Tuesday 6 April 2021

The five ways COVID has changed marketing (part 4)

By now, you should have a pretty good idea of how marketing in the post-COVID world looks. Last week we looked at why digital is king, and today we're going to address another key dependency of a great post-COVID marketing campaign: a premium brand experience. 

#4: A Premium Brand Experience

But Steven, I hear you asking, my brand is already a premium brand! No, it's not. It may have been premium in the old world, but in the post-COVID world there are things people expect that were simply non-issues in the past. Cleanliness, is an issue that customers are, understandably, very concerned about these days, and shedding any conceptions they may have about your company not having the absolute highest standards of hygiene is so important. Messaging that shows off your COVID-safe policies at a factory, ensuring that any customer-facing roles upheld strict hygiene standards (masks, hand sanitizer, social distancing), or simply a rebranding of packaging to give your customers the impression that your product is cleaner than any competitor.

On that last point, messaging that shows you will really go above and beyond your competition is crucial these days. Like I talked about in part 1, online shopping is the new normal, and it's much easier for a customer to simply browse on over to a competitor's site if they're not satisfied. Offering those premium experiences that used to only be available in-stores, but online, is a surefire way to achieve this. As an example, a client of mine wanted to bring an exclusively in-store experience; setting up a customer's new device, online. I worked with the client to build a "Digital Onboarding" experience, where customers could get extensive help setting up their phone from the comfort of their home.

Think about the things your organization does well, and how you can emphasize those things to create a truly unique-in-the-market premium experience.

We're almost at the end of this journey, so join me next week for #5: Do More With Less