therefore, during a crisis, it is important to constantly remind the client of yourself, flash from the pages of the media, TV screens, billboards, banners on the Internet, stands in elevators and entrances of residential buildings.
Even from a crisis, you can take something positive if you approach your budget allocation wisely. While some companies will bury their heads in the sand, others at this time can find a better place for themselves and make themselves as comfortable as possible.
A crisis does not arise suddenly in financial markets, but in people's minds. It is impossible to say that the country today is mired in an economic crisis, which is associated with the collapse of the economy. Most companies are at a low start for implementation anti-crisis measures in order to maintain business stability, and, believe me, the majority marketing plans already have traces of “anti-crisis” programs. For example, many are planning to freeze budgets for advertising activities in the second half of 2014.
But this is not a collapse in consumer and financial markets. There is a decline in consumer activity, and there are crisis expectations among top managers. Today, everything is being done to minimize the consequences of the recession for business.
We feel a recession due to the fact that the advertising business is a derivative of any production activity. If there is a decline in consumption, then the dynamics of investment in advertising decreases - budgets are redistributed in favor of channels that have a higher conversion into subsequent sales of goods, costs for image projects are reduced.
The general euphoria around Sochi allowed decision-makers and ordinary consumers to be distracted
from negative moods
Despite this, the first quarter of 2014 was probably the most interesting in my many years of activity in advertising business. There was no reduction in consumer demand for durable goods, advertising investments only continued to grow (compared to last year, the company showed an increase of more than 40%).
The general euphoria around Sochi allowed decision-makers and ordinary consumers to distract themselves from negative sentiments. Those who were unable to get distracted directed all their savings (some saved for an apartment, some for a car, some for a vacation) to purchase durable goods, and therefore from car dealers, as well as in electrical households. There were queues in retail.
At the same time, the weakening of the ruble affected almost everything manufacturing industries- from FMCG to durable goods. The final forecast for the advertising market 2014/2015 can be given closer to September. We all remember that for Russia August is the most significant month in terms of internal political and internal economic changes.
If you look at the beginning of 2014, the situation in the advertising industry has not changed much compared to last year. We can say that the level of advertising activity of clients remains at the same level: it is not growing, but it is not decreasing yet.
We haven’t felt the crisis yet, but we see that compared to previous years, the growth of the advertising market has slowed down. While TV and digital are expected to grow at around 10 percent, other media are stagnating. During a crisis, a slowdown in GDP growth provokes a slowdown in consumer activity.
The share of large FMCG advertisers is growing, consumption of durable goods is decreasing, so these manufacturers will cut budgets. Based on the experience of previous crises, we can say that the media that survive are those that are effective in terms of return on investment: TV channels, top radio stations and printed publications, the most popular equipment in outdoor advertising and Internet resources. The share of strong media players becomes larger, the share of weak ones becomes smaller, or they disappear altogether. Companies are more often turning to channels that are not aimed at image, but can sell products cheaply and effectively.
Now we feel the crisis only on one project. I don’t know what will happen next, but there is a feeling that globally this will only affect large network agencies and companies that work a lot with Western contractors. We cooperate with a Thai retouching studio, the amount in the contract with them is stated in dollars, and with the client - in rubles, so, of course, we are now losing money due to the fall of the ruble.
But globally nothing has changed. I have a feeling that this is more of an exaggerated crisis than a real one; it is clearly artificially created from the outside and manifests itself only in relationships with Western companies. Moreover, this does not apply to companies that have their representative offices here.
Usually during crises there is a redistribution of clients - I think we will only benefit from the crisis,
if it really happens
It doesn’t affect our plans in any way, but it’s easier for us: we always try to work with a small amount large clients. We have not yet heard from any of them about reducing budgets or freezing projects. But even if something serious happens, I’m sure we won’t have any big problems. Usually during crises there is a redistribution of clients. Often, large companies, cutting their budgets, stop working with large agencies and begin to turn to small boutique agencies, because the total costs are lower, and the level of services and creativity is the same, and sometimes even higher. So, I think we will only benefit from the crisis if it really happens.
