Preparing the pitch as CMOs take guard to begin a new innings in the new normal

The year 2020 will be remembered by most CMOs as something that nobody expected and which shook them and baffled the industry across categories. The CMO, who is the captain of the marketing team, was stumped and were put in the back foot for quite some as the world was clueless with COVID-19 disrupting the world. Only after the rollout of vaccination drives has the situation eased a bit and a sense of positive buzz has started trickling in. The CMOs now have to reboot with their fresh thinking and strategies as the year 2021 comes to an end. The recovery is expected to be stronger in 2022. So, what are some of the visible changes that took place and what are the areas the CMOs have to examine to draw up the right strategy and move ahead in accomplishing their objectives in the coming year.

Managing Budgets:

Will they need to increase their spends budgets or will they have to manage within their existing budgets? The rising fuel cost has created upward inflation trend and, therefore, the CMOs will expect more for less money in all their business ventures. Even the CFOs will be tightening the purse strings till the economy recovers to reach at least the pre-COVID-19 levels. Today, CMOs are concerned not just with managing key media and agency relationships and driving marketing ROI, they also need to look at new and innovative ways of building new operating models to manage their budgets optimally so that can they maximise returns.

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Understanding the new consumer:

The pandemic has brought in several behavioural changes, both in urban and rural sectors. During the pandemic, we saw some encouraging growth and demand being generated in Tier 2 and 3 markets as Internet penetration and the digital transition accelerated. According to a research report published by Accenture, over 71% of those surveyed in India are coming out of the pandemic having reimagined their behaviours and values as consumers. The research found that five distinct areas are increasingly driving consumers’ purchasing decisions. These five factors extend beyond price and quality to include health and safety; service and personal care; ease and convenience; product origin; and trust and reputation. So, decoding the mindset of the changing consumer is important for the CMOs in order to address the pain points and identify the right solutions and address them.

Embracing Technology:

The pandemic period has seen consumers shifting gears and adopting online shopping at a faster pace even in smaller towns, thus fuelling the e-commerce economy. This is another area where the CMOs will have to reinvent themselves and work very closely with the Chief Technology Officers to leverage technology, especially in the area of data, which will help the CMOs to use AI & ML to have more customised and targeted marketing strategies. What’s more, CMOs will need to analyse consumer data and act on the insights on a real time basis. Collaborating closely with the tech team will also help CMOs in beefing up their digital payment mechanism and also focussing on customer centricity and delighting the customers with prompt service.

Dynamics of Media and emergence of OTT:

While TV is a medium which helps in reaching the masses and increasing the awareness level quickly, but the phenomenal rise of OTT has made the CMOs rethink on their media strategies. Managing media will be another challenge until things stabilise. However, it is early days to predict whether OTT will severely disrupt and eat into TV advertising. Every rupee spent is measured by brands, so we will also witness performance marketing and use of digital becoming vital when looking at the overall media strategy.

The CMOs will have to be empowered more by the company boards as they take a fresh guard and start playing a new innings in a new wicket post the pandemic.