The COVID-19 outbreak has pushed various industries to rethink and reshape their operations. ‘Pivot or Perish’ has been the general mantra for brands during this time. This implies that brands that are waiting for this unprecedented storm to pass will find themselves in a tight spot. At the same time, those agile and adaptive enough to tackle this crisis by changing their approach to business will come out stronger than before. Here is what brands must do to stay relevant and tide over the crisis with ease.
Product Innovation
In the current scenario, people are most reluctant to step out in the interest of their safety. This change has had a significant impact on various industries, including real estate. Since physical site visits are not possible at this juncture, it forces buyers to postpone their property decisions. To address this, marketers have started leveraging online video walkthroughs and e-meetings as an alternative solution.
Interestingly, customers are open to this transition and finding it a better and efficient way of shortlisting properties while saving up on time, money, and effort.
There is no better time than now to invest in properties due to the attractive discounts offered by builders and developers. Such innovations are allowing buyers to capitalize on this opportunity.
Innovative business models
A crisis is an opportune time for any business to test its level of innovation. Several aggregators have made this their vision and have come up with solutions to serve their customers better. For instance, numerous companies such as Uber, Swiggy, Box8 and NoBroker etc. have forayed into essentials in collaboration with other brands as they were quick to understand the pulse of the audience.
Further, tech advancements and innovations such as consolidated grocery delivery into the societies will scale up the existing business models. It is an indication that changes like this are bound to happen when facing unique challenges, like the ongoing pandemic.
The shift in media consumption
As lockdowns extended to an indefinite period, it gave people more time on their hands, exploring their hobbies, or learning new things during this phase. But the significant change that we all have been a part of is media consumption. In the past 4-5 months, we have consumed more online content than ever before.
Agile marketers have noted this change and developed personalized communication strategies by using more online video content for their campaigns. A research indicates that Indians are consuming online video content for over 5 hours daily. Therefore, personalized and engaging communication and visual content will drive more engagement and boost customer retention.
Choose the right communication
In these trying times, customers are thinking twice, or even thrice, before finalising a property. At the same time, they have understood the importance of better and bigger homes given WFH is a norm now for some time to come. They are therefore in the market and exploring options. Older communication of a brand has changed in a snap; therefore, they must give new reasons and chart new communication that is better suited for current times.
New customer of the New Normal
Brands must understand that the customer has also evolved with the unprecedented times and should understand this new, highly-cautious customer and take significant steps to keep them motivated and interested. Throughout and even beyond the purchasing process, brands must stay and guide them continually in the decision-making journey Being pushy and coercive will not do the job anymore. On top of that, if brands are looking for innovations, they must do it quickly at product, technology, or strategy level. A mix of these tactics will help them stay ahead of the curve.
As we all know, the impact of COVID-19 on brands’ finances and customers’ purchasing power and pattern, marketers should devise campaigns carefully with the right budget allocation strategies. Because consumers are evolving at a great speed, brands need to keep pace with them, research more, be responsive and adaptive in their work approach. The quick learners will certainly combat the current crisis better while adding more value to their businesses.
Authored article by Saurabh Garg, Co-Founder & CBO – NoBroker.com.