The advertising industry is no stranger to crises. Especially for those companies that work with tobacco or alcohol brands. The crisis strengthens and teaches us to do not spectacular, but effective projects, where every consumer is worth his weight in gold. Within the agency, we understand that financial instability is coming. A number of our clients have already optimized their budgets. And not in favor of digital marketing. The forecast is generally comforting: yes, during the crisis there will be fewer creative projects using non-standard approaches from phygital to transmedia, but no one has canceled the same effectiveness. We, as agencies, need to understand how we can achieve goals and solve client problems in an even tougher competition with other communication channels. The fight for the marketing budget promises to be serious, and the strongest will survive.
Any crisis is a great time to enter the market. Competitors are weakened. Clients are looking for new solutions. They are disrupting the usual course of business. In such situations, cash is the king (the main thing is cash. - Note H&F). We prepared, put aside cash so that in times of crisis we could invest in our infrastructure, so that existing clients would not feel a crisis in working with us - money and resources would help us absorb competitors and capture new niches.
My clients began to report that they were seeing a drop purchasing power population. That is, people have already begun to consume less. For example, I heard that Unilever is removing budgets for non-priority brands. This means that everyone begins to sense the problem.
Tenders appeared, which were then cancelled. We already went through this in 2008. At first he is satisfied, and then it turns out that there is no project, or they simply do not allow him to do anything. This happens when employees large companies trying to keep themselves busy so they don't get fired. We need to do a couple of tenders to show that everyone is working. There are no budgets. The content of the messages in the briefs has also changed - now there are only “sales”. Previously, the goal was both to sell and to do something for the image, now this is not even considered.
As soon as information about the crisis reached the regions of Russia, provincial advertisers began to actively discuss the latest economic news. The main forecasts of politicians, economists and experts boiled down to the following: the global financial crisis will be protracted and will continue until the end of 2009. However, despite the wealth of information available, the initial conclusions about the crisis were contradictory, since the advertiser did not have clear answers to the questions:
- What is the overall scale of the crisis?
- What is the geography of the crisis?
- How long will this last?
Advertisers, of course, felt the crisis much earlier. A small sociological survey was conducted in Izhevsk and some cities of Udmurtia, in which local advertisers participated - directors of companies with a regional monthly budget of at least 30,000 rubles. Based on the data, the most common responses were:
– What is the overall scale of the crisis?
– This is a global crisis - everything is bad everywhere.
– What is the geography of the crisis?
– It started in the USA, and has now reached Russia.
– How will the crisis affect domestic economy?
- Everything will become more expensive!
– How will the situation affect me personally?
– I will change my approach to business.
– How long will this last?
- For at least a year.
In the table presented (Fig. 1) you can see which industries in the regions turned out to be the most vulnerable to the crisis. There was a percentage decrease in advertising budgets for the fourth quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. The data comes from the following survey, which included the heads of marketing, strategy and development departments of the same regional enterprises.
Rice. 1. Vulnerability to crisis
According to survey results, the first blow was taken by regional branches of banks, insurance companies, leasing and factoring organizations. Next comes the construction industry, as the most dependent on loans. Enterprises associated with industrial production and oil production.
However, at the same time, along with the preliminary results of the survey of advertisers, I was somewhat surprised by the excessive self-confidence of advertisers who stubbornly did not want to believe in the consequences of the crisis for own business. In the first two weeks of October, the most common answer to a question about the crisis sounded something like this:
– Everything is fine with us, there is no outflow of clients, all projects are being implemented on time.
Comments on this:
Alexey, director of an IT company:
“Customers are abandoning prospective software customization orders, causing the monthly backlog to become more than 50% lighter.”
Natalya, private designer:
“In two months, I lost more than six clients who prefer not to update their developments.”
Irina, commercial director outdoor advertising agencies:
“Out of 150 structures, more than 70 had become available by November, and we are now placing our discount offer and social advertising on them.”
