According to The Australian Bureau of Statistics, two-thirds of Australian businesses across all sectors have reported taking a hit to revenue or cash flow due to COVID-19. About one in 10 said they have paused trading altogether. In 70 per cent of cases, this was due to COVID-19.
You need these stats to know this pandemic has had a shocking effect on business, our favourite brands and the way we like to live.
Going back to basics and asking your customers about how they are feeling and what they need and want from your brand is even more important today. Businesses that come out of COVID-19 having explored new growth options and pivoted where necessary will be the ‘winners’ as we move into the new world.
In the past, CMOs, CXOs and marketing teams have outsourced learning about the customer and exploring the lives of their customers. But with slashed budgets and limited spending options, it is no longer a luxury. Business need faster, smarter, cheaper options to get strategies right.
The 2019 HBR Study, Beyond Big Data: Why Small Data Integration is Key to Customer Experience Success, showcases the work of The Gap’s head of global consumer insight, Katie Lechner, and her 18-person team. They spend all their time gathering and analysing big and small (thick) data. Conducting in home visits, reviewing customer diaries and having video calls with customers all part of their brand growth evaluations.
According to Lechner, the better The Gap knows the customer, the better the business has performed. Her challenge has been to convince all divisions that having the customer IP sitting inside the business is better than when it sits with an agency. Creating that insight capability inside the organisation has been key.
Interestingly, after temporarily closing its stores during COVID-19, Gap has pivoted to making masks, gowns and scrubs for health workers in the US. It makes sense a company that invests heavily in hearing the stories of its customers would also be smart enough and agile enough to pivot in a crisis.
Our own client, Carlton and United Breweries (CUB), is developing its customer insight capability by working with our Hearsay product to teach the marketing team how to have great conversations. Senior manager consumer and shopper insight, Tessa Whittaker, says:
“Our people loved talking to real consumers and, after every interview, were excited to feedback learnings to the brand team who owned the project. Being able to record and review afterwards meant the pressure was off to take notes.
“As a business, we have wanted to get our teams closer to consumers and having the Hearsay Platform with the support of the Hearsay team, made it happen with structure and purpose.”
Analytics and insights professionals at Proctor and Gamble are also increasingly adept when it comes to do-it-yourself research, instead of depending on outside agencies to undertake this work. At The Market Research Event (TMRE) 2019, a conference held by KNect365, Kirti Singh, chief analytics and insights officer, said: “Every insight professional should be able to conduct DIY research that elicits feedback and insights directly from consumers in little to no time.”
But what if do you don’t have this skill internally? Like CUB, searching out a suitable tech product could help you. Here are a few examples:
Businesses with internal customer insight capability will be able to pivot quickly now. They will thrive and change direction to take advantage of new opportunities. Those teams that have more limited experience can reach out to the many technology platforms to help them with a do-it-yourself solution.
As our customers exhibit growing desire to be recognised for their preferences and passion points, ...
In the third and final episode of our 3-part CMO50 video series exploring modern marketing and why it’s become a matter of trust, we’re delighted to be joined by Telstra’s former CMO and now digital services and sales executive, Jeremy Nicholas, and Adobe VP Marketing Asia-Pacific and Japan, Duncan Egan.
Flash back to the classic film, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. Television-obsessed Mike insists on becoming the first person to be ‘sent by Wonkavision’, dematerialising on one end, pixel by pixel, and materialising in another space. His cinematic dreams are realised thanks to rash decisions as he is shrunken down to fit the digital universe, followed by a trip to the taffy puller to return to normal size.
Why is it there is no shortage of leadership development materials, yet outstanding leadership is so rare? Despite having access to so many leadership principles, tools, systems and processes, why is it so hard to develop and improve as a leader?
As a nation united by sport, brands are beginning to learn money alone won’t talk without aligned values and action. If recent events with major leagues and their players have shown us anything, it’s the next generation of athletes are standing by what they believe in – and they won’t let their values be superseded by money.
