Co-creation is essential after Covid-19
The question all marketers are asking themselves is what will consumer behaviour be like after COVID-19? The answer will be found in co-creation.
It’s enough to drive you potty. I’m not talking about the lockdown (though I could very well be), but how to strategise and navigate your brand through the aftermath of the coronavirus pandemic. As the curve begins to flatten and we eventually emerge from this crisis battered, bruised and looking squarely into the face of the unknown, so many questions are left unanswered. What do consumers now want? How will they behave? What will be the new-normal?
It doesn’t take Captain Obvious to tell us that we’re in uncharted waters. So can anyone give marketers a definitive answer? We at SHARP say ‘Yes!’ because we know from 10 years’ experience in co-creation that it’s your customers themselves that will show you how to achieve your business targets – especially in a period when consumer behaviour is fragile, uncertain and can change in an instant.
Let’s start with the data
The EY Future Consumer Index has done a wonderful job in researching and collating consumer responses in an attempt to map how behaviours have changed during the COVID-19 crisis, and then crucially, what these behaviours could turn into. It’s well worth a read. But let’s jump straight to the findings…
The 4 consumer segments that have emerged during COVID-19
It may come as no surprise that ‘save and stockpile’ is the largest segment at 35% – those who are concerned with the long-term impact of the crisis. This group is followed by the segment most affected and pessimistic – ‘cut deep’ at 27% – aged mostly over 45, who have been furloughed or lost their jobs. 78% of this group are shopping less frequently, and a third feel that brands are now far less important to them.
Now let’s look at what EY discovered when they asked what consumers will do next, after the crisis is over. The results identified 5 new consumer segments that have the potential to emerge.
The 5 consumer segments that could appear after COVID-19
The results suggest that the vast majority of consumers feel that they won’t return to normal life – not immediately anyway. Only 31% of people thought that their spending won’t change and their lives won’t be affected.
In the largest of the new-normal groups – the ‘cautiously extravagant’ – important findings emerge:
- 45% believe how they shop will have permanently changed
- 62% are more likely to purchase from brands who are doing good for society
- 29% would pay a premium for brands who help the community
- 42% would prefer to buy domestically produced goods
What does this all mean?
The EY research is showing some big evidence for seismic swings in consumer behaviour. But bizarrely, the quantitative data is leaving lots to qualitative interpretation and even more questions.
For example, those who believe how they shop will never be the same – what will this change be? Will it manifest itself in how consumers engage with brands? Or is it do with perceived value? For those consumers concerned with brands doing good for society – does that mean brands need to stop selling? Or do they need to innovate in building a better brand community of consumer ambassadors?
And very quickly, we’ve come full circle – not knowing how to navigate these uncharted waters. So how do we do it?
Co-creation is essential after COVID-19
Co-creation is a proven methodology that boosts growth, ROI and profit. You can find out more about it here. As a creative marketing agency, we collaborate with your customers to create, test and advocate marketing solutions in just a few hours. More confidence. Less risk. At pace.
In their book, The Power of Co-creation, Venkat Ramaswamy and Francis Gouillart write that co-creation is not “thinking outside the box, but about transforming the box.”
If there ever was a time for transformation – it’s now. Consumers have changed. Their behaviours have evolved. Brands need to forget business as usual and adapt to the present. Co-creation allows you do this quickly – enabling you to know exactly what your customers are thinking, how they’re feeling and crucially, show you how best to communicate with them.
Brands that are already co-creating are achieving amazing things. Research from Iris Participation, Nielsen, Business Insider reveal that those businesses who co-create outperform their competitors in 3 key ares:
- 4x increase in ROI
- 33% faster growth
- 19% increase in customer spend
Co-creation made possible during social distancing
Co-creation puts you in a room with your customers, face-to-face. But in a time when social-distancing has become a necessity, co-creation is still possible with Virtual Co-Creates – tech-enabled workshops that bring you and your customers together to collaborate effectively from the comfort of their homes.
By bringing your audience into ‘the IDEAS room’, teams can work together on expertly moderated, structured tasks that directly address the challenge your business wants to solve. With 10 years’ experience of co-creation, this innovative virtual environment is the perfect solution to help brands:
- Launch into recovery with confidence
- Act fast to accelerate bounce-back
- Outperform the competition by embracing ideas already audience-tested and validated
In summary
In uncertain times such as these, the certainty of knowing, understanding and connecting with your customers is invaluable if brands are to successfully navigate the post COVID-19 consumer landscape. Co-creation makes this possible.
Find out how your brand can virtual co-create here