The crisis did not spare the City format either. Empty structures are mercilessly used by private pasters, and quite actively.
Some “outsiders” are finding an interesting solution, offering vacant structures in the city center for social advertising.
Let us turn again to our survey of Udmurt advertisers. According to him, as of November 2008, compared to the same period in 2007, regional authorities reduced budgets for the following types of advertising:
Rice. 2. Budget cuts
Now about the situation on TV and radio. As practice has shown, the electronic media have become the most affected in this process.
Recently, they are trying with all their might to retain the remaining and return the departed clients with large discounts and so-called anti-crisis accommodation packages. Image commercials of TV channels and radio stations are aired, starting with the slogans “The crisis goes away - business remains!”, “Our anti-crisis package is your salvation!” and so on. But, apparently, the advertiser is in no particular hurry to respond to such statements, since the number of videos in outlets is not increasing.
What remains to be done in such a situation?
One of the options for retaining a regional client could be information support social promotions with the involvement of an advertiser under specific project. Now the dear client is offered not package placement of videos, but participation in certain promotions for various social topics from maintaining health to complying with traffic rules.
You can also introduce a certain amount of humor into the economic situation, following the example of the Humor FM radio (Fig. 3). Radio creators created the slogan “Let’s drive the crisis back to America!” and put it into the mouth of one of the most popular Russian showmen - Deputy Chairman of the State Duma of the Russian Federation V.V. Zhirinovsky, who in his characteristic manner answers questions from listeners about the current situation in the country and beyond. The success of this project in the regions is obvious, since the provincial consumer receives information about the crisis that is not always clear to him in lexical forms that are accessible and understandable to his ear.
Rice. 3. “Let’s drive the crisis back to America!”
Next. According to the results of our table (Fig. 2), the organizers of BTL promotions lost the least number of clients during the crisis. It is still difficult to judge whether they will acquire new clients, for example, at the expense of those who refused to be placed in electronic and print media, but the fact remains: when conveying information to direct target audience and incomparable costs with video, audio and periodicals, BTL agencies will continue to work actively in the current situation. However, given the approaching holidays, and with them the obligatory promotions with discounts and sales, you can make money from this situation, and even quite well.
Another type of advertising that did not suffer much during the crisis is direct mail or simply mass mailing. Under the current conditions, all its advantages will undoubtedly come to the fore: high selectivity, flexibility, impact on the target consumer audience - and all this at the same relatively low prices.
Restaurateurs also found an interesting solution for themselves. The shortage of banknotes among the population could not help but affect visitors to evening and night establishments, and this too could not have happened without a share of creativity in advertising parties.
In the advertisement, visitors are invited to try branded anti-crisis dishes and drinks, such as the lean steak “Economic Hunger” (Fig. 4), hot seasoning “Wall Street” and the killer alcoholic cocktail “RTS Index” (Fig. 5). It’s not to say that the owners of cafes and restaurants will be able to retain their target audience 100%, but it is obvious that they will not be completely without work.
Rice. 4. Beefsteak "Economic Famine"
Rice. 5. Cocktail “RTS Index”
During an unstable situation with the “client portfolio”, a new unique thing comes to the fore strategic planning work of any enterprise, including an advertising agency.
One of the most important tasks during this period will be the task of determining weaknesses relevance commercial offers in the outgoing conditions and draw up a list of possible new options aimed at customer demand.
It is very important to approach this topic comprehensively. Draw up a working draft in which you need to define the agency’s activities using the formula “offer - advertiser - consumer”. Identify those segments of your client base those most affected by the crisis. Create case studies of the required proposals for each core cluster and think of new methods for delivering them. Pay special attention to the human factor, schedule more meetings and prefer personal communication telephone conversations. In this situation, you need to think quickly and act calmly.
Let's relax a little. Budgets are cutting everything. This means it will be much easier to stand out among other advertisers:
- Fewer competitors will advertise. Some will leave.
- In general, there will be less advertising pressure on consumers.
- IN advertising blocks there will be fewer commercials, magazines will have fewer pages for advertising.
