WHAT is certain during these times of uncertainty is that a new approach to marketing and its role for Irish businesses is fundamental as we look ahead to post-lockdown.
Staying relevant and delivering true value will be an increasing challenge for marketers as organisations look to recovery. So how will Irish marketers be able to successfully connect with their customers in a world that has changed so much over the last few months?
CIM’s 'Impact of Marketing' research revealed that just over three quarters of marketing professionals (77 per cent) across Northern Ireland say they are confident that they are vital to their organisation’s success, and 86 per cent of marketers in Northern Ireland believe the marketing sector can greatly benefit communities and businesses.
This certainly proves that marketing is here to stay and plays a fundamental part to help Irish businesses drive value and meet changing customer needs as we look to come out of lockdown.
I’ve put together some top tips on how Irish marketers can deliver value and realign their customer needs as Irish businesses look to recovery.
1 Develop honest long-term messages - Now should be the time to develop positioning and communications built on what your business does, how it behaves and its values. The message, positioning and customer conversation should be created and delivered by all parts, top to bottom, with no exceptions. Be honest and transparent in your messaging and your customers will buy into your promises.
2 Communicate effectively - To do this, marketing must unify more effectively with other departments and connect all aspects of the business with the new needs of the customer. It is too narrow a view to say marketing should drive the business messaging alone. Current circumstances dictate we should instead break down internal business silos. Marketing cannot do its job effectively in this changed world without this happening. A genuine business re-evaluation is needed in these turbulent times, with all hands-on deck.
3 Align accordingly - Marketing departments should aim to align employees, other departments and their customers with the wider societal goals of their business, such as environmental benefits, health and economic benefits. This would not only lead to the immediate goal of survival, but it would also lead to progress and prosperity in the long-term.
As we enter the recovery phase of Covid-19, strong inter-personal skills like communication will be the key to unlock how Irish businesses can adapt and thrive post-lockdown. As we look to come out of this period of uncertainty, the ways we work will also fundamentally change for the foreseeable future.
Now is the time, for Irish marketers to ensure their skills sets are up to date, to meet the changing behaviours, attitudes and expectations of consumers.
CIM has recently introduced over 80 new virtual professional development programmes spanning brand, strategy, digital, leadership, planning, communications, copy writing, content, product, proposition and customer experience, which are all critical business skills that Irish businesses can be sure to rely on when we eventually exit out of lockdown.
I would strongly encourage those working in Marketing too book a virtual classroom, by visiting: https://www.cim.co.uk/training/list-courses/#training-courses
:: Eileen Curry is chair of CIM Ireland
