According to the CEP of Brosko Mall, Ksenia Rudenko, there is a notion that companies must cut down on marketing during a crisis. “Yet we believe that we must work hard and be more careful with promotions. When there are a lot of visitors to the store and the sales are on the rise, mistakes are not that visible. While when the traffic falls down by 30% and the customer spending is low, marketing must be treated in a special way. We work harder, we work more and we work more effectively,” explains Rudenko.
It does not mean that marketing budgets must increase, she adds. The main idea is not to cut them and to make the best of them.
Shopping malls are busy with optimizing costs and looking for new solutions, for example, by signing direct agreements and avoiding agent fees, nods Ksenia Aksenova. So, working with local partners comes out to the spotlight.
Marketing has become more careful. Before organizing an event, marketing departments try to sense the mood of the target audience and predict its reaction. A good example is the analysis of local public groups in the social media where people show their reaction to promotions of competitors, their reaction to local events in general, and based on this information marketing consultants make a decision whether to go on with an event in a mall or not.
Head of Community of Marketing Experts in shopping malls and Retail Sofia Schukina points out the fact that since 2020 malls have started to cut down on long-term prize campaigns where buyers would win a flat or a car. On the other hand, the number of the so-called tactical promotion has increased, which means that within a rather short time there are a lot of prizes now under the price of 10, 000 rubles or certificates to shop at a particular mall which can be won.
Back in 2020 we started adapting our marketing tools and general practices. It was when we made a lot of changes. Today, in 2022, marketing is still changing, but it is more of an adaptation based on the recent events connected to the pandemic.
The focus is on tactical solutions, on the concepts which can be tested quickly to see their results. Today we are still making annual marketing plans and communication strategies for the next several years yet we are aware that they are just a possible course of action and we revisit the plans ever three months.
The main B2B target audience for shopping malls is potential tenants. Suppliers usually approach us themselves. Okhta Mall has a strong brokerage team, so the main focus is conference participation, round tables, commercial real estate markets. Many of our colleagues have been invited to speak at such events. Besides networking, public presentations and participation in key events in the industry, we also take part in professional competitions. This is also an additional way to promote ourselves through our best and most effective practices.
In addition, we monitor quantitative and qualitative indicators of the traffic, average spend, shopping priorities. We also measure reviews and brand mentioning and can see what the audience wants. We always check how effective our campaigns, mostly for digital campaigns, are, but even when it is difficult to analyze a campaign, we try to utilize survey and feedback forms.
Our area of interests always covers new practices from colleagues in the industry, and we are always aware of the news, trends and successful cases.
МНЕНИЕ ЭКСПЕРТА
Anna Hodosh, Head of Okhta Mall
SHOPPING CENTERS RUSSIA I ноябрь 2022 I 71