Strategic Communication for Post-Pandemic Success

The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an extraordinarily strong impact on the business conduct of companies in the tourism sector.

Hit by the global pandemic crisis, demand has fallen noticeably, with tourist arrivals in Portugal falling by more than 75% at the end of 2020 (data from the European Tourism: Trends & Prospects Q4/2020 report by the European Travel Commission). Compared to the previous year, and considering Hotels, ApartHotels and Pousadas, there were 70% fewer overnight stays and 80% less revenue (an estimated drop of 3.6 billion euros) in 2020 (INE data).

Faced with this unexpected scenario, most companies reacted in order to ensure their survival. Contingency measures were implemented to minimize the impact on the business, which included reorganizing teams and resources, applying stricter hygiene policies, making processes more flexible and introducing virtual tools and defining risk management plans. At the same time, this new context has led to a rethink of the relationship with stakeholders.

The next step is to rebuild this relationship. But what is the strategy for meeting this challenge? And what role does communication play in this response?

A scenario of several possible answers

Although it doesn't focus on companies in the tourism sector, the study "InterComm Report - B2B Communication Trends in Global Businesses", developed by the Escola Superior de Comunicação Social of the Instituto Politécnico de Lisboa and SayU Consulting - Evoke Network, with the support of aicep Portugal Global, includes this area of activity in its assessment of the role of communication in building and managing relationships with the stakeholders of national B2B exporting companies.

It was the groups and companies with more resources, an increased level of sophistication or a more defined strategic vision that managed to make this moment an opportunity to re-evaluate strategy. Disruption and reinvention have been the watchwords over the last year, and they will certainly continue to set the tone when it comes to planning for the future.

The last year has seen the emergence of original solutions to make up for the loss of business, such as reorienting the hotel industry towards long-term stays or offering rooms and services to teleworking professionals, the use of technology to provide immersive virtual experiences or the new focus on local tourism campaigns aimed at the national consumer. But as well as responding to new customer needs, this was also a time when the hotel industry sought other ways of communicating, namely: with its employees, with the media and with the community. Let's remember the case of the hotels that opened their doors to health professionals so that they could rest without putting their families at risk.

For companies with a smaller size and less investment in their processes, it becomes more difficult to understand how to make their communication more digital, dynamic and closer to their audiences. Many companies and brands lack the ability to ensure an increased presence and demonstrate know-how, reaching out to the market and making themselves better known.

The pandemic has made it impossible or taken away the desire to travel for a significant portion of the public. Recovering these travelers is not an easy task in the current context. But with the right message, aimed at the right people, employees, the media, investors, partners and agents in the sector can begin to rebuild this relationship, which is essential to your business.

Rebuilding the relationship with the public

The results of the study highlight the possibility of enhancing the company's value through two lines of communication: boosting its reputation and making its digital presence relevant.

Trust is an important factor in the decision to buy any product or service. Today, given its widespread erosion, it is even more so. Clearer communication is needed to ensure that people feel more informed, counteracting the scattered and confusing information that circulates, which promotes fears and jeopardizes the future. The post-pandemic world will demand greater transparency. Therefore, it's not enough to communicate the product and the offer available, it's essential to make known the purpose and added-value offer of the hotel unit, in terms of its identity, sustainability, relationship with the community, among others.

On the other hand, we will be increasingly digital. The last few months have been a huge technological boost, even if this transformation was already on the horizon for some organizations, and they have boosted a public that craves more disruptive and efficient solutions.

The forced shift to virtual work, consumption and socialization processes is fueling a massive transition to digital. Agility has been confirmed as a survival factor for companies, regardless of their size, maturity or sector of activity.

A new role for communication

There are several areas in which Communication has a role to play in this transformation, helping to promote and make visible positive changes in post-pandemic practices.

The focus will have to be on the ability to transform the relationship with stakeholders, particularly in the way we think about all the company's actions: how we make ourselves known and present our offer, what channels we have at our disposal for contact with the public, how we boost the purchasing decision and extend the relationship beyond the trip/stay. This is a cycle that, in order to be effective, requires a strategic dimension to communication.

What axes should form part of this communication strategy? Ensuring trust in the brand among travelers and all interested parties, who see safety and credibility as a reason for differentiation; exploring new channels of contact, information and interaction in digital format; promoting dynamic interaction for a more attentive and informed public; achieving means of broad visibility for exposure to all relevant public segments; optimizing the "recommendation" factor in the context of the profusion of travel suggestions and inspiration; enhancing own presentation channels and making the commercial process more profitable; taking advantage of the "local" factor and promoting links with entities, agents and initiatives of
proximity; ensuring the effect of repeated business through loyalty programs and campaigns.

The panic and global impact associated with Covid-19 promises to have lasting consequences for the tourism sector. Effective strategies are required to increase confidence in the sector and help companies recover from the consequences of this crisis in good time. The resilience and sustainability of companies must be aligned with projected trends in demand and a more transparent way of being in the market, which requires clearer and more effective communication.

The end of the state of emergency, announced this week, brings some encouragement. Let's use communication to help businesses in the hospitality sector recover. If nobody knows, nobody knows, nobody influences, there will be no success in business.

 

In Publituris