Can your strategy for selling … can change quickly?
Can your business model quickly adapt to the new sales strategies imposed by Coronavirus?
I have been trying to write this article for several days. Every day it acquires totally different forms and nuances.
Those who follow my blog, channels on WhatsApp, Telegram, and Social channels have surely sensed a total void.
The year is off to a simply fantastic start. Factory Communication has become a HubSpot Partner.
We have fully introduced the marketing automation and business automation.
Then came the coronavirus to remind us that everything can mutate.
Fortunately, my agency has continued in its operations, without causing any disruption to customers, even though my colleagues work from home.
3 years ago, when I changed the IT department, thanks to VENTUNOCENTO ‘s consultancy I integrated a cloud back up service. not only that. Thanks to HubSpot (CRM) and TeamWork: data, contacts, work orders, jobs are totally managed online.
Clearly if your company manufactures furniture, it is unthinkable for your employees to work from home.
But let’s come to us.
As always, I try to bring a focused insight into the Marketing and Communication strategies, in this case with a particular focus to corporate business.
Let’s start with a first question: was the coronavirus predictable? I would say definitely not.
Strategy to sell: advertising must have the ability to adapt instantly to new Market needs
These days, like most Italians, I follow television closely.
I think the audience has increased significantly.
Goal for the TV networks that are sure to sell at a higher price for the various TV passes.
Out of professional bias, every face I see a commercial, it comes naturally to me to do a brief analysis.
Who is it addressed to (target audience), what is the market, what is the goal.
So I am doing these days.
I have been struck by most of the commercials that have alcoholic beverages as their subject. They are “historically” and strategically wrong.
Let me explain further.
They were fine until 1 month ago, before the Coronavirus.
On average, commercials advertising super alcohol are made in locations full of people. People having fun, dancing, talking, hugging-and in some cases kissing.
The goal is to convey the sense of sharing, participation and aggregation that you can achieve if you consume that specific product.
Today this goes against all logic, both common sense and commercial.
I think each of us will have seen the ads that say “stay home” at least 100 times.
So communication agencies that follow these big Brands should immediately run for cover by producing advertisements that entice you to taste the product at home.
In front of the television or the fireplace.
Listening to your favorite music, playing with your children … maybe making love with your partner/partner.
Clearly this is a personal point of view.
If I were to have a super alcohol manufacturer as a client, I would have long ago proposed the creation of an ad hoc commercial.
It is not just a matter of “exploiting the moment,” which from a business point of view is right and proper.
I believe it is also crucial to take responsibility for delivering the correct message for the sake of your consumers.
As I always say it is essential to love your clients.
Now we turn to a decidedly more direct question that touches all of us.
Strategy to sell: now we can buy the car from home
A great little revolution: we can buy a car from the comfort of our own home
This is certainly not the first time that an automotive group has tried to bring the entire purchasing process of its vehicles to the Web.
In late 2019, Elon Musk announced that, in order to reduce the cost of his cars and thus make them even more attractive, he would move some of his sales directly online. News that was later not followed up.
In the midst of the pandemic in China, it was the turn of local Brands to pursue this path, after sales plummeted by nearly 80 percent.
These days some automotive groups, including FCA, are playing this card.
Seemingly difficult, since the Italian likes to enter the dealership and analyze every detail of the car he wants to buy.
Sitting comfortably behind the wheel and running your fingertips over the dashboard, the gearshift, the air conditioning buttons…
We could almost say a carnal experience… because many of us, the car, experience it just like that.
If a few months ago, the news that we would be able to buy our next car directly online would have resounded like madness, today it is a reality.
What is happening is simply the momentous evolution into which, the Coronavirus, propelled us just over a month ago!
It is important to say that the Coronavirus simply acted as an accelerant.
What is happening was by now already written in the history books under the Chapter “The Great Revolution of the Second Decade.”
It just so happens that the year we are living in already has a magic number in itself, esoteric dare I say: 2020.
I have been reiterating this concept for several months now.
If you are an entrepreneur, it is essential that you stop, analyze your business, understand your strengths and weaknesses, and then decide how to continue. If it makes sense to continue!
