Lots of talk right now on what the "shape" of the hoped-for coming economic recovery might look like. At first everything was going to come back as fast as it had fallen off the cliff, so it was a "V." Then when we entered the 538th week of quarantine the realization was that lots of things were going to take a longer time to come back, so we moved to a "U." Now maybe there's a double dip of pent of demand followed by economic hardship and then eventual rebound--so we're onto "W's" now.
I have no idea what's in store for your industry. If you sell to restaurants or small businesses that have been shuttered or have had massive lay-offs or bankruptcies, we're in for a long recovery--maybe you're a small "n" curve right now with no increase in sight. For others of you the pent up demand will help you snap back to where you were when all of this started.
The key will be to ensure you recognize the right letter for not only your industry but your customers as well. And the fact is that as marketers we're going to be super eager to get back out there and start to talk about our issues again. We may be reading for the V when the customers are in the U or W stage. We need to recognize that and adapt for it--even within our customer segments, industries, which may not come back equally or even look the same on the other side of this.
The marketing teams that can market just ahead of where their customers are--not too far ahead so they're out of touch--but just ahead so they can help lead their customers back will be the winners on the other side of this. Make sure you're in tune with where your customers are and set up your plans accordingly.