Transforming How We Work In The Time Of COVID-19

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.”

I doubt Dickens had a pandemic in mind when he wrote this, but it seems an apt description as to where we are as marketers. Especially those who knew and know that their organizations need to transform. And while we sort out a way to make it through another week of working remotely, there is opportunity.

This crisis will change the way marketers work, in the short and long term. Estimates for when we will all be able to return full to the office run two to eighteen months. Are marketing organizations ready for this new, harsh reality?

The Harvard Business Review published an article highlighting five steps brands can take “to serve and grow their customer base, mitigate risk, and take care of their people.”

Not surprisingly the fifth and final step was to “Adapt to new ways of working to keep delivering…new sources of innovation and even margin improvement will emerge out of our current discomfort.”

I’ve heard from many of our clients and others that they recognize that the “old” way of working will not support the short and long term reality of this situation. Flock is currently consulting (yes, remotely) with several large, global marketing organization on process change. These companies recognized the need to continue to transform their way of working, and weren’t going to let the current environment stop them.

Going forward, most companies are going to be highly reliant on their marketing groups to deliver innovative and creative ways to engage (and re-engage when consumers can actually leave their house) during this “worst of times”.

So even in the likely (and hopeful!) scenario that marketers return to their offices in the near future, the reality still exists that the way organizations work together will need to change.

Is your marketing organization ready? Or is it time to transform the way you work now and in the future so that you are ready for the “Best of Times”.