• by Christopher Spong , January 6, 2022

Despite a pandemic that hasn’t receded along with rising inflation, consumer demand and spending remains high. While this would normally be cause for celebration and reason to continue prioritizing “fast-nickel” marketing strategies, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages (the Great Resignation) are hindering the ability of many businesses to meet consumer needs.

If these challenges are throwing off your 2022 marketing plans, now is the time to invest in brand-building communications strategies. As you finalize your plan for the year, consider setting aside fast-nickel tactics in exchange for these three slow-dime strategies:

Invest in an employee advocacy program. If labor shortages threaten your ability to keep up with demand, attracting and keeping employees should be a core focus in 2022. Start by showcasing a commitment to employee satisfaction. This will positively impact reputation and aid in both retention and recruitment. Ask employees to share what they love about your company and empower them to tell their story.

Effective employee engagement can fall along a spectrum of sophistication, depending on a business’ unique needs. A simple advocacy program might start with an internal newsletter full of shareable content. While a more comprehensive plan might feature long- and short-form testimonials or investment in paid media to highlight employee development. Regardless, brands that highlight the benefits of employment attract and retain the talent needed.

Flip the script on a common pain point. For most businesses, there’s a steady supply of challenges that could impact how consumers engage. Whether related to service or experience, pain points are often easy to identify. To flip the script on these pain points and turn them into reputation-driving wins, take the time to address problems within operations and highlight efforts to improve in communications.

By working to address and resolve issues, marketers and communicators can begin building a framework that will enable them to address future issues before they even surface.

Focus on long-term growth marketing and communications tactics.If the bottom of the sales funnel is becoming too congested and your business is unable to keep up with the demand generated from lower-funnel marketing tactics, try supporting middle- and upper-funnel strategies to broaden the pool of potential customers engaging with your brand before they’re ready to buy.

Content marketing and SEO, for example, can take weeks or months to have a measurable impact on bottom-line metrics, but will yield long-term benefits. And for many, the delay between implementation and impact will be welcome as market forces eventually return to normal.

In the year ahead, it’s essential for marketers and advertisers to prepare for continued change. While nobody knows for certain if or when “business as usual” will return, brands that prepare for challenges will be rewarded. Investing in employee advocacy, addressing pain points, and focusing on long-term growth will net positive outcomes for those willing to invest the time and resources.

3 Ways To Outwit Labor, Supply Chain Disruptions

By: Christopher Spong, Supervisor of Social Media + Communications at Collective Measures

Despite a pandemic that hasn’t receded along with rising inflation, consumer demand and spending remains high. While this would normally be cause for celebration and reason to continue prioritizing “fast-nickel” marketing strategies, supply chain disruptions and labor shortages (the Great Resignation) are hindering the ability of many businesses to meet consumer needs. 

If these challenges are throwing off your 2022 marketing plans, now is the time to invest in brand-building communications strategies. As you finalize your plan for the year, consider setting aside fast-nickel tactics in exchange for these three slow-dime strategies:

Invest in an employee advocacy program. If labor shortages threaten your ability to keep up with demand, attracting and keeping employees should be a core focus in 2022. Start by showcasing a commitment to employee satisfaction. This will positively impact reputation and aid in both retention and recruitment. Ask employees to share what they love about your company and empower them to tell their story.

Effective employee engagement can fall along a spectrum of sophistication, depending on a business’ unique needs. A simple advocacy program might start with an internal newsletter full of shareable content. While a more comprehensive plan might feature long- and short-form testimonials or investment in paid media to highlight employee development. Regardless, brands that highlight the benefits of employment attract and retain the talent needed. 

Flip the script on a common pain point. For most businesses, there’s a steady supply of challenges that could impact how consumers engage. Whether related to service or experience, pain points are often easy to identify. To flip the script on these pain points and turn them into reputation-driving wins, take the time to address problems within operations and highlight efforts to improve in communications.

By working to address and resolve issues, marketers and communicators can begin building a framework that will enable them to address future issues before they even surface.

Focus on long-term growth marketing and communications tactics.If the bottom of the sales funnel is becoming too congested and your business is unable to keep up with the demand generated from lower-funnel marketing tactics, try supporting middle- and upper-funnel strategies to broaden the pool of potential customers engaging with your brand before they’re ready to buy. 

Content marketing and SEO, for example, can take weeks or months to have a measurable impact on bottom-line metrics, but will yield long-term benefits. And for many, the delay between implementation and impact will be welcome as market forces eventually return to normal. 

In the year ahead, it’s essential for marketers and advertisers to prepare for continued change. While nobody knows for certain if or when “business as usual” will return, brands that prepare for challenges will be rewarded. Investing in employee advocacy, addressing pain points, and focusing on long-term growth will net positive outcomes for those willing to invest the time and resources.