- The entry of competitors about whom we knew nothing will be delayed.
- Media inflation may simply not happen.
- The media will be more accommodating.
All these factors lead to the fact that we can easily reduce the budget by 30-40% and get the same result as if there was no crisis.
Avoid abstract promises and complex schemes
Try to avoid complex schemes and multiple moves.
For example, Swedbank implemented an advertising campaign using a bright story - a teaser - at the first stage, and stories with image offers at the second stage (Figure 1). Today, hundreds of thousands of people are trying to transfer their savings to more reliable banks. Swedbank initially intrigues, but then does not offer anything specific to its potential audience. After all, the bank has something to say!
Rice. 1. The bank has something to say!
Citibank is a bank that provides large loans during a crisis. This works much more for the image than abstract image advertising. And such advertising also sells a specific service (Fig. 2).
Rice. 2. This works much more for the image than abstract image advertising
Address core segments
Address an audience that will bring you money tomorrow. Be more precise.
Looking at Swedbank, it seems illogical to appeal to young people through relevant stories. The main audience of investors is 40-55 year old citizens who have solved their main financial problems and have accumulated money thanks to their career path and successful real estate transactions. They are far from snowboarding.
There are several schemes for generating sales using advertising that produce an effect with a very high probability:
- Advertising new offers or products that were previously poorly advertised.
- Advertising the strong special offers, discounts, gifts.
- Advertising products and services that provide synergy with others.
- Advertise products and services with clear, rational benefits.
- Entering a new geographic market.
- Expansion of the market due to a new large segment of consumers.
- Advertising against the background of weaknesses, mistakes, and inaction of competitors.
- Advertising with favorable price and others.
Rice. 3. Suzuki. New configurations. Interesting new offer
Rice. 4. "Japosha"
Increase in the number of visits and market share due to the combination of Japanese and Russian cuisine. Advertising was invented before the crisis, but it is also good during the crisis.
Rice. 5. ICD
Super synergy. The bank hopes to make money on collections, on loans, reduce risks and still receive a useful cash flow. A powerful anti-crisis proposal without the slightest hint of a crisis.
Great attention to response
It is very important that the consumer can call, receive additional information, look, try, make a trial purchase. Today, more than ever, every call, every purchase is very valuable.
If you are not sure whether an item is in stores or what new service effectively sold by consultants, there is no need to invest in advertising yet.
Energize your team, sales people, distributors, merchandisers, partners
It is important to confirm the basic rules of the game, and if necessary, create new rules and new games. The one who sold the most should receive a bonus, a prize, or at least moral encouragement.
Incentivize those who actually work and bring money to the company.
Organize competitions among salespeople, distributors, merchandisers, sales representatives, partners, stores, consultants, pharmacists - depending on your field of activity.
Hurry up with promotions
Your action should not look panicky. The client must understand that the discount, gift or other bonus is not caused by the fact that your company is in crisis (Fig. 6).
If you hurry, the stock will produce results. While you can still make money. Tomorrow there will be much stronger and even desperate dumping offers from competitors.
Rice. 6.Honda
This beautiful seasonal offer has been used before. Especially relevant against the backdrop of a crisis .
Spend more labor but less money
When the market and company are growing rapidly and there is a lot of advertising from competitors around, performance advertising campaign is often decided by the size of the budget.
But now is the time to increase productivity with creativity, non-standard approach, more accurate planning. Invest fewer dollars, but with more work behind every dollar.
More Internet
If you haven't paid much attention to the Internet, now is the time to significantly increase your activity here:
- Increase your share contextual advertising. It increases sales in the cheapest way.
- Supplement advertising with website optimization work.
- Make active use of Internet PR.
- Experiment with new tools. Post videos on the website, create a corporate blog.
- If you have many consumers and different services, create additional promotional sites and promotional blogs.
- Organize your own thematic Internet resources.
Use non-standard
In many cases, non-standard advertising allows you to significantly save on placement (Fig. 7). For example, any outstanding element increases the visibility of the structure by 2-3 times. The number of structures can be proportionally reduced, and the cost of one structure will not be much more expensive.
