that despite the times we should not allow
our capacity to be diminished and to keep
afloat calls for reflection, agility, calm and
quick but reasonable reaction. As I was
trying to make sense of this unprecedented
times that appear like a maze, five lessons
became clearer as the haze lifted from
time to time.
The Curved Ball
I’ll start with one that’s apparent and is
becoming more of a daily norm. No matter
how good one is at planning and seeing
round corners we cannot be prepared
enough nor plan for every eventuality or
outcome. Once in a while, a curved ball
will be thrown at us and we will have
nothing in our armoury or in our memory
to tap into for a favourable response. As
they say ‘Man plans and God smiles’. Thus
even our best laid plans will go awry.
In a Zoom session organised by ISA titled’
Marketing Strategy Shift-Short vs Long
Term Planning’ on 18th May, Ken Kariuki,
a consultant in strategy and trainer, spoke
about one of the tools used in strategic
planning called Scenario Planning. This
looks at the evolving business environment
and what businesses can do to respond
to these changes, profitably. Though not
even the best strategic planners would
have envisaged what we are going through
today, planning must be done and the
tool is still very relevant. What’s needed
that’s different today is that things are
unfolding quickly calling for flexibility,
shorter planning cycles and accelerated
decision making. ‘Think long term but
plan for the short term’ is the advice from
Craig Groeschel, Founder & Senior Pastor
Life Church and Champion of Global
Leadership Summit, in a Zoom Webinar,
titled Leading Through The Storm in
April.
Thus any plans that were made before
Corona should be reviewed for relevance
and changed or tweaked as the need may
be. The need for speed is critical but one
must also try to be accurate and learn on
the go. Agility and flexibility are critical
moving forward.
Connecting The Dots
The second lesson is that planning,
decision making and actions that follow
should not be done in a vacuum and
must be based on information however
raw. From the information we should
connect the dots and get insights. At the
heart of every marketing decision and
response to a situation should be a deep
understanding of the mind, heart, and
soul of the consumer. Marketing is about
building stronger brands than competition
and this we do by manipulating the P’s of
marketing. So during this period we need
to ask ourselves the following questions:
How is the consumer affected by the Virus
and the measures put forward to contain it?
What are they doing to cope mentally and
emotionally? What is on top of their mind
now? How has this affected their actions
and priorities? How is this changing their
purchasing and shopping habits? Are there
new segments appearing that we can serve?
It’s only by understanding new consumer
drivers and how they are reacting that we
can engage gears that move the P’s. Our
plans and actions will be more relevant and
accurate and our objectives met. For we
shall be in a better position to know what
to change: whether it’s price (cost to the
consumer), place (channels), product (in its
totality), or promotion (communication).
In the case of a service the other P’s come
into play. One can commission formal
research or if this is not possible gather
information from some available findings
such as one from Kantar titled ‘Opportunity
in Times of Covid-19 in Kenya released
on May 9th. The research provides useful
insights into how the consumer is coping
and implications useful for how brands can
react.
Kate Njoroge, Chief Commercial Officer
of Kantar, unpacked some of the findings
on May 14th, during a Webinar hosted
by ISA; in a series they are calling Let’s
Adapt & Thrive. She spoke about the
concerns of the consumer and how they
are coping bringing rise to what she called
‘the new shopper’. The key highlights are
that Kenyan consumers are a worried
and concerned lot. On one hand they are
concerned about their health and what
they can do to protect themselves and
those close to them from catching the
disease. On the other hand they have been
affected by what the Government has put
in place to contain the disease, the curfew,
social distancing, stay at home and limiting
movement in and out of some areas. This
has affected their incomes and they are
feeling the pinch. To cope they have had
to change their behaviour and spending
patterns. For example, they are prioritising
safety and health products and also
focusing on household essentials more.
The research also found out that brand
loyalty is lower with consumers being
attracted to brands that are deemed to
offer value for money. The curfew coupled
with working from home and the need to
avoid much movement has resulted in a
preference for three things: a preference
for shopping closer home (residential
areas), non-cash payment, and, where
possible and home deliveries. Kate called
this ‘reset in what people value’ and went
on to say it provides opportunities for
brands that understand the implications
and can leverage the same. For example,
as consumers become more frugal brands
could offer discounts or bundling to offer
more value for money. This will resonate
with the current mood of the consumer
and be seen as more caring and empathetic
which is important in brand building.
However, as we review what our brands
stand for and tweak the P’s it’s important
to note that each sector, and in some cases
geographical area, is unique and there is no
one size fits all option. More importantly
what the consumer values and how they
react are changing as events unfold.
The need to act fast and change plans
accordingly was best illustrated by Flavia
Othim, Head of Marketing Mainstream
Spirits, EABL, during the same Webinar.
There was a double whammy given the
closing of bars and curfew. They had to
think and act fast. She said that on the
onset they urgently put in place a cross
functional team with team leads, shifted
from individual brands to categories
and repurposed teams to distribution.
They also commissioned research to
understand how this crisis especially the
closing of bars and curfew was affecting
their consumers and this guided their
plans and actions in trying to regain lost
business. They found out that affordability
is king and the entertainment that goes
with alcoholic beverages is still needed.
Given the findings they reprioritised their
marketing budget focusing more on how
to ensure availability and communicated
this to customers. They developed
communication around responsible
drinking to ensure their products are not
‘used as a clutch’ given the higher than
normal levels of stress, with unintended
consequences leading to negative publicity.
Mr. Gordon Odundo, who has vast
experience in the field of healthcare and
now a leadership consultant, also added
his voice to the critical role that data plays
in decision making. He said ‘get in close to
your customers and understand those
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