Al-Abdali calls on companies to confirm alternative plans based on preserving customers and employees
Shura Council member, founder, and CEO of Mix Marketing Consultancy Dr. Obaid bin Saeed Al Abdali expected that the Saudi local markets will witness a huge boom in growth after the Karuna pandemic and that the resulting losses will be compensated within 6 months after the crisis. Calling on all companies (especially small and medium enterprises) to find alternative marketing plans of action during the crisis, founded on maintaining customers and employees.
Al-Abdali said during the meeting of the success partners organized by the Asharqia Chamber represented by the Young Women Business Council (Tuesday 5/5/2020) remotely titled "Crisis Marketing Strategy" that companies during the crisis period differ from them in normal days, given the presence of marketing plans and clear business strategies, and even Companies continue to operate during crises,And to minimize losses, you need to manage costs, manage communication with and maintain customers, and manage reputation, which includes preserving employees, understanding the company’s family, because any dissatisfied employee may destroy the reputation of an entire company, while a happy employee will be a gain for the company in a crisis and post-crisis.
Al-Abdali pointed out that marketing is a search for the need and desire of customers and satisfying them in return, from here any company seeks to preserve its name and reputation, it must ensure the fulfillment of customer desires, so it must in times of crisis to review pricing strategies, deepening communication with customers, and maintaining the members of its family (which are the employees)
He pointed out that the magnitude of the vulnerability during the crisis depends on the type of commodity provided by companies, as there are commodities necessary for daily life (such as food, drinking, etc.), as these commodities did not stop the demand for them, but perhaps increased, and luxury leisure goods (they are semi-suspended), and goods that can be postponed (such as a home, car, tourist trip, etc.), and it is somewhat deferred. Hence, companies - whatever their type of goods - must have a policy of survival, and this can only be done through communication with customers, flexibility, optimism, and thinking outside the box.
He mentioned that marketing is flexible and that changing the marketing method if it is in line with the needs of the public and customers, is an urgent need for many institutions,
For service companies said that the one who puts the difference between the goods and services is that the service is not evaluated only after you receive it, and do not know the results only after submission, from here, the customer does not mean the service institution only if its reputation is good, and if the company has different value-added others are closest to stay, in the crisis or even in the time of crisis.
Al-Abdali called on all companies to have speed and initiative in responding to any rumors that concern them and undermine their reputation, by presenting the truth as it is, and the rumor was reported by a scientific mechanism, evidenced by the efficiency of the Ministry of Health (and all government agencies concerned) and its ability to communicate the facts and repay the rumors in a way scientific upscale.
