On the consumer side, there is evidence
of falling purchasing power since April
2019 driven by a myriad of factors and
worsened by increasing inflation on food
and drinks that forms a big portion of
typical household expenditure. There have
been observations that when under such
hard times, consumers react in different
ways - based on their psychological and
financial capacity to handle the situation.
The first group, with presumably the
weakest brand love, would quickly
stop buying the particular brand they
were buying altogether - and switch
immediately to whatever alternative is on
offer or even exit the category altogether.
Though not entirely, this group is likely
to sit in the lower end of the market
(C2DE) and relevant example would
include reducing number of meals per day,
walking or cycling to work versus using
public transport, stopping to make calls or
using mobile data altogether.
To keep the ‘vow’ with these consumers,
brands must go down to their level with
initiatives that help discourage them
from completely ‘shutting out’ what is
on offer. This could partly mean having
smaller ‘kadogo’ packs that cater for the
reduced power to afford, introducing more
affordable, ‘lite’ or fighter brands to keep
the relationship going through the rough
stretch in a bid to show empathy.
We may have observed this second
consumer reaction - typically seen among
what we traditionally call the middle class
- they feel the pinch yes but take a much
longer time to make any adjustments if
any. Their relatively better income allows
them to keep stretching - so long as their
standard of living remains undisrupted.
Their love for specific brands will stay
on for a while - almost to same levels
as during ‘good times’. They may adjust
frequency of usage by probably tightening
usage habits at home - in the case of a
CPG, but remain within the brand, to
maintain the image they desire.
To keep the ‘vow’ with these consumers,
brands may explore running non price
communication - advertising that
emphasize other benefits of the brand,
ensuring that prices are held, and
compliance is monitored closely. This
group is also likely to go for stock piling/
buying in bulk - meaning that bonus
offers on specific brands can help keep
them hinged. Reviewing and releasing
loyalty/reward points to loyal customers
In business terms, the relationships a brand
builds should always start with the brand
knowing itself before moving on to connect
with its target consumers. It is critical that
what the brand is and stands for is very clear
at the fore to enable it to build a strong foun-
dation and confidence to take the ‘vow’ be-
fore the target consumer in form of a USP.
during such times can also help spice up
the relationship with this group.
The third group is also probably observable
to all of us - this group stays comfortable
regardless of the situation - their well-off
status allows them to absorb any price
changes - almost without feeling any
pinch. This is likely to be very top of the
social economic class pyramid. They are
unlikely to postpone any purchases during
this tough stretch.
In their economically advantaged position,
some may be sensitive to what is happening
to the rest of the consumers who are
hard pressed - to help them manage this
emotion, brands could explore providing
discreet shopping opportunities such as
online shopping channels, private banking
wings, private dining and so and so forth.
This is the group that will take up any
exciting new offers easily and thus help
with driving brand innovation agenda
during tough times.
The last group take a day at a time during
these tough days - whatever they get, they
spend without worry about tomorrow
- they take one day at a time. These are
likely to be the younger, urban consumers
- millennials. They need brands to give
lower cost options and with evidence of
how they are saving. Encouraging them to
think about ‘tomorrow’ is also a good idea
to explore.
Bad times, just like good times, come and
go - and as seen, consumers react in varied
ways. Some of these reactions may end up
as long-term shifts in consumer values
and attitudes - for example, consumers
who learn to ‘survive’ without a product or
brand may adjust to that situation for the
long term leading to loss of business for
the brand.
Aligning marketing mix elements to the
changing market reality is a crucial part
of demonstrating empathy and bolstering
trust between the brand and the consumers.
These can be reinforced with messages
that emotionally reassure consumers of the
emotional connection - but the messages
must also be backed up by actions that
show that the brand is on the consumer’s
side - true, authentic love must always be
shown in in the action (what the brand is
actually doing, not just the promise).
This is the time for brands to invest in
building the love and connection with
consumers, giving consumers memorable
experiences that will ensure that when the
situation improves, consumers will remain
in love with the brand and be the future
source of business.
The expected shifts in consumer values and
attitudes during hard times warrants more
investment in market research to assess
how consumer priorities are shifting,
how they are reallocating their budgets,
how they are switching between product
categories and what they see as value for
money.
Insights on these and related objectives can
partly help develop strategies and tactics
to keep brand love alive and the business
as a whole, to endure the tough times.
Enock Wandera currently serves as
the Chief Client Officer at Ipsos
Limited. You can commune with
him on this and related matters on
mail via: Enock.Wandera@ipsos.
com.