The 4Ps of Marketing Amid COVID-19: Strategy Reassessment and Adjustment

For many organizations, COVID-19 has turned the 4Ps of marketing—product, place, price, and promotion—into 4Cs:
confusion, calamity, chaos, and complexity.

The situation calls to mind Atul Gawande's The Checklist Manifesto, which describes how, from operating rooms to
aircraft cockpits, organizations use checklists for mitigating and managing complicated conditions. Though not a
checklist per se, the 4Ps that provided many of us our first framework of marketing can also serve as simple but
meaningful checkpoints for assessing and, if needed, adjusting marketing strategy when severe and unexpected
disruptions surface.

First, though, let's agree on a common definition. Despite variations and nuances, at its core B2B marketing strategy is
an organization's overall approach for reaching prospective buyers and converting them into customers of the services
or products the business provides.

As the coronavirus pandemic has shown, many businesses are grappling with how to adjust their strategy, while others
are exemplifying effective and decisive action.

Reassessing and Readjusting the 4Ps

Product

Balancing short- and long-term needs is one of the most pressing challenges of product-related decisions compelled by
disruptions of such significance.

The question for many is this: What product changes can we implement now to best serve our customers and
communities without negatively impacting what we can contribute in the longer-term?

That has taken the form of temporarily narrowing selections to focus on "essential items" and reduce supply chain
burdens, as well as allocating some portion of production resources to deliver crisis-related goods.

Sudden changes to user behavior will also compel adjustments in product road maps. In this regard, Facebook's pivots in
the wake of COVID-19 provide an excellent example, as Bloomberg details. After first focusing on stopping coronavirus
misinformation on the network, Facebook shifted resources away from in-person focus areas, such as Facebook Events
and Facebook Marketplace, to provide more support, security, and functionality to areas such as Facebook Live,
Facebook Messenger, and WhatsApp, where user demand spiked significantly.

Place

How buyers physically engage with businesses and receive products and services has also been dramatically affected.

The primary question for brands and businesses is this: How can we adjust employee and customer interactions to
maximize safety and still deliver what customers want and need?

There is no one-size-fits-all answer, considering the differences in respective businesses and their models, but here too
some recurring approaches have surfaced:

Implementation of chat where not present before, or expanded chat and phone support hours
Virtual alternatives to previously in-person or sales-guided activities (e.g., self-guided demos, how-to videos)
Expanded delivery and touchless options for product receipt and service implementation
Increases in online educational content and FAQs to support ngagement and information gathering activity from afar
Price
With economic uncertainty and adversity, buyers are understandably exercising more caution before saying yes to
purchase decisions. Though price is sometimes paramount, expenditure timing and conditions are also crucial factors.

Businesses and brands need to ask themselves, What pricing adjustments, offers, or changes to buying terms can we
extend to put prospects more at ease with procuring what they need?

As many would surmise, this is not simply a marketing question; rather, it will need input from multiple functional
stakeholders, from Operations to Finance. Though companies continue to unveil creative approaches to enticing
purchases, these are themes that have surfaced date:

Removal of or changes to ancillary fees (e.g., shipping and handling) to encourage buying channel shifts
Allowances for delayed payments and expanded financing options
Extended free trials and broader cancellation condition options
Lowered or bundled pricing to support higher average order volumes, even at lesser margins
Promotion

Organizations need to assess not only the tactics or mediums they use to engage their audiences and deploy their
marketing strategy but also the context of the messages they're transmitting via those channels.

That elicits two related questions:

Will audiences seek out information related to my product or service in the same ways they always have?
What do they need to hear from us in those messages?
We know, for example, that B2B who that have become accustomed to getting information via conferences and in-
person exchanges are having to turn to digital channels even more.

Marketers will need to make obvious shifts in promotional spending, and some not as obvious ones, as well, by paying
close attention to performance metrics that can signal where other changes need to be applied across the various tactics
they use.

As for what messages are being promoted, B2B organizations should take care to blend commerce and compassion.

