There’s no escaping the dismal news — the COVID-19 pandemic is wreaking havoc globally on lives, families, the workplace, and businesses’ bottom line both large and small. The impact that global “social distancing” and business shut-downs will have on the global economy is yet to be fully quantified. During the SARS and MERS epidemics, there was temporary pressure on the business supply chain — but the impact of COVID19 will be at a far greater scale.
It “could be felt for as much as two years and cost up to $400 billion for business supply chains,” according to the Boeing Center for Supply Chain Innovation. HBR pointed out in late February that “the 2002-2003 SARS epidemic created just a blip in the global financial markets…[but] the relative importance of China in the worldwide economic ecosystem has increased tremendously in the past 18 years….and many more industries are now heavily dependent on China.”
Despite this gloomy outlook, many brands immediately leapt to “do their part,” which was inspiring to see. According to Fast Company, LVMH was the first to adapt its production line to make hand sanitizer for local hospitals and communities; KFC quickly partnered with the nonprofit Blessings in a Backpack to help provide weekend meals to kids with food insecurity, and Netflix set up a $100 million relief fund, including a $15 million for donations to organizations working to support out-of-work production employees.
But of course, despite brands’ best intentions to be good global citizens, most will feel the strain very quickly. A survey in March of more than 2,200 marketers by Econsultancy and Marketing Week showed that 55% of UK and 56% of North American marketers say that marketing campaigns are now delayed or under review. There is no doubt that marketing activities will be significantly curtailed as a result of the global economic downturn.
Consumers Have Flocked Online
EMarketer reports that — despite the fact that the majority of marketers (77% in the UK and 64% in North America) predict consumer delays in major spending decisions — most also predict a rise in other areas. For example, with consumers now socially distancing or self-isolating at home, ninety-one percent of UK and 87% of North American marketers predict an increase in the use of online services (gaming, entertainment, social media etc), and 70% of UK marketers and 75% of North American marketers predict that there will be an increase in eCommerce usage such as online grocery shopping. Working from home has also increased exponentially with up to half of American workers currently doing so (as of April 6), more than double the fraction who worked from home (at least occasionally) in 2017-18.
Leading global marketing technology solutions provider STRATACACHE today announced a strategic technology partnership with Hakuhodo DY Holdings, a well-established international marketing, advertising and communications company based in Japan, to jointly develop innovative customer engagement experiences to influence shopper behavior and drive digital transformation martech news.This partnership comes in the midst of a retail evolution driven by shifting consumer demands, which is seeing more brands and retailers recognizing the value of digital transformation, leveraging advanced marketing technologies to boost in-store sales.The Hakuhodo DY Group Digital Location Media Business Center brings marketing methods which reflect how “everyday lives are changing as a result of digitalization and technology.” STRATACACHE’s complementary marketing technology offering includes a full in-house suite of marketing technology hardware, software and services to deliver scalable, personalized customer experiences.
Through STRATACACHE’s in-house retail analytics platform, Walkbase, retailers are empowered to learn deeply about their customers’ shopping preferences and behaviors, allowing for personalized shopper interaction.The collaborative partnership offers a unique combination of STRATACACHE’s digital technology solutions and Hakuhodo DY Holdings’s marketing technology capabilities.
The groups will conceptualize, develop and test new consumer experience strategies and scalable transformative technology solutions, providing a competitive edge in rethinking retail experiences and revolutionizing experiential retail.
Further, the two companies will research new methods to enhance path to purchase marketing and develop best-in-class solutions for retailers, manufacturers and media companies.Manish Kumar, Managing Director & SVP-APAC of STRATACACHE, said, “This collaboration fits into our strategic regional growth plan, strengthens our continual efforts to better serve our customers and helps to capture the immense potential in Japan and the expansive APAC region.”Chris Riegel, CEO of STRATACACHE, added, “At STRATACACHE, we create strategic partnerships to bring digital display, sensor, mobile and emerging technology to market, at scale.
STRATACACHE strongly believes in technology innovation and adding value to the in-store experience our customers are delivering to their shoppers by continually enhancing our solution offering.
This partnership with Hakuhodo DY Group’s robust marketing and solid business networks make our partnership a clear win-win.”“Through this partnership, STRATACACHE is unlocking marketing and media capabilities and the extensive customer base of one of the largest integrated marketing solutions companies in Japan.
As a technology company, you have a clear advantage over your competition.
One way to achieve better performance is to strategically utilize strategies that help generate leads and grow your business.In this post, we providesix strategies that every tech company must incorporate as part of their B2B marketing strategy.
In order for these strategies to work effectively, they must be properly implemented and used as part of the company's overall B2B marketing strategy.
