As we enter the eighth month since the pandemic began, it is becoming evident that many changed behaviours are becoming habits. While external forces such as lock downs, concern for safety, or just plain availability and changed distribution systems may have prompted the initial shift, along the way we've seen internal reasons emerge for staying with the new pattern - we found … [Read more...]
Customer Delight as Marketing
This week I’ve been preparing material for a couple upcoming workshops and client presentations this fall. I’ve been mixing it in with a healthy dose of cabin life admittedly, but it’s been fun to get ahead of a couple of projects that will be “coming in hot” once I return to Vancouver later this month. Two of them are about customer service as marketing, which I prefer to call … [Read more...]
Change or be changed: How substitutes and hybrids are altering consumer markets
The last 12-14 weeks since the pandemic began has brought about a tremendous period of change. We've changed where, how and when we work. Commuter, transit and driving patterns have been impacted. How and where we learn has shifted. Dining out and dining in has changed. Our entertainment options have been impacted, as have grocery shopping patterns and overall consumption. And … [Read more...]
Response, recovery & renewal: a three stage approach to marketing in a pandemic
I’ve been working on two different marketing strategy plans for clients this week. Both projects were well under way for completion when the Covid-19 crisis hit. Like many businesses, we were caught initially flat foot at the speed of change, and have had to make major adjustments. In once case, I essentially started over, and in the other we modified the initial plan and then … [Read more...]
Reframing relevance
The last two weeks have been quite a shock, and will continue to challenge our ability to adapt for the foreseeable future. Amidst the chaos of the Covid-19 pandemic, and business models being completely upended, is the very human element – fear, livelihood, and health of family, friends and loved ones. I’ve done a couple “virtual happy hours” these past weeks (a number of … [Read more...]
