A few months ago I received for free the book Buyology for a Coronavirus World by Martin Lindstrom, which is a second part of the book Buyology, truths and lies of why we buy.

Lindstrom is a Danish author, Time Magazine Influential 100 Honoree, who has written a series of straightforward, practical marketing books based on research, experience, and common sense.

In this second part of Buyology, the focus is on the pandemic and its effects on people’s behavior, and the changes that are expected.

And he states in the introduction “With people’s confidence about their health at its lowest point since the Great Depression of the 1930s, what product, other than mandatory personal protective equipment and food, can beat all odds and not only survive, but thrive, during the global pandemic?

And, he adds, there has been a worldwide increase in the purchase of sex toys, sales of toilet paper in the U.S. grew 60% over the previous year, and sales of greeting cards, lottery tickets and cigars and board games are up considerably. Firearms purchases increased, and Netflix grew by 16 million subscribers in just three months.

He mentions that it is all about self-preservation, where the true value of commodities (physical goods that are basic components of more complex products) has been temporarily lost.

Finishing off: “Welcome to the Coronavirus Pandemic”.

It tells us that the cerebral amygdala is in overdrive, and it should be remembered that it is the cerebral amygdala responsible for processing emotions, such as fear, which has invaded most people in the world.

It reminds us that we are waiting for the green light to return to our old habits and routines. But apparently that is not going to happen any time soon. And in turn, that the state of mind rippling across the planet is fear and anxiety.

Feelings of anguish and hopelessness are amplified by the thought that one could be attacked by the virus.

And it would not only be getting sick, but being excluded from social groups because of the risk.

Today, people are more afraid of the proximity of other people, sneezing and body fluids.

Well, and why are we talking so much about this: because it is the basis for understanding the economy of fear, and how it has disrupted everyone’s lives, and how it is expected to change people’s interests, needs and habits, and therefore their way of acquiring goods and services.

En el capítulo ¿Me estoy volviendo loco? explica que el confinamiento debido a la pandemia hace que la mayoría de la gente engorde, se vuelva más violenta y se canse de no hacer nada.

That the habits they had from the work routine stopped working, which has caused their life to be somewhat blurred, less clear.

He says he has interviewed people who are eating breakfast at 2 or 3 a.m., working on Sundays, or attending virtual meetings in their underwear.

And all this happens while avoiding handshakes, meetings with friends or other people, washing their hands every one or two hours.

They obsessively clean doorknobs, toilet keys, car handles and steering wheels. Not to mention food cans and milk cans. All at the same time.

A Colombian blog specialized in content highlights from the book Buyology:

“We will revisit our wish list and ask ourselves ”What do I want to accomplish with my life?” as we rediscover what gives meaning to our purpose and begin to look for new options. In fact, when the pandemic is over. The stock market and oil stocks begin to rise, I expect consumers will become even more hesitant and uncertain about spending every day, more than we already are today (we will ask ourselves, can I?).”

And continues:

“Is this the right product, should I buy this or that? And instead, they will save up for higher-priced items, but ones that help them better understand why we exist. I think as happened after the Great Depression of 1930, for those who lived through it, this pandemic is going to cure us of chronic overspending for a long time to come.”

And regarding business quotes:

“We have the opportunity to reevaluate our spending, our relationships, our priorities, and it will require a painful corrective to our business, a principled reorganization.”

Now we are forced to change, to improve, to find more creative ways to approach consumers.

Change is what is coming.

Lindstrom argues that there have been other situations in the world that have caused people to change, but they have not been as profound or as long in time as the COVID-19 pandemic, so he anticipates that there will be industries that will be more affected.

Especially those that involve people coming together, such as buffets, cinemas or concerts, and there will be new concepts to replace them.

And the challenge lies in the fact that the leaders of companies and businesses will have to make assumptions about how the changes in their industries will take place, and in the face of this, propose new products, services, or a combination of these that adjust to the new needs and interests of people.

If people feel misunderstood in their desires, they will simply not be interested, there will be no sales. But above all, failure will be the responsibility of companies that do not understand and adapt to the new dynamics of the economy.

Closing

Significant changes are coming in the world, COVID-19 and social constraints are leading to new ways of interaction, of adapting to new values, interests and behaviors of people.

Companies are left with the task of understanding and planning new ways to support survival and success.

Download the book Buyology for a Coronavirus World

The situation generated by COVID-19 has led us to learn new things. For example, that in order to live better, socially and economically, other people are essential.

En mi concepción, estos retos impuestos por la pandemia nos han hecho tomar conciencia de lo mucho que necesitamos a las personas que nos rodean, física o virtualmente.