Nothing will ever be the same again. The year 2020 is drawing a profound mutation in social behaviors, in the way of thinking, and consequently in the way of living and shopping.
If buying a car online, until a few months ago, was taboo today it is no longer.
We are also clearing customs on this last bastion of the traditional sales model.
Strategy to sell: everything is moving online
Now, for virtually any product, the entire decision-making and purchasing process takes place online:
- I have a desire or need
- I do online research comparing different companies, proposals and solutions. By now, comparator portals for everything are springing up like mushrooms.
- I check the features, technical support, price, warranty etc.
- Soon, thanks to augmented reality I will, even, be able to experience the feeling of driving, interior spaces, touch an object, see the living room of my next house, etc.
- Requesting an offer
- I decide from the comfort of my home or office
- I define each contractual element before signing.
Why are we talking about all this? Simply because, and I will keep repeating it endlessly and beyond, everything has changed.
Nothing will ever be the same again. Let us not delude ourselves. People already now and now are different than they were a month ago.
When the pandemic has passed, behaviors will be totally different. We will feel like we all want to go back to normal, but what we call normal now will simply be totally different. That is, there will be a new normal.
Priorities will change, at least, in the early post-Coronavirus period.
Strategy to sell: we must be ready for the post-Coronavirus era
These days the whole world is facing an emergency of incalculable dimensions. We are in the trenches.
But Italy, you know, when it wants to be, knows how to be a great country.
We have always boasted brilliant minds, extraordinary inventions, art, culture, science, beauty.
A hard-working people, who do not shy away from difficulties, but face them, with courage and determination.
But this enemy is insidious, and it attacks our families, our businesses, our economy.
How will Italian businesses respond?
We at Factory Communication have not stopped, and although we do not physically see our colleagues, we work together in smart working, but most importantly we continue to support our clients through online meetings, video conferences, and phone consultations.
The key element is to be present.
I have personally called several clients because, right now, the most important thing is to make them feel that you are there.
They need to feel our presence. That we are close to them, that we don’t just call them when we have to sell something.
The future for Italian companies can be bright if, and only if, we are able to make the necessary adjustments to our business.
This needs to happen as early as now, now, especially in the midst of emergency!
Now I want you to focus on the future with a positive outlook.
It is crucial not to stand still and to act now, even before the end of this health emergency.
Only those companies that did not stop will survive. Those that continued to relate to their customers and potential customers.
So let’s see together how we can organize to make sure that our future goes in the WHITE direction, leaving the BLACK nightmare behind.
Getting back up after a fall is possible. But one can also not fall.
As I mentioned, Italian businesses are experiencing an abrupt slowdown due to the Coronavirus emergency that has swept the country in recent weeks.
The thing we need to avoid is STOPPING.
I am well aware that many businesses are currently unable to continue their activities, but this does not mean to stop COMMUNICATING.
Our clients need us, to know that we are there, that we are resisting and fighting together with them this invisible war that seems interminable.
If you want to learn more about this topic, I recommend you read this article “Inbound Marketing.
Inbound Marketing is based on sharing your knowledge with the world, we can say it is literally the monetization of knowledge. Sharing knowledge leads us to be useful to people. This generates attraction to our brand.
In this time in history where everyone, or almost everyone, has much more time, we can spend some of that time building valuable content for our customers and potential customers. This allows us to increase the loyalty relationship. Try to think of all the times a customer asked you for information and you didn’t have time to spend on it. You were too busy. Whatever your business is today, you can think about building valuable content.
How to do a hairdo while staying at home, prepare the ideal recipe, work out in your living room, make your first note….
Closing a store, a hotel, a production, does not mean shutting down customer relations.
This general stand-by period, gives us the opportunity to discover new methods and new tools to be able to communicate with colleagues, family members and clients.
Let’s look at smart working, for example. Before the emergency, it was considered almost a “non-work” while, now, it is keeping most Italian companies afloat.
We have all sorts of technological gimmicks at our disposal, and it’s right there at our fingertips.
But what do I communicate if my business is “stopped”?
