THE ROLE OF MARKETING IN THE NEW NORMAL

The novel Coronavirus (Covid-19) was declared as a pandemic by the World Health Organisation in March, 2020. It was called „once in a century pandemic“, or a „Wuhan virus“ as it has firstly appeared in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December 2019. Measures that governments have taken in order to keep people safe, had a significant impact on economies, markets and consumers.While certain industries and sectors had to close down for lenghty periods, lay off staff and fear for their existence, other made huge profits and rushed to move their activities online. Consumers, under government restrictions and faced with lockdowns, needed to shift their buying habits and patterns. Their buying priorites and behavior significantly changed. Consumers mostly purchase basic food products, personal hygiene products, disinfectants, vitamins, immunosuppressive drugs, anti-bacterial products, but also computers and computer equipment and teleommunication services. Bars, restaurants, travel agencies, entertainment industry, as well as automobiles, jewelry, luxury goods have experienced a sharp decline in consumption. This paper aims to show how marketing can help companies reconnect with their consumers. The paper uses world-class analysis done by multiple marketing agencies. Even in the aftermath of a pandemic, companies need to continue their marketing activities. One of the wrong decisions of managers is to cut marketing costs in times of crisis. Consumers always remember the companies that were with them even in the worst of times, offering them goods and services, as well as, words of support, comfort and hope.

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