Social interaction is vital. In this forced hermit training, we have learned the importance of maintaining frequent and fluid contact with family, friends, prospects, clients and new people.

Direct and virtual contact with people is healthy and transcendental.

In my opinion, the pandemic has changed us, not totally, but somewhat.

Because we must also consider that direct contact also means contagion and disease, a great risk; from an invisible and deadly enemy.

Now, this new impetus to virtual communication, due to the confinement, is pushing us to use our capacity for learning and creativity, to get started in the fascinating and complex world of social media.

On the Internet, we can already perceive the increase of information, the search for new prospects digitally. The negative side is that the ecosystem is being saturated with poor quality communications, or focused on selling crudely, without even persuading. This is causing an opposite effect, which is not very pleasant, we have to go around in networks skipping everything we do not like.

The challenge of engaging people in digital environments is that the surfer has great power, little patience and countless offers at the speed of a click.

Being unique in an ocean of peers

It is very easy for each of us to interact in social and business meetings.

Naturally, as individuals, we use a tone of voice; our body helps us by our clothing and hairstyle. We discuss topics of interest with a tone of voice and a set of words. We gesticulate, laugh and behave.

Well, somehow this has to be transferred to the digital world, to define why we are unique.

And this effort should be reflected in the tone of communication, design style, images, and colors. These will reinforce the identity and message.

Knowing how to communicate

Internet users can easily detect what catches their attention, and also what does not.

It is true that it is impossible for all Internet users to follow us or be interested in the topics, but it is possible to attract a group of people and grow the audience.

This will require profiling the type of tribe you are looking to motivate, understanding their tastes and motivations.

Users have the expectation that you are well informed on the subject, that the criteria expressed will help them form their own.

You must also have a charismatic and empathetic style, which opens the doors of people’s hearts and minds because they feel well treated and understood.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of what it is advisable to do on the network.

• To present a subject of interest.
• Knowing how to attract attention when communicating.
• Produce good texts, images or videos.
• Proper scheduling
• Interactuar constructivamente con los usuarios.

The better you define a unique character and personality, the more likely you are to connect with a group of people. People who are interested in us.

Correct use of technological tools

Like any activity, the publication in:

• Facebook
• Instagram
• LinkedIn
• YouTube
• etc.

It requires certain steps and protocols, an operating logic.

But in addition to that, it is necessary to produce with vector and pixel image programs such as Adobe Illustrator, Adobe Photoshop or video programs such as Da Vinci Resolve and Adobe Premiere or others.

A menudo, hay que tener una cámara que pueda hacer buenas fotos y vídeos, equipo de iluminación y micrófonos.

I will not expand on this third point because it is very broad, but I do want to outline the range of qualities and skills that must be added to have a presence on the network.

We will be able to choose only a few, which is the most advisable, and start the adventure of navigating the digital universe at one or a few specific points.

Don’t know what and how to post on social media?

You can already feel the pressure… there are already many more publications, and of all kinds.

With the emergence of the pandemic, in a few months the awareness that social media tools, or social networks, are useful to boost business has increased considerably.

And what I have noticed in some articles is that there is no guiding strategy. And if there is something important to take into account, it is that digital communication has certain rules.

Each platform has its own ways, as well as its own atmosphere of interaction.

The great advantage of social media is that it drives business growth, but if you are not careful, the exact opposite can happen.

For example, the Municipality of Metepec, State of Mexico, made a video against COVID-19, promoting “Susana Distancia”. Check the video in the following LINK.

A shame.

The following are samples of some mistakes and tips you can consider when managing your social platforms, but remember, these are not fixed rules, but suggestions.

In which digital technology and the art of communication come together with the aim of creating a tribe, a group of followers.

1.- Publish, publish, publish, as if there were no tomorrow.

Flooding the networks does not help at all, and even worse if it is only to sell.

People today are more sensitive to sales attempts, because they often produce the opposite effect.

Let me tell you: there is a brand of brightly colored supplements (BLUE) that I have been trying to sell on Facebook. Young men/young women send a flirtatious invitation to be friends and suddenly, out of the blue, they are already selling you their products.

I block them ipso facto, and I have learned to detect the promoters of that brand, and I don’t even pay attention to them.

2.- Not being regular in the publications

People value information, regular and useful, highly. Information that improves their lives.

And it can be, from a taste, a hobby, for health, beauty, business, travel, etc.

But it must have one requirement: regularity. The promised one.

And this has its logic: when you enter into people’s behavior patterns, you have already taken a big step.

That is why what we recommend at ADmira is that, before publishing, it is preferable to create a calendar of articles that follows a sequence of topics, dates and times on each platform.

