Where do we go from here?

Sep 24

Another day another announcement from the government with new restrictions coming in place.

I’m sure many of you, like me, were sat in meeting rooms with your team, with your heads in your hand as Boris read out the latest restrictions and uttered the words - expected to be in place for the next six months. Six months of restrictions, six months!

As someone who does a lot of work in the hospitality, leisure and entertainment industry, these new restrictions present even more danger to an industry which is already teetering on collapse. Every day brings more news of cuts, job losses and closures; so where can we go from here? I’ll be honest, no marketer knows, how can they? The politicians don’t, all we can all do is make some sensible guesswork, hope and talk to each other, now more than ever we need to share industry information, let’s help each other all survive or the market we left with may be unrecognisable in the future. So, here are some thoughts on how to tackle the new rules and make it work for your business (as much as you can).

Diversify your offering

This will be harder for some businesses than others, but perhaps traditionally you sat firmly in one category - Eg. Your a restaurant. Could you now look to also offer meeting space for businesses who need to meet in a socially distanced capacity that their building doesn’t allow for (groups of no more than 6 granted)?

Capitalise where you can

How can Christmas work? How can Christmas parties work? Now is the time to get together in a room (socially distanced) and move heaven and earth to build packages, and solutions that allow people to socialise safely. Then where you can maximise those dates, perhaps it’s extending your Christmas offering from November to February rather than the normal December to January. Perhaps it’s opening up on more days, or opening earlier or working with third-party partners. But now is the time to get creative.

Remember Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

People need people, these six months is going to be tough. How can your brand facilitate human connection? What can you digitise, what can you facilitate? No, no one wants to watch movies together through zoom or do digital dinner parties, but the gap of want and where we are is sadly getting wider. It’s time to revisit ideas you may have thrown out earlier in this process.

Create new products

We’ve seen amazing examples of restaurants offering cocktail takeaways, or build your own meal guides for home. For the creative amongst you, is there an opportunity to create something completely new. Perhaps out of sector? Why can’t an attraction create a perfume for Christmas presents? Or a restaurant a ‘chef at home clothing range’ there are enough other rules to keep us penned in this year. Don’t be constrained by ‘normal’ rules - these are not ‘normal’ times.

Rethink your coms plan

I’m not saying stop spending, though I’m sure many businesses are being left with no choice. But are you spending in the right place? And are your coms reflective of the pandemic we find ourselves in? I’m baffled that I’m still getting emails from high street brands, that I know and love (cough, Joules, cough) who have yet to in any way address them chaos of the country. It’s fine for brands to offer an escape from this situation but don’t pretend it’s not happening.

If your struggling with your next step, get in touch here, we’d love to talk and see how we can help at this difficult time.

Pollyanna Hall