Natalia Kholod, CEO of WARTO communications agency, told how to operate the business and what mistakes should be avoided

What should be done with the strategy?

Nowadays there is an opinion that you need to tear up and throw out your strategy developed before quarantine, start all over from scratch. I don't share this idea. I believe that it is necessary to revise the existing strategy and adapt it to new realities, but it is completely unreasonable to give it up. The right strategy has the values ​​and foundations of the business, and these are the things that shouldn't be betrayed. You should analyze your product, determine the most relevant audience, and direct your efforts there. At the same time, it is important to preserve the values ​​that the brand professes. At the same time, it is important to preserve the values ​​that the brand professes. A good example is Nova Poshta, the company that reoriented from individuals to business clients without changing the essence of their business, approaches to quality, and basic technologies during the past crisis.This allowed company not only to strengthen her position and update services but also to preserve the business model and values ​​that the company professed and communicated.

Who is the customer nowadays?

Quarantine has made changes in consumer buying behavior. And after its cancellation, it will take some time for people to return to offline because they will have to change their shopping habits again. What does a business need while the buyer is reorganizing? To study! It is important to constantly study your audience. And this is not about classic studies and polls, but about constantly monitoring and analyzing what is currently being sold, what is the main selection criterion, and what kind of request buyers still have.

What is the best investment?        

While you are exploring the new habits of your consumer and analyzing the assortment, it is important not to lose touch with your customer. Continue communicating with him. It is worth experimenting, alternating different channels, and evaluating the results of each. This approach will make it possible to determine which communication channels are most effective for your business. The marketing budget should not be cut, but reoriented, taking into account new requests and consumer behavior. For example, “Megogo” switched in communications very quickly and gave interesting quarantine offers. As a result, the planned advertising campaign was rebuilt into a situational one. And the time before the films was provided under sponsorship.

Trap for a business

Naturally, every business is interested in attracting new customers. And now this need has increased at times. In pursuit of the customer, some companies started to provide their services for free. But instead of a surge of loyalty, it led to the depreciation of their product. Moreover, this approach offended those customers who had previously purchased this service for a fee. Another pitfall of such a strategy is the difficulty to transform a person who tried service or product for free into a buyer. This method can work for companies that have already created a big name. For a business that has not communicated with its consumer yet, providing its services for free under the “quarantine” is a headshot!

For the 15 years of marketing activity, the WARTO agency has helped customers overcome all the economic and political crises that have affected Ukrainian business. We saw the impact of the crisis in different markets and observed how customers behave differently. We know for sure that persistence and the ability to find new opportunities is inscribed in the DNA of the national business. We are sure that Ukrainian businesses will accept a new reality and continue to produce high-qualified products.

Observe, regularly communicate with your customer, especially now - in a state of a large flow of information. And don't betray your values!