As we start to see businesses reopening and starting to market themselves again, we must ask the question, what will the business landscape look like after coronavirus? Well the bad news is that we are unlikely to ever go back to what life was like before the pandemic hit. Social distancing and loss of incomes for many families have shifted the ways customers interact with businesses and brands. In order to recover economically from this event, businesses will need to adapt to these new customer needs and values.
Impact on the Economy
While some industries like media and finance have seen an increase in growth the wake of Covid-19, most industries such as travel, manufacturing and advertising have taken a large hit. Advertising and marketing budgets are usually the first to be slashed when going through a period of financial hardship. What businesses don’t realise is that this cost saving tactic will actually cost them more in the long run. Cutting your advertising and marketing budgets can make it take longer for your business to recover due to the fact that you are cutting off an integral pipeline of gaining and retaining customers. For this reason, it is important to keep some form of marketing active even during an economic downturn. If your business hasn’t already, now is the time to invest in advertising and communicate with your customers so your business can bounce back faster post Covid-19.
Read our article, How to boost your revenue opportunities with print.
Business Practices During the Pandemic
The pandemic has forced customers to rethink their daily routines, spending habits, and social interactions resulting in less recreational spending. Local businesses that rely on this face-to-face spending have been hit hard by this new customer behaviour. It in this adversity that we have seen innovative solutions to this new social etiquette. Social distancing stickers, clear acrylic screens and no contact payment/delivery have helped to slow the spread of the virus and given customers a renewed confidence when shopping. Until a vaccine is readily available, its important for all businesses to create and maintain these social distancing procedures to both protect their customers and keep their business open for longer.
View our range of social distancing signage.
Business Practices Going Forward.
So, what happens after the pandemic is over? It’s impossible to say will 100% accuracy what the future of business will look like in a post-pandemic world as the road to recovery will be long. It’s likely that a number of these social security measures will stay in place as they also help protect against the seasonal flu. The need for social distancing stickers and signage will go down but people on the whole will likely maintain this social awareness. Businesses will need to be flexible in their approach to their customers as they go forward into the future.
Conclusion of Business after the Pandemic.
The success of any business after the pandemic will depend on their ability to ‘weather the storm’ and maintain some level of marketing to keep their business in the minds of their customers. With the large-scale change in customer attitudes, it is important for businesses to be able to adapt to theses social changes in order to survive. While not every business is going to make it out of this period of global crisis, those that do will likely be able to come out stronger and more profitable than before.
Contact us today to talk about your post-pandemic marketing plan.