An important consideration: they do not necessarily have to be your own creations, you have to take advantage of the fact that there is a large amount of information on the network, and part of the digital strategy can be to search for useful information and share it.

3.- Repeating the same publications in all networks in the same way.

That is, republishing from one platform to another. To repeat oneself. And for this it is necessary to understand the logic of each social network, for example, on Twitter, which is more immediate or argumentative, it is not expected that there is a link to Facebook or Instagram. There is no logic to it.

On Twitter you have to be brief and forceful, and not send me somewhere else, I’m there for a reason.

4.- Excessive use of hashtags

A publication with too many hashtags is desperate, you can tell whoever publishes wants to shout digitally, as a market chatterbox.

A shot in the foot.

The use of hashtags must be balanced on each platform, because the audiences and structures of each social network are particular. For example, on Pinterest, you should not use.

On Instagram it is preferable to use hashtags in the comments rather than in the caption of each image.

5.- Ask to follow you immediately.

At the moment, network users already have a level of maturity, they know when they want to follow someone or not.

It is not necessary to ask them, in my perception what you are doing is irritating them more.

It is better to worry about publishing interesting things, your own or shared, that will generate recognition and trust, and could be the first step before they decide to follow us.

6.- Ignore the comments

It is essential to answer to the comments, what the user thinks and asks, and to know how to do it with all kinds of comments.

The good and the bad.

This will demonstrate a constructive and relational approach.

Mishandling unfavorable or negative comments can significantly harm businesses.

7.- To be on all platforms

One of the central points when deciding which social platforms should be used in a company is to define the profiles of our audience.

Why?

Because by understanding who these people are, what are the media or networks they frequent, what are their topics of interest, what is their demographic and psychographic profile; it will be easier to decide on which platforms to publish.

Por ejemplo, es difícil imaginar una empresa metalúrgica con una fuerte presencia en Instagram o Pinterest; parecería más adecuado LinkedIn.

By consciously defining which social networks the brand will use, we can make better planning and budget allocation.

Trying to be everywhere can be expensive.

Closing: I think by now most people understand the power and complexity of managing Social Media properly. How beneficial is it that, by managing it properly, it opens the way for people and the success of our businesses?

There are people who are extremely sociable, have a natural ability to contact others and strike up conversations, or just say hello for the sake of giving a sparkle to the moment.

They are more adept than average at getting around the obstacles that people have created with their character.

In an instant they already said, or did the right thing to start a conversation, or a polite gesture of courtesy that could be the beginning of a future conversation.

With an outstanding gift, they understand human nature, and how emotions flow that open the soul.

They create the right link at the right time.

I think we all know people like that on a personal level, we distinguish them easily, and as I mentioned, we remember them with pleasure. If by chance we meet them at a meeting or a similar moment, we would seek to be close, enjoy their company and the atmosphere they generate.

Similarly, in the digital world, there are people and brands that know how to use platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Tiktok, YouTube or messaging, such as WhatsApp. They find their way to the people, their messages are interesting, funny, challenging…

At ADmira we are frequently in networks, it is part of what we do, and we find, just like in the digital universe, companies and people that flow with their audience, where there is a back and forth of information and interest, conversations that create links and hopefully establish a business relationship.

Digital tools have their own logic and language, just like groups of people, their own ways of interacting, their own slang, their own signs and rhythms that strengthen camaraderie and create a fraternal atmosphere.

And to be successful you have to know how to use them.

We all come across daily direct and insipid posts trying to sell. Lacking spark, clumsy and bold. Not wanting to be interesting in any way, just sell, sell, sell.

We web surfers have been transformed, we know how to detect with greater precision the vulgar salesperson, the one who is not interested in us, the one who cares about closing the sale, not so much about the person.

And to that we react digitally with our contempt: we cancel it, we block it, we delete it, we unsubscribe, we stop following it. Something that removes it from our channels, from our sight, forever.

Keeping the attention of cybernauts nowadays is a challenge, because you have to attract attention by being interesting, useful, fun…

However, not all formulas work, not all styles work, but each brand, each person, has to understand what their audience is and what is the best way to communicate.

And it’s often a matter of trial and error, not always finding the right tone, graphic style, themes, frequency of publication, which platform to use, etc., the first time.

Hyperconnection offers us great advantages. Almost instant access to information and the possibility of having our own communication channels, to an audience or person to person.

The distance, in my opinion, is in the mind, in trying to understand this logic, the digital one, and make good use of it. Not expecting it to work as in other, more traditional, worlds of life.

Because social networks can make factors such as lack of mastery in managing them more noticeable, and that generates a counterproductive effect.

In my opinion, the challenge for most entrepreneurs and consolidated companies is to enter this digital universe and learn to manage some of its tools in such a way that they generate possibilities for interpersonal or business connections.

