Following the initial rush to respond to the current pandemic, customers and businesses are still adjusting to its fallout. People’s needs and priorities have shifted and the effects of COVID-19 on consumer attitudes and behaviors will likely last for some time.
Staying connected to your customers at this time is more important than ever before.
Knowing that the businesses we rely on in our communities are getting back to business is a positive and refreshing sign of stability for consumers, but there is a distinct possibility that shopping and buying habits may not fully return to what they were before the pandemic. Data shows that the way businesses react and respond to their customers during a crisis has a huge impact on how quickly their brand recovers once the predicament has passed.
Dealerships must adapt to unstable conditions with new “best practices”, innovative communications and marketing plans, and new ways of doing business amid this global pandemic. Now is the time for reassessment and adjustment. Dealers need sound, evidence-based insights on how to move forward to ensure the right “tone of voice” is applied to avoid mistakes that could damage the public’s long-term view of your brand. This begins with a thorough understanding of how you can support the changing needs and concerns of consumers in your market, which is achieved through addressing questions such as:
• How do you effectively position your brand in this new business environment? • What has changed for your customers, and what are their new requirements for shopping, sales, and service? • What are the new opportunities to make your auto dealership stand out in these uncertain times (and even gain market share)? • What types of communications and offers are customers looking for now and what do they expect of your brand in this changing environment? • Under fluctuating market conditions, it is important to convey an effective, strategic message to automotive intenders, with the right content, using the right marketing channels, at the right times…but how?
Evidence-based decision making is vital right now. Fortunately, gaining important insights with online market research tools allows for “social distancing” in data collection, while also getting the quick feedback and critical information you urgently need.
A crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic is not the time for dealers to take a wait-and-see approach. Now is the time to be proactive and stay one step ahead of your competitors to seize the opportunities right in front of you.
If you need help with an enlightening research study, customized to your dealership and your specific market, let’s have a conversation about how CBC Automotive Marketing can help.