Content in times of inflation
20-05-2022
Summer may be gradually approaching, but tranquility in the financial markets is not currently on our side. International political and sanitary conditions are driving up the cost of living with soaring inflation – the highest in the past 39 years, in fact – as a result. This means digging deeper into your wallet at the supermarket, when signing a (re)construction offer, when decorating your home… At King George, we keep our finger on the pulse and had our strategists dissect the situation. Read here where they believe opportunities still lie in these challenging times and how you can keep the sun shining behind the clouds.
Stupid c*!
Corona, the beginning of a new era. Since March 2020, we have all been anxiously monitoring that ‘new normal’ and we are not out of the woods yet. And wood has unfortunately become expensive to quietly unaffordable! And that is actually due to its own popularity: with the start of the pandemic, our travel plans fell through and the focus (also financially) shifted to our own homes. All kinds of investments and adjustments were made to the house and garden, the supply of raw building materials could not keep up with the massive demand and prices went up. Consequently, today you pay on average about 25 to 30 % more than before the corona crisis.
Add to this energy prices, which have been rising sharply since last autumn anyway, and the additional pressure the conflict in Ukraine is putting on these prices, and you end up with an unpopular and, above all, very expensive cocktail. A total cost that more and more contractors, shops and producers are passing on to the end user. A consumer who is now saying ‘enough’ and starting to seriously put the brakes on. Indeed, companies in the DIY, retail and construction sectors are noticing drastic shifts in their customers’ purchasing behaviour: innovations, investments and sustainable choices are becoming of secondary importance or even disappearing from the list of priorities altogether.
Think out of the box
Companies are now facing the special challenge of getting through this precarious period unscathed or without major losses. An almost impossible task at first sight, but fortunately also a situation that can create new opportunities with the necessary creativity.
Specifically, this wait-and-see attitude of the customer means that the narrative of the company or brand (at least for this period) has to change. Whereas potential buyers used to be smoothly won over with a clear brand identity, the values linked to it and the stamp it so indirectly put on their lives, now it is mainly the portfolio that speaks. That is why, as a brand, it is important to keep popping up in the target audience’s field of vision on the one hand – name recognition is now the starting point of all success – and change the message on the other. This is how you now attract the most customers to your business with promotions and commercial content; think discounts, 1+1 offers, additional services, etc.
An effective and inexpensive way to get this new message out is through social media channels. Take for instance the current construction trade fair Batibouw, a more promotional communication will certainly pay off here. After all, customers already approach their visit to Batibouw with a mindset focused on scoring discounts. So make the most of this mindset and turn the challenge into stable figures.
