The particular historical period we are experiencing, as we have repeatedly read in these days, has already brought about a big change in the needs and ways of using the services and products. Marketing cannot therefore be exempt from a revision of its models and the paradigms that have accompanied us in recent years and have dictated the rules for the Brand.

In particular when we talk about brand positioning and focus in its own market niche, but also in relation to the competition rules within its product sector.

Covid-19 has created a big discontinuity that has already had repercussions on the market, not only for what has happened, but also and above all for what happens and will happen with the total reopening of the markets and the necessary coexistence with the virus. The post Covid will change the rules of the economic system and purchasing behavior.

Companies, among the smartest, have already understood this change and have activated themselves in the lockdown period with new strategies. As we have seen for the world of fashion with Armani or Gucci that propose new ways for fashion shows or for the creation of collections.

Companies such as San Benedetto had already given some signals, which launched a drink product on the market that positions itself as a direct competitor of the creams in the Beauty sector, practically breaking up two models:

• that of competition in its product sector
• and that of the focus on product positioning.

So how will companies that have not yet changed the Strategic Marketing model face this change?

Our advice is to work on the revision of business models, focusing on 3 fundamental areas:

• Diversification: which involves an approach that is the opposite to that of the positioning focus.
You have to start from your skills and rethink your Go To Market model in order to develop new solutions that support the brand in a wider way. This does not mean abandoning everything and starting afresh, but reviewing their product development plans, market development, production processes, … in a broader and more flexible sense.
• Digitization: we have heard very often about the digitization of companies and digital communication and now there are no more excuses. Digitization must permeate the whole company and involve the whole organization to be effective and timely and overcome the limitations of the physical channel.
Even more important are the tools of:

– Data Analysis, or Sentiment, which give the opportunity to evaluate changes in the needs and responses of people to the Brand’s activities.
– Sharing and Team working on Goals, which speed up the processes and make them more fluid, even if working remotely
– Commercial activation through the Digital tools
– Activation of digital tactics to make communication more effective and reach directly to the Personas with whom the brand wants to speak.

• Partnership: as we have said, the paradigms of competition fall, this means that we must think that partnerships can also be established with competitors, producers of complementary categories, with distributors, to review together the needs of the market and become stronger. In particular in a country like Italy, where the majority of companies are small and medium-sized, aggregation and partnership are a fundamental key to not losing pace with Europe and with the world.

How to deal with this epochal change?

Addressing professionals and establishing open and multifunctional working groups, inside and outside companies. In this, contamination plays a fundamental role, to undermine consolidated modus operandi, typical of very large and stable realities.

Creativity and expertise will be the two fundamental keys to re-find your way and come out stronger from this crisis.