Legitimate question and we have an equally legitimate answer.
Let’s say the case of a clothing store, which for obvious reasons had to close its store. Customers, as well as employees, will be forced to stay in their homes, as a result we would still not receive many visitors, even if the Decree did not exist.
And what do people who are housebound, unable to have social relationships, perhaps used to going out every day, do?
THEY SURF THE INTERNET. They surf the Internet and use social media to communicate with others, they get the latest news, they work from home … but most of all they want to feel like protagonists.
Oh yes, because right now even the entire health care staff is reminding us that “you don’t look anyone in the face.” Hospitals are collapsing, and it will soon come down to having to choose who to treat and who not to.
The climate of uncertainty and worry only establishes in people the idea of “why didn’t I do this sooner?”
Let’s try to think about it, how many times have we been asked, or asked in turn, “What are you going to do when the emergency is over?” And there goes the Carpe Diem philosophy.
Some will spend a weekend at the beach, some will go out to restaurants with friends and family, and some will take up a hobby they have been neglecting.
The watchword will be: I want to live again!
All these responses suggest one thing: seize the moment.
Well yes, because this stop, this quarantine, the feeling of fear and uncertainty, create in people the desire to fulfill their wishes, before it is too late.
“Seize the rose when it is time, that time you know, flies! Every flower that blooms today will wither tomorrow.”
John Keating – Robin Williams; Dead Poet’s Society.
With this vision of the future, we understand well why it is important to keep the communication between us and the customer active.
People need our presence, to know that we are there, that we continue to fight with them and for them. Most importantly, we need to let them know that when everything is back to normal, we will be there.
And so a message to a list on WhatsApp, a newsletter, an email, a phone call, an article on one’s blog, magically become a bridge connecting us and our customers.
We can incentivize them to stay at home, reminding them that our home deliveries have not stopped.
We can inform them that we have closed our stores to safeguard their health, and that of our employees, but that we are available for any kind of assistance.
We have endless tools like social media at our disposal!
That’s what they were created for, right? So let’s COMMENT.
Social networks: how to stay active even during Coronavirus?
Although our business is on standby, we can use all the tools we have at our disposal to keep communication with our customers active. Let us therefore learn how to use them to the fullest.
Here are some pointers to consider:
- Contest: We ask our customers to take a selfie at home, perhaps with our product in plain view and using a specific hashtag (#). In addition to incentivizing customers to remain active followers of our page, we will get lots of free publicity #iorestoacasaconFactoryCommunication.
- Stories: one of the potentials of stories is being able to document what is happening right now by making a live broadcast. Why not let our followers know that we are preparing some surprises for them?
- Acknowledgements: people who give us a positive review, or send us a nice picture of our product… deserve a thank you! We learn to make our customers feel like protagonists. It is one of the fundamental rules for a proper Customer Experience
As we can see, we have plenty of ways to stay in touch with our customers or potential customers, despite the impasse.
It is really important not to stop now, not to say essential.
It is obvious that the Italian does not give up, he never has.
We are born warriors and, surely, this war will end, although we do not yet know when exactly.
That is why we must not lose hope and continue to make our customers happy, even from the walls of our homes.
Charles Darwin said, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
Here perhaps, this sentence, sums up just the concept that I, Alice and all my colleagues at Factory Communication, want to communicate to you with this article.
It is important to learn to use all the tools we have to be ready to face new obstacles, new emergencies.
Everything changes, and it is necessary to take charge and get organized, perhaps changing ourselves first.
We must realize that some “changes” are necessary for our survival. Why not start precisely with communication?
We really want to emphasize the fact that we must not stop, especially at this time.
Otherwise, as already mentioned, we will not be able to guarantee a white future, and unfortunately not even a gray one. Italian businesses will have to prepare to enter a real black hole, from which it will be very difficult to get out.
For the country’s economy, for Italy and for Italians.
If you need help figuring out how to move beyond this moment, book a free consultation.
I’m happy to help you out. If you are thinking that this is a marketeering operation to take you as a client, relax. My only goal is to help you.
Strategy for selling: what are the strengths and weaknesses of my Company?
