ВОЗМОЖНОСТИ ОНЛАЙН МАРКЕТИНГА ДЛЯ РОЗНИЧНЫХ КОМПАНИЙ В ПЕРИОД ПАНДЕМИИ КОРОНАВИРУСА
Аннотация: несмотря на то, что новый вирус оказал необратимое влияние на компании, существуют способы поддержания и продвижения бизнеса в нужно направлении. Один из них – переход к онлайн маркетингу и использование его в качестве основного инструмента стратегии.
Ключевые слова: онлайн маркетинг, цифровой маркетинг, кризис, розничная торговля, коронавирус, пандемия.
ONLINE MARKETING OPPORTUNITIES FOR RETAIL COMPANIES DURING THE CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC
Abstract: despite the fact the new virus had an irreversible impact on companies, there are ways of maintaining and promoting business in the right direction. One of them is moving to online marketing and using it as the main tool of the strategy.
Keywords: online marketing, digital marketing, crisis, retail trade, coronavirus, pandemic.
Covid-19 caused number of changes in every sphere of life. The virus has forced companies to face new problems. Firstly, people had to go through lockdown. Then, new social distancing and hygiene measures had a negative effect on productivity in the workplace. This especially concerns retail companies, where everything is based on face-to-face marketing, sales have declined significantly due to the lack of customers and the decrease in the number of new clients. As consumers take protective actions against the virus their health/financial concerns and behavioral adjustments will continue to have an enormous social and economic impact.
Many companies are willing to welcome digitalisation because of these circumstances. Rapidly changing regulations encouraged companies to establish contact with buyers via the Internet, particularly via social media. Therefore, many companies used their existing web portfolio or they created new pages to stay in contact with existing customers and also attract new ones.
According to the Ipsos research, as the disease spread, consumer’s behavior and needs have changed. People are trying to adapt to the new unstable environment and make different decisions. However, still there are a number of ways brands can tap different influences on decision-making to help people adapt to the shifting context and support behavioral change.
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One of them is “Go Virtual”. “We expect to see a further shift to virtual alternatives. In China, online car sales went up in the first weeks of the crisis, despite overall car sales crashing. We also see many professional meetings and exhibitions moving online; just as many museums have started to create an online experience by creating virtual rooms where art is being shown. Alibaba is organizing no-meeting concerts, where they live-stream new content.”[42]
In this article, we will try to examine and understand how companies can take advantage of online marketing opportunities, not only to survive as a business but also thrive in the future.
Online marketing is a relatively new term. According to the literature, it has been in use only since 2006. It is used interchangeably alongside such terms as digital or Internet marketing. However, there is little difference between them. “Online marketing is simply a subset of digital marketing and refers to content delivered via the Internet, while digital marketing refers to any marketing that exists on electronic devices.” [43] The key component of the online marketing mix is usually a very specific website.
Internet marketing is the marketing work that assumes the target-oriented usage of Internet services (WWW, e-mail, Usenet, etc.) for marketing. The main component of the Internet marketing mix is usually its own or a very specific Internet site. On the other hand, online marketing includes all measures that lead visitors to their Internet presence. Social media marketing is defined as a form of online marketing that aims to achieve branding and sales goals by engaging in one or several so-called social media offerings. Market participants have recognized that SMM is not primarily a sales channel. The recent development implies that social media marketing is increasingly seen as an independent marketing discipline and not as a sub-discipline of online marketing. However, it also depends on the form of social media used in marketing campaigns.
This area of marketing is especially popular during the current situation. The main focus is on social media marketing and sharing online marketing. This scientific work is based on the following aggregated and simplified definition: Online marketing includes all the measures, its objectives, which the customer comes across in the customer journey, whose aim it is to increase sales.
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In particular, the global economy has to contend with the curbing effect of the restrictions on economic activities that have become necessary to fight the virus. Due to the introduced social distancing rules and the temporary closures of some retail businesses the latter have sought to maintain customer contact despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic. In addition to initiating immediate measures in the short term, it is also important for companies to work as quickly as possible on an active medium to long - term strategy for the period during and after the crisis. The most flexible and practical solution was to use the Internet. On websites and social media, companies were able to communicate with customers and find new ways of “face-to-face” marketing and selling merchandise.
Even during the corona crisis, the success of the preventative measures was evident at an early stage. For example, the Chinese cosmetics company Lin Qingxuan was forced to close 40% of its stores during the crisis, including all of its locations in Wuhan. “However, the company redeployed its 100+ beauty advisors from those stores to become online influencers who leveraged digital tools, such as WeChat, to engage customers virtually and drive online sales. As a result, its sales in Wuhan achieved 200% growth compared to the prior year’s sales.”[44] Due to the prevailing problem of reduced customer contact, many companies were pushed into digitisation.
Compared to traditional campaigns, which are usually created over a longer period, digital campaigns offer much greater flexibility. While, for example, print campaigns, if implemented, allow adjustments only through re-creation, content on websites or social media can be adapted or replaced within minutes. In the current pandemic situation, customers can be informed in real-time about the current distance and hygiene rules as well as potential further restrictions. In addition to the corona pandemic, customers can also find out about new products or delivery bottlenecks just in time. In this way, customers can be specifically directed to the purchase of individual products. Moreover, it can also prevent customers from a negative shopping experience. Through online marketing, larger target groups can be reached more efficiently. In a print campaign, which includes, for example, mailings and large-area posters, too broad of a target audience is addressed, which can evade advertising by deleting or ignoring adverts. In a web campaign, on the other hand, the advertising can be controlled in such a way that only the intended target group is addressed, which is eligible for the product on offer.