It is understandable, it is complex, there are many factors to consider, as well as the skills you need to have such as research, writing, design, analytics of each platform.

But consider that this is the trend that surrounds us, and not doing so ensures that we do not belong to the digital universe.

Is it possible?

In the last few days, while surfing YouTube, a video of Santiago Cosme appeared with a suggestive title:

The truth about the fake Internet gurus and how they make money with their online courses.

In this video he analyzes and exposes the coincidences that the experts, that he calls Gurus, of Internet business have.

How they show off their material wealth, contrasting that they only care about knowledge, showing large amounts of dollars in cash, on a table, shooting them with a bill counting machine.

Exhibiting his bank accounts, huge, by the way, without any major problem.

And how by doing so, they push people to buy their courses, some costing as much as $10,000.00 dollars.

And Santiago Cosme quotes, “If you let them, they push you to spend everything you have, and while you spend money on promises, they become multimillionaires.”

On the other hand, when researching Jürgen Klaric, an American who promotes himself as an expert in neuro-sales and neuromarketing, who has rather developed in Latin America, I found a discussion that caught my interest on Quora, where there were people for and against.

I was very struck by the opinion of Esperanza Castro, who subscribed to one of his free seminars and ended up disappointed, mentioning similar things as those of Santiago Cosme:

• The exhibitor, who was not Jürgen, never gave his name.
• His behavior was rude and overbearing.
• He offended people by asking them questions, to minimize them.

Another of them, Damian Gil, in a much more moderate way, said that he does not consider Jürgen a charlatan, but rather an interesting person and good at what he does, but at the same time, he does not think he is a revolutionary.

And Mauricio Cohen concludes: “Jürgen Klaric is a popularizer, not a researcher. In my opinion, he promotes an optimism built on the results of science, the distortion of others and his comments and ideas.

This gave me pause for thought:

• Are there any foolproof methods for business?
• Are there unique formulas to ensure success?
• Why is it that many times, by faithfully following the steps of an academic process or of some guru, success is still not achieved?

There is no single formula in business, period.

I don’t know about you, but I have already met quite a few successful businessmen, in different areas such as industry, services, health and food; and most of them without much knowledge of business processes or theories.

I am not saying at any time that their businesses do not have areas of opportunity or improvement.

But rather how their vision, character and common sense led them to offer products or services in a profitable way and scale their businesses in an amazing way.

Many of them have become true giants, such as Amancio Ortega, of Inditex (Zara, Massimo Dutti, Bershka and several others), who is on the list of the richest men in the world, and who at the age of fourteen started as an employee of a textile company in Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

My practical interpretation is that the successful entrepreneur or businessman has or develops a solid ability to understand the market and provide it with what it needs.

Know how to produce in your industry at lower costs and obtain and manage profits in a way that allows you to sustain the company and drive it to growth.

Saben de quién rodearse.

That is why I believe it is vital to consider that you must grow or develop personal skills of vision and common sense to connect with people’s needs. The way to cover them at a reasonable cost, and in a shorter time. Manage performance with a focus on development and expansion.

It is true that at different times and places consultants or knowledge will be needed to help increase profit margins, sell more, optimize some process or other type of requirement.

But it is also my opinion that the good judgment of the entrepreneur will lead him to make the best profitable decision, that is, that the investment he makes will produce the highest returns in a reasonable time.

However, where can this criterion be nurtured?

My recommendation is to read the best exponents in each business area. Avoid fashionable shooting stars or false gurus who promise unrealistic results.

Take the time to differentiate who they are.

The quality of knowledge is always palpable, because it is deep and sustained.

Nowadays, there are very reliable books for different business processes.

• Strategic Planning. Scaling Up by Verne Harnish.
• Business Model. Business Model Generation by Alexander Osterwalder.
• Balanced Scorecard. The Balanced Scorecard de Robert S. Kaplan y David P. Norton.
• Marketing. Marketing 4.0 by Phillip Kotler.
• Branding. The Brand Flip, Marty Neumeier.
• Leadership. The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin
• Marketing Digital. Grow! by Donnie Sheldon
• Design. 100 Things every designer needs to know about people by Susan M. Weinschenk

I am sure I am missing authors and more books. Space is short in this article, but it is a good start, and my invitation is to give time to the best ideas to constructively influence our criteria.

The most important thing is that all those ideas that have been accepted will become the multiple options that we will be able to use to enrich the decisions.

Something like a Swiss Army Knife, it has many gadgets, where everyone knows how and what they use them for.

In my opinion, the number 1 tool in business is the vision and criteria of the person who directs and drives the company.