Now that we are finally coming to the end of the tough restrictions, there is cautious optimism throughout the UK, but what does that mean for marketing departments?
As roadmaps are outlined and vaccines delivered, there is increasing confidence that business can begin its journey back to something reflecting normality. While headlines talk of massive pent-up demands from consumers, there is also growing confidence in the business community that many sectors will reap the benefits of an improving economy.
With all the evidence is pointing towards a steady recovery, is your business ready to take advantage?
There is probably not a business in the country that hasn’t been affected by the pandemic. It’s been a tough time for many, with difficult decisions taken on staff numbers and future recruitment. While some businesses have thrived over the last 12 months, many more are waiting to kickstart their plans to take advantage of the improving economy.
However, reduced headcount in teams, where marketing has often been the first departments to take a hit, and unfilled vacancies will make taking advantage of the improving economy more complicated than it could be.
Have you got the in-house resource?
Resource capacity is likely to be a challenge for many marketing departments. We’ve seen with some clients that there is a need to offer support and become an extension of the marketing team. The external support EBY offers gives clients flexibility in terms of headcount capacity and access to specific skills for certain projects. Particularly where there may not be demand for a full-time role. There has also been a shift in the type of marketing required with the acceleration towards digital, video and social messaging. With these new channels adding to a typical busy to-do list, it has increased the time needed to develop the quality content needed to fuel this activity.
Have you got the in-house skills?
This shift in requirements has also impacted teams. A recent study from Forbes concluded that the pandemic has accelerated the digital transition by around seven years. Naturally, this has an impact on in-house teams whose knowledge and experience can’t shift as quickly. It’s all well and good wanting to create a series of vlogs or a virtual exhibition, but if the skills don’t exist in-house, then using expert partners to support the seismic shift is a short-cut to delivering results. Here at EBY, we’ve delivered this type of content to almost every single one of our clients, encompassing the wide range of sectors in which they operate. So, first hand, we can see the shift is a reality and one that is delivering returns for the clients that embrace it and do it well.
Become more strategic.
The resource support offers immediate benefits in delivering the type of content needed to communicate with customers in the new era. Still, it could be argued that there is a more important benefit. Having additional, efficient capacity gives much-needed breathing space for Marketing Directors and Managers to create the overall strategic direction for an organisation’s marketing activity.
The new landscape.
The pandemic has ripped up the rule book for many sectors, dependable revenue streams have vanished, regular customer orders have changed, event calendars have all been disrupted and new opportunities have been identified. For any marketing leader, the biggest challenge is to understand these changes and develop marketing plans to take advantage of the new landscape. This strategic perspective can be challenging if they are involved in the day-to-day delivery, but again it’s an area where EBY has helped many of our clients over the past few months, including; repositioning projects, product launches and brand updates.
There isn’t a business in the country that doesn’t want to be ready to take advantage of the economic recovery, but many will struggle due to lack of resources or lack of internal skills. If you think your business has a challenge to meet that could use the support of the team here at EBY then get in touch to arrange a call.
Photo by Viktor Forgacs on Unsplash