Let's take, for example, the good old marketing complexes 4C and 4P.
The 4P marketing mix typically includes the following elements:
Product — a manufactured or sold product (goods, service);
Price — its price (in relation to competitors’ mauritania telemarketing database prices and market demand);
Place is how the product reaches the consumer;
Promotion is how the product is promoted and its distribution channels.
The 4C marketing concept places the primary emphasis not so much on the product and its production, but on the consumer and the benefits they receive. The key elements of the new 4C marketing mix are:
Customer needs and wants — the needs and requirements of the consumer;
Cost to the customer - consumer costs include the purchase price, the consumption price and the disposal price;
Convenience - convenience, accessibility, added value;
Communication is the exchange of information, the entire complex of communications between buyer and seller, producer and consumer.
And here's the interesting thing: elements of consumption, culture, competition, categories, opportunities, and so on are constantly changing, as they were before the pandemic and will be after. Call it the 4Cs, 5Cs, 6Cs, or whatever. Marketers are no strangers to living in a VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) world. This is why every marketer monitors and constantly re-evaluates the context in which they must conduct their business.
Changing consumer needs may require product adaptation.
Changing competitive market dynamics may require price adjustments.
Changes in media consumption may require a redesign of advertising campaigns.
Changing commercial logistics may require adjustments to placement.
Changing complex C may require changing complex P.
It's equally unsurprising that concepts like the 4Ps, 6Ps (or any number of other Ps in marketing) persist. They provide a framework that helps accommodate change in the dynamic world of marketing: whenever the letter "C" changes, the "P" must somehow compensate. This is how companies survived the last three industrial revolutions.
A sea of change is inevitable, and it has always been that way...
That's how it is, but it's not
Unlike more easily predictable changes (such as cultural or technological shifts), COVID-19 came unexpectedly, forcefully, and quickly. Suddenly, multiple Cs are simultaneously changing the landscape. For example:
Moderate, controlled consumption is shifting from physical to digital channels (consumer goods, entertainment, etc.) and is beginning to grow. Meanwhile, stable or localized consumption (travel and hospitality, sporting events, education, construction, etc.) is experiencing significant difficulties.
Gaps in production, logistics, and availability have led to price hikes in high-demand categories (healthcare, hygiene, home fitness, etc.). But they have also created opportunities for new competitors to enter existing markets, challenging lazier players with innovation.
Work and family life became "hyperlocal" (working from home, home gym, home schooling, etc.) during the first peak of COVID-19, and will likely remain more local than pre-COVID.
Analysts are still trying to figure out which shifts are permanent and which are temporary. There's no doubt that the changes will be long-lasting. As if... forever. ¯_(ツ)_/¯ However, an equally overwhelming consensus (see, for example, here , here , here , and here ) is that COVID-19 is significantly accelerating existing trends rather than creating new ones. The examples above merely illustrate this point. So what's all the hysteria about the so-called "new normal"?
Stand like a mountain. Flow like water.
The suddenness and intensity with which COVID-19 has brought change—and the fact that it (so far) has no clear endpoint—are exceptional. Like an adrenaline rush, it leaves unprepared marketers overwhelmed, disoriented, and anxious. Pundits with a mild case of adjustment disorder quickly became mired in their own hyperbole, declaring that "marketing strategy needs to be rewritten" or that "traditional marketing is dead," and so on... But is this really true?
Panic is a natural human reaction to sudden change, but it often leads to unjustified and inappropriate (overreacting). Fortunately, data shows that over time, with greater insight and pragmatism, reactions to sudden changes normalize, economic sentiment becomes more optimistic, and the "panic around change" naturally subsides.
"Controlled adaptation" is a more appropriate response pattern: rather than shying away from change, the focus is on embracing and adapting to the shifting landscape. Marketers monitor and continually evaluate which "Cs" are changing and why, and then manage or modify the "Ps" accordingly. When current (and familiar) trends suddenly accelerate, existing marketing strategies (to manage the corresponding trends) must "stand firm," while marketing tactics (to manage the sudden acceleration) must "flow like water."