The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic had the world at a standstill, affecting around 6.2 million people across 210 countries. Aside from serious health issues and mortality concerns, the world faces a recession due to the effects of the ongoing pandemic.
While most economies today continue to observe health protocols while monitoring trends in new infection cases, many places are slowly easing their quarantine measures. Some identified businesses are allowed to reopen and prepare for the new normal.
However, the impact of the pandemic on the global economy is not something to be underestimated. Most communities worldwide continue to be cautious for fear of a second wave of COVID-19 cases and other variants that bring about more uncertainties today.
The Economic Impact of the Pandemic
Many countries worldwide have implemented lockdowns and restrictions on movement across places to control the spread of the virus. Due to this, it sent ripples of an economic crisis that has not been seen for several decades.
One of the economic impacts during the pandemic is the decline of the global economy. According to the IMF, the global economy significantly dropped to 3% in 2020. Similarly, the World Bank also forecasted that the global GDP had fallen to a low 4% below the baseline.
In line with this, manufacturing and retail activities were also reduced during the pandemic as most establishments were forced to stop or limit operations. One of the hardest-hit industries involves the retail and service industries, as most workers were forced to stay home. Aside from this, manufacturing was also limited to essential products and support materials. The imposed restrictions and limited operations have resulted in the worst decline in manufacturing output.
Unemployment has also seen a rise as many businesses and enterprises were affected by the pandemic. In the United States, the Department of Labor has reported that the unemployment rate in April was as high as 14.7%, which was the highest unemployment rate ever recorded by the department.
There were also disruptions in the global supply chain due to the economy’s slowdown and the implementation of restrictions and lockdown protocols in many countries. At the onset of the pandemic, the traffic was limited to highly essential commodities, and many industries began to repair spare parts supply shortages.
Restarting Marketing During the Pandemic
Businesses and enterprises were pushed to limitations due to the economic downturn. However, they still need to connect and engage with their customers to survive. Amid the new normal, some strategies can help businesses continue to interact and communicate to market their products and services in the new normal.
One strategy is to increase online presence on media platforms. As most people are staying at home during the pandemic to limit the spread of the virus, it is unsurprising that the global consumption of media has gone up by as high as 60%. Findings from the Nielsen Total Audience Report showed that the average consumer is spending as much as 12 hours on various media platforms such as TV-linked devices and subscriptions to streaming services in the United States alone. Marketing strategies should consider these rising trends in the usage of such media platforms, adjust their content to suit these platforms, and think of different ways to reach targeted audiences and hold their attention for a longer time.
It is also helpful to re-examine brand messaging to see if these are in line with the current pulse of the community. Regardless of the product or service that you are promoting, your marketing strategy must relay the message on your brand and impact the community.
Besides re-examining brand messaging, executing a cross-platform online marketing strategy is also crucial. There is a continuous upward trend in media consumption across various platforms. It is a great advantage to have an adaptable cross-platform marketing strategy to reach a more extensive range of consumers online.
Today, marketing strategies for businesses should consider creating and optimizing their online presence. One way to improve a business’s online presence is through optimizing their website and their website content for search engine visibility with the help of an internet outsourcing company. Additionally, it should also emphasize maintaining a superior and convenient online user experience on the website.
When strategizing and planning, it can also be helpful to consider social media platforms for marketing campaigns and strategies. You can also utilize marketing techniques like Pay-Per-Click (PPC) online advertising and outsource digital marketing to get highly targeted audiences directly to your website’s landing pages.
Businesses and enterprises can also take advantage of engaging tools that help connect and communicate with customers, such as Online Chat Tools and a comprehensive online FAQ that can be readily used for customers’ inquiries about your product or service.
For more information about marketing in the age of the pandemic, here is an infographic provided by Digital Marketing Philippines.
