How to optimise marketing efforts when no trend makes sense

The trends of the world often form the basis for many marketing campaigns. The product or service remains the same, only the message gets tweaked in accordance with the happenings and trends around the globe. The perfect example for this is how e-wallets capitalised on the opportunity provided to them when the demonetisation was announced.

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At times, these trends can be so disconnected from the industry in which the marketers are operating that there is no way one can connect them. The question that comes up here is ’How, then, do I make use of this frenzy?’

There are a few things that the marketers can do without really affecting the sales of the company.

1. Play it safe

Playing it safe can be one way to deal with the situation. Marketers can lay low in terms of branding and promotional activities, which doesn’t mean that selling and distribution activities need to be compromised with. Aggressive selling with low or minimal marketing can also work wonders at times.

1. Create your own trend

Many a times, marketers themselves become the trendsetters, defying what the world or market is looking at. This, in fact, is one of the best ways to tackle this situation. However, marketers here need to be very careful as this requires intense planning and masterful execution.

1. Revisit your vision

Such periods of time can actually give marketing managers enough time to revisit their marketing vision. It may be that, due to incorrect perception or projections, the trends in the market at the moment make no sense. In simple words, if the trends outside make no sense, it is a good exercise to revisit internal goals and vision to test their validity.

1. Regroup

This relates to the process mentioned above. If you find that your goals need to be reiterated, it is advisable to also rejig the team to suit the new requirements. These requirements could be in terms of capabilities, resources or abilities. This rearrangement would help marketers cash in on the frenzy.

1. Think out of the box

One more way to come out of this situation is to find companies that would definitely benefit from the trend and simply tie up with them. This would entail business development, new partner alliances and more visibility. It would also bring a freshness and enthusiasm to the current business.

Peter Drucker said, “A business has only two functions - marketing and innovation.” Marketing is in itself a dynamic function and experiences highs and lows all the time. During the lows, innovation can be banked upon.