A world in crisis demands that marketers step up and take charge

Does it seem like you’re simply careening from crisis to crisis these days?

As marketers, we’ve been dumped into a big fat cauldron of boiling uncertainty. We’re struggling through an economic meltdown, a polarized society, a pandemic casting a shadow of constant fear, a period of civil unrest and social upheaval.

How do we take charge and sell something in an environment like that?

I’ve been fortunate to be in contact with many amazing marketing leaders over the last few weeks and here are the common problems I’m hearing:

• The current situation has disrupted everything we had planned and budgeted. Some marketing channels that rely on face-to-face contact don’t even exist any more.
• We’re afraid to make a move. What do we say?
• The pressure to drive sales is unrelenting and we don’t know how to respond in this environment.
• Budgets have been dramatically cut.
• If we do something bold we could lose our jobs.

Sound familiar?

The imperative

How do we go forward? There’s a quote from marketing legend Philip Kotler that keeps ringing in my head throughout this chaos.