QuickBooks provides a good example. It reallocated previously planned media time and spend on an '80s-oriented
campaign aimed at businesses that serve as "the backbone of our economy" with a "salute to their grit and
determination." The commerce aspect was subtle, but QuickBooks made it clear that its "doors are open" and it's there
to provide support.

Understanding and Adaptation

Marketing strategies were not conceived with disruptors like the coronavirus even remotely in mind. But responding to
the business challenges the pandemic has wrought is something that marketers are well-suited to help address.

That’s because as marketers we're daily driven to understand and adjust to our customers' needs and pain points, find
creative solutions to address their needs, and meet them where they are with messages that show "we know what you
are going through and we are here to help."

The speed at which leaders and marketers are having to come to grips with the current climate and craft effective
responses requires cutting through the 4Cs of chaos, calamity, confusion, and complexity. A deliberate review of the 4Ps
of marketing in the context of this temporary new normal is a helpful construct to ensure your marketing strategy
remains on the best possible course.

1. Product - Consider Your Offer

Customers may be struggling to access your product or find it less useful now as their priorities have changed in
response to COVID-19. To combat this, your firm may look to develop a new product line or perhaps providing the same
products, but to a new audience. Understanding how the pandemic might have changed your product and service offer
in the minds of your target audience will help you restructure your marketing mix.

Try to explore what adjustments might be possible to keep your offer relevant. For example: can the product packaging
be changed to allow for posting? Can the USPs of the product be adjusted to combat the virus? Does the content of a
service or product allow for amendments to bring additional value in the current environment?

Have a look at tried and tested techniques such as the Ansoff Matrix. Models like this can be used to assess your
product offer and help inspire you to explore new growth strategies and create additional sales opportunities and ideas.

2. Pricing – The Price Is Right?

Currently, some businesses may still not be able to sell their services for any price. Some firms may have continued but
with added costs, and therefore prices, for delivery of their goods, for example. Some ‘hot’ products have increased in
price due to scarcity from high demand.

It’s a complex landscape and highly situational by nature.

However, here are some thoughts that may help. Can you adjust pricing to keep your offer attractive? Can you provide
discounts to specific market segments to keep you front of mind and enhance your brand? NHS or Key Workers, for
example? Should your business move to a wholesale pricing model to sell more of the product in a single transaction?
Can you pass on cost savings?

Conversely, can a price increase be sustained, and justified, for products that are in high demand?

In all cases, the market will decide, and ultimately your sales will show if your pricing is appropriate. That said,
perceptions of profiteering or price gouging will not enhance your brand, so avoid that!

3. Place - Make Being Found Easy

The ability to sell face to face is now much reduced as social distancing remains in place. But once lockdown across the
country gradually begins to be lifted, more businesses will start to re-open. Some firms might re-open physical locations,
while others might continue to operate online. Also, many companies operating hours may have changed to
accommodate lower staffing levels. Under these fluid conditions keeping customers informed of where, when and how
to find you is critical.

Of course, many firms have moved to eCommerce platforms often with great success; it’ll be a new element of their
offer they’ll happily sustain. And for businesses operating online, the so-called “frictionless” buyer journey is crucial to
understand.

According to eMarketer’s Frictionless Commerce 2020 report, this can take the form of streamlined digital transactions
and click-and-collect pickup, which can fast track the process and increase shopping frequency. A review of your online
marketing and conversion model may be a worthy activity to plan.

But what about face-to-face sales? Ones where there’s a need to meet a consultant or trainer. Currently, this will be
difficult. Alternatives may be video conferencing enhanced by the creation of videos or animations that demonstrate
the product or service qualities more effectively.

Businesses should ensure they update the website, directory listings such as Google my Business, social media accounts,
as well as any Ad campaigns to reflect any new operating conditions and assure clients the business has made a real
effort to be COVID-19 ‘friendly’.
4. Promotion - Ensure Your Messaging Resonates With Your ‘New’ Audience
With heightened worries and anxieties in all areas of life, it’s important to amend your core messaging to be relevant to
the current environment. It is crucial that you speak to your target audience in this new world and that your tone of
voice is appropriate and supportive. Defining your messaging approach will help shape the content that you develop and
the forms in which you deliver it.