Rice. 7. Citroen
A similar non-standard element (extender) extending beyond the edge of the shield increases the cost of placement on average for Moscow by 15-25%. But due to visibility, it allows you to use 2 times less shields.
Companies that have entered a crisis situation and are not adapted to it will be likened to that stupid peasant. And the goose with the golden eggs is your advertisement, and it must live. However, the external situation has changed, which means we need to look for new, more effective tools. Let's talk about how to do this correctly.
Swap fat for muscle
Now, more than ever, the need for careful planning of expenses, including advertising, has increased. And if you have never wondered how to make your investments more effective and not waste them, then it’s time to think about it.
Step #1. Redistribution
Remove all tools that have not proven their effectiveness, and even more so those that do not pay for themselves, immediately. This is not the best time for bold advertising experiments. This does not mean that there should be less advertising: on the contrary, redistribute your budgets in favor of the most effective advertising channels and strengthen your advertising activity in the market! Let your inviting voice stand out and “sing like a nightingale” against the background of the decadent mood of your competitors. If your marketing strategy was thatto somehow spend 5% of the profit on reClaim, it will be extremely difficult to rebuild. The time has comefor genuine strategies. Everything is far-fetched, untestedthe previously and excessively inflated one will go away at the speed of being sucked into the swampy soil.
Step No. 2. Total control
Make only targeted investments. Many marketers laugh at their colleagues' passion for key indicators, but in my humble opinion, now is precisely the period when it’s time to remember about ROI - the return on expenses ratio. Every ruble invested in advertising must not only be returned, but also bring in a second one. Therefore, control every step you take and invest only with a return.
Step No. 3. Search for new routes
Each of you probably has your own paved path from home to office. Every day you walk the same road. No circumstances can force you to take a different route. And suddenly - oh, horror! - you walk and meet a large machine that is digging a ditch right across your path... But you won’t remain standing like a pillar, but find a way around and continue moving!
A crisis for your company is the same ditch, a reason to look for new development routes, other roads in the marketing field. What exactly can you do?
- Go beyond the usual range. What else can a customer buy at the moment he purchases your product? While shopping, you may notice how... grocery supermarkets Sales of clothing, batteries and mattresses open, and manufacturers of drinks, crispy snacks and delicious buns enter home electronics stores. Think about what products or services complement your value proposition and introduce them.
- Attract someone else's capital. A crisis is the time to pay attention to indirect competitors and enter into cooperation with them. Carrying out joint advertising and PR campaigns for common money allows both parties to attract a sufficient number of customers while reducing their costs. Thus, the experience of cooperation between car dealerships selling premium models and expensive restaurants shows that demonstrating a car in front of the establishment with the opportunity to sign up for a test drive (a special sheet is inserted into the menu and can be filled out by the client while waiting for an order) has a positive effect on replenishing the database clients wishing to purchase such a car; On the other hand, the free taxi service that salons provide to restaurant guests allows restaurants to strengthen their value proposition during a difficult time for them. And the company is a manufacturer household appliances Indezit, with the help of partners, invested 5 kg of washing powder into each new washing machine, thereby benefiting from increased sales. This combination of budgets for related products usually shows good results. There is another way. Try negotiating with your suppliers to take on a portion of your marketing budget in exchange for prominent mention of them in your company's advertising. Sometimes this succeeds and brings tasty results.
- Launch a new product. This is not a typo, friends: many of the products we know now appeared precisely in times of crisis. Chocolates with the Korkunov brand name appeared precisely after the 1998 default. Businessman Andrei Korkunov was just at that time building a new confectionery factory in Odintsovo and launching the production of premium chocolate together with the Italians! In my opinion, this is a very indicative and, most importantly, Russian example of desperate but smart decisions. In previous articles, I encouraged you to collect people's dissatisfaction. Hopefully, you've already started a separate notebook or file where you collect all this (if you haven't already, please don't put it off and start right now). Study this most useful source of information: I assure you, there are two or three worthwhile ideas that can be offered to people.