Coronavirus aside, what could pose a real danger to my business?
Is my business model innovative? Am I fully utilizing the tools and services that new IT technologies make available to us?
Are my distribution and sales networks innovative? Do I sell exclusively through stores, field agents or online?
What is the difference between my product or service and that of competitors?
What could hurt my business?
How quickly can I change my business model?
These are many questions, yet each of these questions deserves a definite answer.
For example, companies that have moved their business predominantly online are less affected by what is happening these days. Not only that.
They can use tools, technologies and strategies, such as:
- Marketing automation
- CRMs (customer relationship management)
- Web marketing
- Social media marketing
that allow you to create the right feeling, the right loyalty relationship with your users and customers = if I trust a brand I don’t leave it.
Perhaps the most important question is the last one:
How quickly can I change my business model?
We have all seen interviews broadcast on the news with owners of gyms and private schools who have replaced classroom teaching with online training.
Basically, they have not only adapted but evolved.
“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.“
CHARLES ROBERT DARWIN
Well.
Our business model and sales strategies, can they evolve so quickly?
Can my gym, my restaurant, my professional practice continue their work, or not? Can they help their clients, or not?
The big answer is all here.
But Cremonesi, what the hell kind of example is that? Who could have predicted something like the coronavirus?
Very true.
Leaving aside the health aspect, which is not my area of expertise at all, but speaking of business and strategy, the coronavirus makes a mockery of what has been going on in the last 5 years in a far more silent way.
Do you want me to give you examples?
- Amazon: it is destroying the business model of tens of thousands of small businesses
- Airbnb: undermined the business of thousands of hotels
- Uber: brought the service provided by thousands of cab drivers to its knees
- In a few years, from the smallest object to houses will be 3D printed. If your product can be 3D printed, unfortunately, you will have new competitors that you do not yet know about today.
We could give thousands of examples. These are momentous revolutions that are dramatically changing the business and entrepreneurial model globally.
We should therefore return to the original question.
Can my business model be supplanted by technology?
If you are an entrepreneur I think it is critical for you to stop and answer this question.
If you do it now, you can always decide to modify, integrate and evolve your product and service with two main goals:
- Making it evolve
- Distinguish yourself from the competition
Although what we are experiencing seems catastrophic … economically it is nothing new.
I often compare myself with a very dear friend, Dr. Andrea De Gennaro, Professor of Economics.
Strategy to sell and economic cycles
I was struck by one of his brief reflections on economic cycles.
“The economic cycle has always been represented by a mountain. To a period of high (economic boom), thereafter corresponds a period of low (economic crisis).
Periods of crisis serve to “clean up” the market from companies that through incompetence, inability to produce, inadequate business model etc. have failed to create “value” and therefore necessarily exit the market. In the past this happened with wars, great famines etc. Today, on the other hand, we are witnessing, in a geopolitical system, a new war of an economic-social (viral) nature worldwide, which is leading our system to a new crisis.
We expect, hopefully in the short term, to see a new economic boom that is believed to be, even, stronger than the previous ones because the consumer, on a psycho-economic level, will realize how important life is and therefore will be inclined to spend much more than he did before.
What Dr. Andrea De Gennaro said is sad, hard to accept, but extremely simple and true.
I close this article by sharing, I hope, some good news.
Past the critical moment of coronavirus everything will run better and faster.
I know what you’re thinking: will I be able to go further?
Unfortunately for this question I don’t have an answer. But I feel like telling you to take advantage of this moment.
Is everything at a standstill?
- Take time to figure out how to improve your business.
- How a CRM (customer relationship management software) can help you.
- Rethink your website and social channels.
- Most importantly: think about how you can improve your customers’ experience. How to make them happy. How to keep them in your restaurant, your gym, your stores, once the market recovers.
Don’t wait.
This is the last thought I want to share with you.
These days, several companies are contacting us because they have found that they have a need to communicate.
Previously, communication was exclusively through one’s business network; today this cannot be done.
My advice: regardless of your business model, it is critical to build and maintain direct communication between the company and the market over time.
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