There has been a great shift in the way marketers position themselves as a result of COVID-19. This once in a lifetime crisis has shown us all a lot. The response has been very interesting to watch.

It occurred to me that this is the perfect time to gauge and document how marketing leaders adapted to the quickly changing consumer sentiment. As a data guy, I love collecting samples. Even anecdotes can tell you a lot.

I asked 8 marketing leaders to answer the following question. Each of their answers is below. Enjoy.

How have you pivoted your marketing strategy due to the impact of COVID-19 and what results have you been seeing?

It would be a great mistake to assume that this is just a storm we are going thru and that soon all will be “back to normal”. “Normal” is gone, a new reality is here. To succeed, one needs to rethink everything and exercise the command we’ve grown to love CTl+ALT+DEL

Jorge Fernandez, Chief Marketing Officer, Paramount Management Group

As travel demand has slowed during COVID-19, Vantage has seized the opportunity to focus even more on content and building new connections with our travelers. Interest in unique destinations and experiences has increased, and Vantage thankfully has travel options across all 7 continents, many featuring smaller group settings. We’ve also shifted our communications by inviting guests to “travel virtually” with us through our incredible library of videos, which also fuel our guests’ wanderlust and help them decide where to travel once travel restrictions lift. These “armchair travel” emails have been among our most popular guest communications, as people have really taken to exploring the world from their sofas during this time! We’ve also launched a new company newsletter with a more personal touch, as it’s authored by Deirdre Dirkman, our vice president of worldwide operations. Vantage also regularly features content and imagery from our travelers, so it’s a great way to keep our guests engaged and dreaming of travel right alongside us.

David Brown, Chief Marketing Officer, Vantage Deluxe World Travel

The best performers are already developing plans for post-COVID success. They will be the fastest to grow once economic tailwinds develop, and they will grab market share while it is available and at low cost. Right now, they are prioritizing their opportunities which may (but not always) include pivoting to new products, services, or markets.

Mark Coronna, Chief Marketing Officer, Chief Outsiders 

We immediately set to work in developing and suggesting solutions that would help our business customers. That meant quickly and strategically selecting the right solutions and packaging them together in a way that would help our clients to better understand what data they needed, why, what to look for and how to apply specific solutions in order to stem business losses while also serving their end customers.

We developed four different COVID Response packages to lead businesses through the various impacts the pandemic was having on their portfolios, helping them to recognize which customers may need more attention and which could weather the storm. More than ever, clients need to invest in insights that are broad, deep, and –most critical—accurate, because what may have been “good enough” performance in the past no longer applies. Consumers are going to remember the brands that were there for them, making the right offers to them and understanding their individual situation.

Equifax also launched a webinar series, Market Trends, to provide economic insights and recommendations as markets have reacted to the pandemic. In particular, clients have been interested in understanding where markets are under stress. For instance, consumers that are limiting spending, carrying credit balances and seeking forbearances. Along with publishing weekly updates of credit behavior insights, our clients are able to adjust their strategies accordingly to help customers during this stressful time. We’ve also been helping clients understand how to shift their customer interactions to engage them more fully online, through mobile apps and addressable TV. While offline engagement has tapered off, there are even more eyeballs in these channels.”

Ian Wright, Chief Data Officer, Data-Driven Marketing, Equifax Marketing Services 

Healthcare is one of our most important industries. We wanted to help our first responders during this unprecedented time by providing them with a free HIPAA-compliant account. This makes it easier and much, much safer to interact and collect data from their patients. The response has been overwhelming. We’ve received countless thank you notes from healthcare professionals for making it available.

Steve Hartert, Chief Marketing Officer, Jotform

Without face-to-face customer interactions at trade shows and on-site events, we have shifted our focus and investment to creating compelling and unique digital content. This digital content is spearheaded by customized videos tailored to speak directly to prospective companies and customers. And, during a time when we all need a good chuckle, we are approaching the videos with an Account-Based Marketing mindset and making the pitches more personal with a dose of lightheartedness and fun. Thus in turn, we are creating instantly shareable snapshots that resonate with the intended audience while also being informative about Rekor’s core mission.

Susan Crandall, Chief Marketing Officer, Rekor Systems

COVID has had us focusing our efforts in two different ways. The first is building our brand and continuing to tell our story. Yes, people may be less inclined to buy during trying times, but if you turn off storytelling when people are ready to buy they will have forgotten about you. Second, we’ve focused on conversion rate optimization. This costs you almost nothing in marketing spend, but can increase revenue significantly by improving conversion rates by just 5%!

Trevor Crump, Chief Marketing Officer, Fawn Design

“In these uncertain times, marketers must support their customers and protect customer relationships while staying honest about what can and cannot be delivered. We must be careful about taking actions that provide short-term results for the company at the expense of customer trust. At Sensative, we keep lines of communication open, being sure to communicate frequently regarding any COVID-19 related delays in component deliveries that might impact production and our customers’ ability to serve their clients.”

Anne-Marie Rouse, Chief Marketing Officer, Sensative

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