Step No. 4. Rethinking tasks
As the situation changes, so do the tasks. The first thing you should want from advertising is to retain loyal customers and encourage repeat purchases. Please pay special attention for tools that allow this to be done. Of course, if there is someone to keep... In a crisis, it may also happen that there is no one to keep, especially in B2B markets, where companies collapse at a rapid rate soap bubble. But for commercial banks, retention is perhaps the only correct strategy. Your second goal should be to create a desire to try your product, and here you need even more
get away from the rational, leaving discounts and bonuses exclusively within your value proposition. Crisis – best time in order to convey your key idea to people.
We are looking for new clients
People are, for the most part, conservative. They most often do not want changes in their well-established, comfortable life. But in times of crisis, when external circumstances change dramatically, wallets become thinner, but desires remain, they have to look for a replacement for everything familiar. You can't help but take advantage of this.
Path number 1. Changing orientation
There is a saying among Americans that money does not become less during a crisis - it changes owners. In the hottest times, at the peak of the unreliability of the economy, there will always be people ready to buy goods and use services. I can give examples right now: auto tracking
saris and dentists. Rarely anyone is able to give up traveling in a personal car and endure a terrible, excruciating toothache, which means they buy services. If you don't run a repair shop or a dental office, no problem: find ways to leave your key message in such places. Or think about what products or services they buy and make them an offer. In a word, look for those segments of the target audience that are suffering less from the crisis than others, and knock on their door.
Path number 2. Exploiting reasons
Why don't they buy? They probably want to save money. So give them this opportunity! Show exactly how accepting your value proposition will help people invest their savings wisely. This can be the key message of your advertising during a crisis. A little healthy creativity - and you're ready to add a plus to your piggy bank. Remember the commercial for Dosia washing powder: “Are you dirty? Don't be discouraged: the main thing is to have good powder! Pasha uses the expensive one, and Sasha uses the proven “Dosya”. And if after washing you can’t see the difference, why pay more?” Typical example competent visualization in times of crisis.
Path number 3. Playing on fears
What are they afraid of? The biggest fear for people in times of crisis is the fall in the price of money, which becomes cheaper at an allegro pace. You can also build your advertising on this. Remind them that saving for a rainy day is unwise, that it is better to use the funds available correctly -
mi. And, of course, the worthwhile decision would be to give them to you.
We resurrect the dead
Every company has its own customer cemetery. Those stories of sales and purchases are sent there that, it would seem, will never be resurrected. A crisis is a time when you need to remember them. This is very difficult, but often rewarding work. Create an adequate proposal and start with
interact with them. You can remind yourself in different ways: a newspaper ad, a phone call, by email, a gift sent by courier, via social media... It’s also worth thinking about the fact that they probably don’t remember you from the best side, and approach this matter with all the care of building relationships, guided by a sense of tact, moderation and common sense.
We fulfill our obligations
And one last thing. As you consider your company's path through these challenging times (if you consider it to be one), please consider one key issue: delivery. Are you making any changes – in the range, in the price, in the product? See if they break your brand promise. If a buyer previously purchased 1 liter of your milk, and now sees only 900 ml for the same price in the same package, this is wrong, because it is a failure to fulfill obligations. Are you making a commitment? Do it. Whatever it takes. This is an immutable truth of any relationship, including business ones. It is in times of crisis that any business can feel the “moment of truth” especially acutely. Your clients feel it too. They say that your company does not keep its word and leave. Don't make generous promises! And if given (accidentally or intentionally), always follow them.
So, dear readers, you need to save yourself - think about a method: not just any one will do, but only one that does not go against the obligations of your company or brand! Check any anti-crisis decision from this point of view: “If I fire Masha and Petya, will I thereby violate the obligations undertaken by my internal marketing?”, “Make it cheaper? Will I break the promises made to my clients?”, “Should I put fewer seeds in the packaging? What about obligations?
Commitment comes first. Especially in a crisis. This is very important!
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