[Covid-19]: How can marketers and business leaders respond?

How can marketers and businessleaders respond tactically to ensure a quick recovery after the pandemic and use available data from search engines?

At a Glance

• Copious data from search engines and ad platforms can help marketers navigate a wise course during and after the pandemic.

• Google Trends data showing demand for product categories in countries where the coronavirus has already peaked will predict demand shifts in other countries over the coming weeks.

• Lower digital advertising costs allow marketers to recalibrate ad investment in order to accelerate sales after the crisis abates.

• When marketing teams come up for air, they should analyze demand data from the previous financial crisis to broaden insights about their current audience.

Google Trends data serves as a fairly reliable predictor of consumer demand

Next responses

• Harvest data now to relaunch your marketing plan later in 2020 - Broaden insights about current and potential customers, possibly through a third-party panel or media partner. Match your CRM or internal audience data to track changes in customer behavior over the previous month.

• Assign a small team to analyze shifts in conversion and engagement rates over the past four to six weeks.

• Put your owned assets in order by asking a few questions.

• Fix the plumbing. In the course of day-to-day business, the rigor of certain marketing operations often slips. Now is the time to tighten standards again. Standardize campaign naming for ease of reporting and interpretation of results;

Marketers and business leaders respond to ensure a quick recovery after the pandemic

Ample Data, Often Free, Can Predict Consumer Behavior Through the Covid-19 Crisis

Publicly available tools help companies spot patterns in one country or region that will likely repeat elsewhere.

Bain&Company article from John Grudnowski, Blake Cuthbert and Justin Halim, April 09, 2020

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Responses

• Use Google Trends as a leading indicator - Google Trends data serves as a fairly reliable predictor of consumer demand next week or month

• Take advantage of lower digital ad costs - In the past two weeks, the combination of lower investment from advertisers and increased media consumption has led to a dramatic decline in cost per thousand impressions (CPM). Companies whose products are in higher demand can achieve tremendous reach connecting consumers to those products. Brands in industries that have suffered a falloff in demand can provide valuable customer communications or support the community through fundraising and awareness. 

Match your CRM or internal audience data to track changes in customer behavior

“Questions:
How are our website and social assets performing? How can we reduce bounce rates and boost conversion rates by improving navigation and functionality? How can we enhance the mobile app experience to raise user engagement and retention?”

“Consumer demand has been shifting quickly in the wake of the pandemic. But the shifts are neither random nor unique. They happened somewhere else a few weeks ago. Search engine and ad platform data provide raw material for pattern recognition, allowing marketers to keep pace with or even anticipate the next turn of category demand.”

— By John Grudnowski, Blake Cuthbert and Justin Halim April 09, 2020