For marketing and brand managers, the Great Resignation is more than a pandemic-driven labor shortage. It is a call to re-think their consumer insights and marketing strategies from the ground up.
Why? Because Covid has caused far more disruption than millions of people rethinking their jobs. Those millions plus millions more are evaluating what’s important in their lives.
Think of it as a Great Reprioritization.
When the pandemic shut down the economy in March 2020, it disrupted every routine in our lives. It forced us to confront the sudden threat of serious illness and death. It distanced us from our family and friends. It deprived us of the people and activities that had defined us.
So while many workers did not like what they saw when they looked at their jobs and careers – long commutes, abusive bosses, unrealistic expectations, unfair pay – they also re-examined every other aspect of their lives. That means your customers’ attitudes, behaviors, and expectations have changed dramatically. And that should be a wake-up call for every marketer.
"Your customers’ attitudes, behaviors, and expectations have changed dramatically.
And that should be a wake-up call for every marketer."
Heading into 2022 without fresh consumer insight is like flying at night without instruments. It’s risky. Everything you thought you knew about your customers pre-pandemic is obsolete. And that can have a massive effect on your brand.
The first job of every marketing leader should be to reconnect with her consumers to gather fresh insights about what’s important TODAY and how your brand fits into this reprioritized outlook. You must understand what’s changed, what your customers value, and why they have reprioritized.
Investing some time and resources in getting the lay of the land will keep brand programs flying in 2022. They’ll gain altitude, too. After all, there’s nothing more important to the success of your brand than building relevance with your customers. And you can’t do that if you don’t understand the Great Reprioritization.
Matt Williams is chief growth officer and managing partner for Brand Federation. Prior to joining Brand Federation in 2019, Matt was CEO of The Martin Agency, one of the world’s most creatively recognized advertising agencies. Over his 26-year career at Martin, he helped the agency become the 25th-largest in the US and managed brand strategy development for world-class brands like GEICO, OREO, UPS, Discover Financial, Walmart, and Benjamin Moore. Matt also is a Clinical Professor in the marketing department at the Mason School of Business at William & Mary. He teaches in the MBA program and is the developer and Faculty Director of the school’s Online Masters in Marketing.
