Crisis? Yes crisis… a harsh word but truly reflective of the times we are in, and for my marketing colleagues in the hospitality and leisure industry never a true word was spoken.

In 6months marketeers have gone from being the creative, energy driven, evolving force of businesses, thriving in attracting and engaging new customers, to now being considered obsolete to businesses, with many mistakingly making the decision that marketing is no-longer required.

Take a look on LinkedIn and like me you will see way too many fellow marketing professionals, say they are facing redundancy, or perhaps the worst has already happened, yet surely in times of uncertainty this is where businesses need marketing the most.

I understand businesses are facing financial uncertainty, and these decision are not being taken lightly, I appreciate it is simply a case of affordability, it is by no means personal. However marketing is not a reactive function, it’s not a discipline that can be turned on and off, marketing is strategic and I would urge businesses to consider the long-term impact of a lull in professional communications.

The reality is, the closure of everything we’ve come to know, and love has led to a change in what we perceive is important to us. I certainty have taken time to reflect, to absorb a new level of calm away from the daily slog, and made changes based on what is important to me, and my family.

Consumer habits have similarly changed and what people want from their brand is different now, and is unlikely to return to pre COVID expectations.

I’m not making a case for marketing to remain in businesses to maintain the status-quo, but rather for marketeers to be employed to redefine the marketing function, allow their creativity to adapt to the changing times, and for their skills to forge creative solutions, that position a brand right where it needs to be in the consumer eye.

Communicating with your customers, and your prospective customers in the right way, and at the right time, has never been more important. However we see many businesses adopt more of a make-do-and-mend approach, with administrators and managers trying to take on the tasks of a marketeer and quite honestly getting it very very wrong.

I’ve seen countless examples of businesses who had previously had a strong consistent brand message, deliver untimely and weak communications, under the misguided belief that it’s just social media. The result is their brand recognition unravels before their consumers eyes and the longer this continues, the harder it will be for brand recovery.

We need to ensure that businesses are ready for the challenges that lay ahead, we need to plan for prosperity, and not simply draw down the shutters of our communication channels and hide.

If you are already in your hiding place, peaking out occasionally to keep social media ticking over, I would encourage you to employ a marketing professional. If you cannot afford an in-house team, consider a consultant a day a week, that way you get an experienced person, with the skills and knowhow to make sure your business is ready for the fight ahead.

Only a marketeer can present the right persona to your customers, an image of strength, honesty and integrity, a brand that customers can trust. So whether you use this time to to improve your online presence, update your social media or website content, improve media relations or to develop a communications plan… it’s all about strengthening your brand.

I think we all realise that what we considered normal won’t be coming back, we have come to accept that post COVID will now be a new normal, and what we knew before is gone. Now is the time to make sure your business is ready for it.