By Carlos Luis Torres Briones
Talking about entrepreneurship will always be a great challenge and an exciting topic, especially since Ecuador leads the rate of entrepreneurship in Latin America, according to the Esmeraldas News portal (2021); about 30% of the population has a new or recent business, and these data are presented by 2 types of motivations: entrepreneurship by opportunity or necessity, the latter closely associated with the effects of the pandemic at the time of Covid and the increase in the unemployment rate in this period.
However, a very particular phenomenon that has been evidenced in recent times is that, just as many businesses were affected by the pandemic, many others have opted to open their doors and grow, the interesting thing in this context is that those who have opted for innovation and digital, is the one that has begun to gain space.
It is in this context that companies must focus their efforts on brand positioning, closely considering the changes that have occurred in consumer behavior in different generations.
According to Kantar's study (2021), brands today must be role models, «facing the crisis and showing that it can be fought» tops the list for Generation X, while Baby Boomers expect brands to be «practical, realistic and help consumers in their daily lives». But most important to Millennials and Centennials is for brands to «act as a role model and guide change.».
In the end, everyone is expecting something from the brands, which is why the companies have gained market share by knowing how to use technological tools, with a greater capacity to adapt to changes and with an innovative vision that is not flawed by the activity that many other companies have been doing for years.
Some researchers or opinion leaders agreed at the time of confinement, that the year 2020 was one of the most critical periods in both health and economic aspects of our country, and that in the month of May of the same year, the situation would remain critical, which is not far from reality. But it was also a crucial moment for small brands or entrepreneurs, because it was the beginning of a new opportunity to compete on equal terms, regardless of the size of the company, the race started from the starting point.
This is how many businesses had the opportunity to compete, without importing large economic resources, but reaching their consumers directly, betting on networks and digital marketing, with innovative products and services, but above all with the ability to bring their products to the customer in the shortest possible time and with personalized attention, allowing the customer to live an experience beyond the service.
Selling in times of pandemic (COVID-19) means adapting to customer concerns, confinement and mobility constraints, paradigm shifts and above all new consumer habits (Labrador, Suarez and Suarez, 2020).
According to Fernandez (2021), Facebook tops the list of social networks with the most users reaching 2.74 billion, followed by You Tube and Whatsapp with 2,291 and 2,000 users respectively.
Social networks were initially created with the purpose of generating communities and used by companies to generate socialization and interaction as part of their loyalty processes, today entrepreneurs see them as their virtual retail, the opportunity to publicize their product or service in a much more economical way, without incurring the expenses and investments that generate campaigns in other media.
The issue of budgets is an important factor, as is the social and health situation caused by the effects of the pandemic. On the other hand, according to the latest data from the Ministry of Health (MSP), until June 7, 2021 the country has received 3,761,369 doses, of the number of doses received represents only 19.3% of the total number of vaccines purchased by Ecuador, this scenario has made us live in recent months a roller coaster of emotions, in which the consumer is already back on the streets, but still with fear and concern for their health, but on the other hand with the conviction that they must return to normal life as it was before the pandemic.
We know that emotions sell and a large part of purchasing decisions are emotional; Manzano, Gavilan and Avello (2012) mention that we must take into account the new way of understanding purchases:
- Adventure shopping: shopping for adventure, fun, stimulation and the feeling of being in another world.
- Social shopping: shopping with friends or family, socializing and interacting with others while shopping.
- Gratification shopping: shopping as a means of rewarding oneself, stimulated by the stress- and mood-reducing effect of shopping.
- Shopping idea: go shopping to keep up with fashion trends and check for new products.
- Role shopping: shopping for others with the resulting pleasure and happiness experienced when finding the perfect gift.
- Value shopping: shopping for bargains, sales or products at the best price.
Thus, experiential marketing continues to take shape even more, the consumer is increasingly emotional and understanding this behavior is essential for commercial and marketing management; the consumer must be motivated with a good attitude, generate satisfaction, give affection, in other words, live an experience either at the point of sale or in digital channels.
The emotions experienced converge in memorability, the level of recall is raised and the contents of the brand image are enriched, which stimulates purchases and nurtures intense, close and lasting relationships with the brand (Manzano, Et. all, 2012).
In entrepreneurship there is a long way to go, there are opportunities for those who are ready to take advantage of them and for those who decide to take the risk, the important thing will always be to remember that in addition to having a good product or service, we must not only satisfy the customer, but also delight him, make him live an experience for which he will remember us, and therefore get a repetitive purchase acts.
Bibliographic references
Ekos Negocios (2021). Entrepreneurship and innovation: Keys to reactivate the economy 2021. Available at: https://www.ekosnegocios.com/articulo/emprendimiento-e-innovacion-claves-para-reactivar-la-economia-en-2021
El Mercurio (2021). Nearly 30% of entrepreneurship in Ecuador arise from necessity. Available at: https://elmercurio.com.ec/2021/03/16/cerca-del-30-de-emprendimiento-en-ecuador-surgen-de-la-necesidad/
Emerladas News (2021). Ecuador leads entrepreneurship rate in Latin America. Available at: http://www.esmeraldasnews.com/ciencia-y-tecnologia/item/2289-ecuador-lidera-la-tasa-de-emprendimiento-en-latinoamerica
Labrador, H., Suarez, J., Suarez, S. (2020). Marketing in times of crisis generated by Covid-19. Revista Espacios 41 (42), 199-206. Available at: https://www.revistaespacios.com/a20v41n42/a20v41n42p17.pdf
Manzano, R., Gavilan, D., Avello, M., Abri, C., Serra, T. (2012). Sensory Marketing: Communicating with the senses. Madrid: Pearson Education