Opportunities do exist. Are there any positive PR messages you can send out? Can you move budgets to channels that
remain viable like AdWords or Social Media advertising? Can you increase SEO supportive work like blogging to keep
staff occupied? Are there channels the business can explore you haven’t tried like press adverts, perhaps?

Try to discover ways to help clients navigate the COVID-19 challenge as it relates your products and services and
promote accordingly. Remember, this is an opportunity to show your customers that you understand their needs, so
avoid generic corporate emails and opt for a personalised chat. Think about how you would like to be approached if the
situation were reversed. What language would make you respond?

Inspiration can also be found by looking at what other businesses are doing (or failing to do) to inform your marketing
strategy. Your competitors can provide a great source of information and ideas. They are responding to the same
challenges as you for the same target market, so there may be much to learn from them.

However, the most compelling voice to listen to is that of your customers. Listen carefully to what they are saying,
where they are saying it and the substance of what they’re saying. This is your biggest clue as to what they want and
where they want to find it.
5. Processes – The Keys To Value
Businesses are a hive of different processes, and these can often be complex. But they are essential to ensure a
consistent approach throughout a firm’s value chain. To better understand your operations, a useful approach is to trace
the product delivery process from initial contact to final delivery. Put on your COVID-19 goggles and try to find the pinch
points or parts that are no longer working at the moment.

Issues will undoubtedly be about areas of preventing potential infection, client safety stemming from the fulfilment
process or maybe the product itself.

Reviewing and reengineering processes can help businesses identify adjustments. So, for example, could moving to an
outbound telemarketing model replace face to face sales? Can a move to eBay or Etsy replace physical sales? Can food
businesses develop a delivery model to replace their dining room operations?

Can you get urgent products out more quickly, or can you adjust your processes to help vulnerable clients? While some
of these changes may be challenging, the impact they can have on customer perception and therefore your brand could
be profound.

6. People – Everyone’s An Ambassador

By its nature Coronavirus is a human crisis. And it’s the work of humans that will solve the issues involved. That’s why
ensuring your staff are playing a vital and appreciated role. To help your firm, they may need to enhance their sales
techniques or learn new processes like telesales to replace quiet channels.

There may be a need to acquire customer complaint management skills. Ensuring staff are motivated, incentivised,
enthused, and customer-focused can make a big difference. If there’s a maxim that’s common in the current crisis, it’s:
‘we’re all in this together’. Helping your staff to embrace this idea will make them more likely to land sales, retain
customers and keep the business trading.
External to your business you can cultivate other kinds of ambassadors. Clients who are satisfied with your offer can put
5-star reviews on platforms like Feefo or Google Business. Don’t be afraid to contact your clients and actively ask for
testimonials that will increase your authenticity to new customers.

Think of your partners, suppliers and stakeholders as an extension of your business; as a resource, you can utilise to help
you through these challenging times. Don’t be afraid to ask for help.

Look at, Tarsier Spirit, a Greater Manchester gin distillery which had to move sales online and thus decided to partner up
with the Gin to My Tonic platform to reach more customers.

7. Physical Environment – Managing Touchpoints

When the new lockdown begins to lift and more premises and offices start to open, a new set of issues will emerge.
You’ll need to see how your business in terms of layout, point of sale, staff training, product management, use of PPE or
signage will facilitate a safe purchase or working environment.

Businesses will need to understand how their physical delivery model will impact on customers and staff. Clients will
want to know they are safe and that they can comply with guidance on social distancing.

They’ll look for strong signals on how they can physically interact with a business in a risk-free way that assures them
they can buy with confidence and thoroughly enjoy their purchases.

Happily, there is a wealth of information, signage and resources available on the Safely Re-opening our Workplaces
website to assist businesses of all kinds to implement the required changes.