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Compared to traditional marketing, digital online marketing measures offer the possibility of statistical evaluation. The number of clicks, views, shares, impressions etc. provides a detailed and high scope of control. Thus, the customer group can be accurately assessed and analysed. Based on the available data, more explicit market research can then be carried out.
Digital advertising offers the opportunity to receive direct feedback from the customer community, in the form of likes or comments. This allows companies to manage digital pre - or after-sales and establish a customer relationship. Because of the current corona pandemic and social distancing, the use of the media by the population has also increased. According to the GlobalWebIndex research, 45% of users have begun to spend more time on social media since the restrictions were introduced.
Since many workers have been on short-time working schemes due to the pandemic, a large circle of potential customers also has more time during which advertising offers, due to the restrictions of the pandemic, can be consumed. Ideally, consumers thus deal more intensively and profoundly with the company and the product.
Due to the current situation caused by the corona pandemic and the associated short-time work, the home office and the extended target groups, it is a great opportunity to be presented via social media. Companies must present themselves and their products, not only via posting content but also via live videos, FAQ rounds or targeted product presentations. This results in direct feedback and the extended opportunity to act personally. In addition, the customer does not first have to take the path to the company, but in the best case gets the company or product conveniently presented at home via push notification. It must become the standard to tailor advertising and advertising strategies evermore personally to the customer. Validated data should become a "consumer-first" experience via cross-channel marketing. The products and brand messages must be precisely adapted to the customer, which makes advertising more targeted and more interesting for the end consumer. As the current corona pandemic shows, it does not make sense to have a long-term advertising plan. It can make complex and expensive marketing concepts and implementations old-fashioned. Therefore, the keyword of the hour is flexibility. Thus, the advertising content can always be adapted to the current situation and the latest products.
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Based on the framework above, some recommendations for the companies were developed:
Table 1. Recommendations and recourses for guiding a business through unforeseen circumstances[45]
| Website | If the company doesn’t have a website, it could be useful to consider building a landing page where customers can purchase goods/services online. In addition to this, gift cards and special offers systems are attractive for new clients so they should be considered. |
| Landing pages | Landing pages can also be a useful way to collect contact and personal information from the audience. Tagging contacts based on interests can organise the audience and send more relevant messages in the future. |
| Additional tools | Consider the opportunity to add a signup form to the site and send regular email updates to keep the conversation going with the customers. Not only does it help to keep them in the loop about any changes to hours or product availability, but it is also a great way to let them know how they can support the business during this difficult time. |
| Social media advertising | If there is a product that is been particularly popular, consider setting up social media ads to increase awareness among both existing customers and brand new audiences. |
As has been previously explained, one of the advantages of online marketing is the opportunity to control the whole process. The target groups in particular need to be analysed very well. It is always important to weigh which generation is the main target group and which products they consume in which ways. By 2020, Generation Z accounts for about a quarter of the population, in Russia even 30% of all consumers. Therefore, the needs of Generation Z should be considered.
Across all marketing channels, certain target groups prefer certain channels. However, these target groups also change and shift. While the target group on Facebook is getting older and older, the younger target group has left Instagram and is primarily using other platforms.
The corona pandemic forced changes in the social and commercial areas. Retail companies that have relied on traditional marketing measures so far are suffering from that. However, with the right approach, they can not only adapt to the current situation but also benefit from it. Not only is this form of marketing more flexible and target-oriented, but also the respective target group has increased massively due to the pandemic and its restrictions. The controlling factor created by online marketing offers direct market and customer analysis. Due to the current situation, online marketing offers many advantages over traditional marketing, and due to the circumstances of the pandemic, it is also a good time to rely on online marketing or to start with it.
List of References
1. Chris Murphy, Steven Naert, and Colin Strong “CORONAVIRUS & BEHAVIOR CHANGE”// Health - [Electronic resource] – March 2020 electronic data – Access mode/ https://www.ipsos.com/ (Date of request 13.02.2021)
2. Naresh K. Malhotra Marketing Research: An Applied Orientation, 7th Edition /: Pearson, 2019 p. 233-241
3. Voloshina G. A. “DEVELOPMENT TRENDS OF THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET OF ADVERTISING SERVICES” [Electronic resource] – February 2017 electronic data – Access mode/ https://www.elibrary.ru/item.asp?id=34970340&pff=1 (Date of request 13.02.2021)
4. Pat-Lin Communications SDN BHD: official website [Electronic resource] – 2019 electronic data – Access mode/ https://patlin.com.my/ (Date of request 11.02.2021)
5. Martin Reeves, Lars Fæste, Cinthia Chen, Philipp Carlsson-Szlezak, and Kevin Whitaker “How Chinese Companies Have Responded to Coronavirus”// Crisis Management - [Electronic resource] 10.03.2020 electronic data – Access mode/ https://hbr.org/ (Date of request 13.02.2021)
6. Deolitte: official website, “Changing consumer, digital marketing and impact of Covid-19” [Electronic resource] – 2021 electronic data – Access mode/ https://www2.deloitte.com/ (Date of request 11.02.2021)
Иващенко Е. А.
Научный руководитель Калыгина В. В.
(Российский университет дружбы народов)
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