MARKETING
Guiding Your Business Through Elections And The Pandemic
By Denis Mbau
On average, data from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics( KNBS) shows that 46 per cent of new businesses in Kenya fold in less than one year. More than double that do not survive to see their third birthday, signaling a tough business environment.
The Covid-19 pandemic has not only led to a high loss of human life but millions of people are at risk of falling into extreme poverty due to loss of livelihoods as more businesses shut down. Furthermore, election years in Kenya are generally tough for business. Elections are an important area of risk analysis for corporations and investors, often referred to as“ country risk”, because of their previous results and effects on the economy. Usually, sales plummet as customers and investors adopt a wait and see approach.
However, many businesses have continued to thrive through the pandemic and borrowing a leaf from them would give a lifeline to many entities to remain dutifully firm and unwavering while maximizing profits.
Despite the negative effects of elections on businesses and the economy at large, brands have to keep the market engaged with their products and services. Marketing is critical in developing ties between clients and the businesses that provide services to them. The elections make it even more essential to maintain core customers because it might be harder to bring in new ones. Social media provides your business with this opportunity as more people are spending more time than ever online.
An organization’ s success is directly determined by the prudent investment in the relationship with the customers. This means understanding the target audience even over the services and products you provide. You should therefore aim to provide them with relevant information during the election season. Think about their biggest worries, threats, and challenges and what can your brand do to assist them in overcoming those obstacles. It builds reputation and a sense of identity when your customers and prospective customers know that you think about them, especially during times of tension and uncertainty.
If a brand is to remain steadfast during the election period, then its marketing team must understand that it is not the best time to launch a new campaign, product, or service. As election excitement reaches a fever pitch, you risk blowing critical advertising revenue by interacting with an audience that is preoccupied with current events. It is best to wait for the political dust to settle and choose a strategic time to do a launch if the goals and objectives of the same are to be achieved. However, if you have to market, understand that getting attention during election season will be increasingly challenging. It’ s time to change your plan, prepare for the realities of advertising in a time when attention is short and political message prevails.
It is often wise that brands should avoid engaging in politics. However, things have changed in recent years where brands directly endorse a certain candidate. With so many variables on the line, maintaining your organization’ s neutrality is the best road to take. During this period, your top interest should be to protect your brand’ s reputation. If you have to be involved, it should be in advocacy for peace, unity and transparency during the process.
Neutrality can protect a brand from being dragged into political murkiness. For example, figures from the Communications Authority shows that during the 2017 general elections, Safaricom, Kenya’ s largest telecoms operator, lost 8 percent of subscriber market share in the quarter ending December 2017 after opposition leader Raila Odinga called for its boycott, alongside Bidco Kenya and Brookside. The companies were accused of interference in the results of the presidential election. Employees are a company’ s greatest asset that deserve protection during election downturns. Ensure extensive support and investment in your team so that they can effectively contribute their skills, ideas and energy to their work despite the many distractions. Allow them to vote and build a reputation of a brand that respects civic, democratic and overall employee rights.
Lastly, brands should understand that because of differing political opinions, most elections might be highly controversial and potentially toxic. Everyone has an opinion about parties and candidates, from employees to suppliers, customers to clients, family to friends. If you must communicate, do it in a way that is good, uplifting, and eventually contributes to the country’ s national spirit of peace, love, and unity. ■
Denis Mbau is a corporate communications and media expert working in multiple sectors, helping organizations communicate effectively through strategy to enhance impact. Commune with him via email at: Mbaud2010 @ gmail. com.
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MAL 46 / 22 ISSUE