What Have Bounty Hunters and Baby Yoda Got to do with Business?
With evenings and weekend diaries emptied of places to go and things to do, like everyone else, I’ve been turning to streaming services to help me escape the lockdown over the past few weeks. Films about pandemics and gritty dramas are not for me though; if it’s escapism you’re looking for, why not escape to adventures in another galaxy?
So I’ve retreated back to the comfort of the action-packed, familiar world of Star Wars. Having watched all the films more times than I can remember, I’ve been enjoying a break from COVID-19 on another planet, back in the days when Yoda was a baby, by getting hooked on the Mandalorian series.
A quiet night in with baby Yoda and an array of other miscellaneous aliens is a great antidote to the stresses of a pandemic. The thing about travelling (even from your sofa) as a route to escapism, however, is that, wherever you go, you take yourself with you. And in my case, that means my commercial brain and marketing know-how are never far behind the droids and the bounty hunters.
So, as unlikely as it may seem, in this blog, I’ll be taking you on a journey to the world of the Star Wars series, the Mandalorian, currently available on Disney+, and explaining what it has to teach us about building our resilience during COVID-19. We’ll explore how CME can help you win the day when the time is right, with expert marketing planning and a robust marketing toolkit. Bear with me, there may be some plot twists.
Are You Ready for Battle?
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…companies had marketing plans all mapped out, along with reliable sales forecasts and commercial strategies for growth and increased market share. Enter COVID-19, the ultimate bad guy, and for many companies all those plans and forecasts have been locked away in a drawer while they take cover under the desk until the bad guy goes away.
Not a very Rebel Alliance response is it?
We may not be able to go head to head into battle with the pandemic; we’re in lockdown for a reason and we have no choice but to wait it out. That doesn’t mean we should idly sit back and see what happens though. If I ask myself what would Princess Leia do, the answer is clear: she would make a plan.
So where does the Mandalorian fit in? For the benefit of those who haven’t seen it (or heard of it even!) – I appreciate this is a little bit Star Wars super-geek – The Mandalorian is the story of a bounty hunter. His mission is to capture baby Yoda and collect the price on the green infant’s head. Although torn by the task, he goes ahead and delivers Yoda, collecting his reward. He then takes the money to be melted down and made into armour before – SPOILER ALERT – going back to rescue baby Yoda, winning the day thanks in part to his investment in armour.
At this point, you’re forgiven for wondering what plot twists involving bounty hunters and armour have to do with business and marketing. It’s this: the Mandalorian is able to save baby Yoda because he was prepared, without his armour he would never have beaten the competition.
CME can help you prepare your marketing armour so that you can beat the competition too.
Time to wake up and get battle ready with these three key things
So if we’ve learned that the Mandalorian has been successful because he invested his time and resources in being properly prepared for battle, what does that mean for businesses back in the present day, planet Earth battle to overcome the impact of COVID-19?
We know it won’t be easy. We can’t just stroll back to market as though the world has been asleep and all we need to do is wake up like nothing has happened. This situation is a nightmare and we’re dreaming if we think nothing has changed. Those companies that re-set their commercial strategy to snooze now will find that they’re not ready to seize opportunities when the pandemic is over and markets recover. Now is not the time to put marketing to bed; it’s the time to be more awake, alert and active than ever.
Like the Mandalorian, however, we have to do things differently. There is no point trying to implement plans that were designed for the circumstances we expected and, for many companies, that does mean pausing implementation, but it should never mean a stop to activity. Instead now is the time to do three key things things:
· Plan
· Build Networks
· Gather Resources
To create your armour to prepare for the new commercial realities of COVID-19, you need to refresh and strengthen your marketing toolkit and be ready for when operating restrictions are lifted. When they are, all your competitors will be hungry for business and it will be those that are ready to hit the ground running with a coherent plan, compelling assets and a loyal following that win the day.
So what can you do to get your armour ready for battling against the competition after COVID-19?
Here are just a few of the things that CME can help you with:
Build a plan that considers how to maintain your company profile during the pandemic and reach new customers afterwards
Consider your strategy, your market position and your messaging – are you consistently leveraging your strengths with cohesive messaging about who you are and how you’re different
Expand your networks – never have your potential customers and advocates been spending more time on social media channels. You can use this time to connect online
Strengthen your assets – remember that website upgrade you never got around to because you were too busy? All those blogs you meant to write? And what about all those completed projects that would make perfect case studies? Now is the time to build those resources
Could CME be the Force that makes your company a winner?
These are challenging times. Part of the challenge, however, is that we’re all repeating that challenging times mantra as though there’s nothing to be done about it. So let’s try another mantra: times have changed. What do we need to do when things change? We need to adapt. CME can help you adapt your approach to marketing, gather your armour and prepare to win as we look forward to the next episode for business after COVID-19.