Have your priorities changed, such as focusing more on messaging for current customers vs prospects, since March 2020?

Yes, there are two changes from a messaging perspective that I've made this year. Everything this year is unprecedented, but the changes are similar to things I did in 2008 as well. The first thing was to pivot top-line benefits from growth to efficiency. In a recession, you have to be able emphasize how your product will save money. Second is to focus more on current customers. Retention is critical in a down economy, so we've launched some specific messaging and new initiatives focused specifically at our customer base.

I do believe customer marketing's importance has increased. How much of that is related to the pandemic depends on the nature of the industry or market you serve, but yes, for me personally we've devoted more time on how we can make sure we are communicating effectively to our customers to drive greater customer retention and growth. To do so we invest heavily in customer surveys - both qualitative and quantitative to keep a finger on the pulse of our customers and ensure we know where we have opportunities to improve.