As digital marketing headhunters, we know any gap in a marketing strategy could set a company back for weeks or even months. You need to make sure they have all the resources you need to be competitive. With deep research, MarketPro has found four common key concepts that made a huge difference for the top leaders in the industry during the pandemic.
- You need to understand your brand, the service and experience you provide, and how
it is perceived by consumers. - You need to make sure your business initiatives are focused on delivering brand value.
- Excel at what your customers deem essential.
- Lastly but most importantly, you should understand how your customers are changing. Not only by using customer feedback but also by drawing insights from other customer-facing departments within your organization and paying attention to where your customers’ focus is.
While this may sound easy, most companies struggle with this given the pandemic-related restrictions and changes. As the leading chief digital officer executive search firm, we took it upon ourselves to dive deeper to uncover how top companies used these four concepts to build a better brand and gain more market share.
Chief Digital Officer Executive Search Firm Highlights 3 Brands That Excelled During The Pandemic:
Tesco Bank
Like most organizations, Tesco Bank relied on a lot of in-person research before the pandemic. The pandemic forced them to reconsider their research methods to get the desired information. They turned to a platform called UserTesting. It allowed Tesco to understand what customers think, how they feel, and what they say in real-time, remotely. These new insights provided them tools that allowed them to address common concerns before customers even ask. Now, their products and services align with their new target audiences’ needs more effectively. Overall, they used digital marketing headhunters’ four concepts to push themselves far ahead of their competitors and remain competitive throughout the pandemic.
Skyscanner
During the pandemic, air travel was affected immensely. There were around 1.8 billion passengers taking flights through 2020, compared with around 4.5 billion in 2019. That means roughly 92 percent of people did not fly compared to the same time in 2019. This cost the industry $370 billion according to the International Civil Aviation Organization.
The team at Skyscanner did not let this deteriorate their motivation. They realized that even though there was a significant drop in flights, there were still people flying. As a result, they conducted virtual research testing groups to better understand who was flying and why. They also began speaking to 20 different travelers from around the world every couple of weeks. In the end, Skyscanner knew who their new target audience was, how to create a compelling message, and what kind of brand story they wanted to display.
Smile
Like most dentists, Smile Brands had to temporarily shut down and only accept emergency appointments. Even after dentistry offices reopened, there was a noticeable change. According to the American Dental Association, patient numbers are still 20 percent below normal due to health and safety concerns. Marko Vujicic, chief economist of the ADA stated, “about 15% to 20% of regular dental patients say they’re not going to go back to the dentist until there’s a vaccine or a proven treatment.”
This did not stop Smile. They wanted to understand for themselves why their customers were not making appointments and what their concerns were. Smile ended up sending 2-way text messages and Pulse Surveys to their target market. According to Jody Martin, CMO of Smile Brands, “Within 6 weeks of switching to the text-based surveys, Smile Brands saw a 20-point increase in the company’s Net Promoter Score (NPS)”.
When you have the right leaders, technology, and motivation to steer your brand in the right direction, you create a nimble organization that can react to changing customer and market needs. Digital marketing headhunters highly recommend you take the time to make sure you have the right talent to build a solid foundation before you hit your next obstacle.
