Declining purchasing power and support of domestic manufacturers affect the wartime business landscape. Yugen Shevchenko, founder of the UAMASTER and School of Digital Advertising shared his experience of how to advertise online under such circumstances in the episode of MIM. Economic Front series.

What can I sell now?

If you manufacture goods or render services, you need to be careful with your assortment. People are saving now. They do not buy fancy things. If we compare that to Maslow's hierarchy, people are spending money on things from the lower levels. In other words, if you sell groceries, FMCG, or electronics rather than jewelry, your sales are fine. 

Who can I sell to?

Geography-wise it is easy – Ukraine and other countries. As you know, more than 4 million people, mostly women, and children fled Ukraine. Nearly 6 million people moved to other regions of the country. Should we advertise in the warzone? It depends on delivery opportunities. Never forget where your audience is located. So far, your advertising in and outside Ukraine is going to be very similar. In any case, you are navigating the unchartered waters because Ukrainians’ consumer behavior has changed. Purchasing power is down as people's income has reduced and they are spending on volunteering. On the other hand, Ukrainians want to support our business and buy from Ukrainian companies.

Who can manage your advertising campaigns?

The situation is very difficult and drastically different from anything you did before February 24. No matter how much you can afford to spend, you need somebody competent enough to plan, review the performance, and test new things. If you don’t have such a person on your team, assign that to some of your employees who have experience in digital. Although, you need an expert. If you can afford it, hire. It is also a good way to support those who lost jobs. 

How can performance be measured?

I’d recommend focusing on transactional advertising to generate immediate sales or leads. It is time for quick solutions rather than long-term campaigns. Just monitor the number of transactions and cost of customers’ acquisition or number and cost of leads. The conversion rate is another useful criterion. 

The latest statistics say that the cost of a click is reduced twice. However, it doesn’t mean that it is twice cheaper to acquire a customer because anxiety is on the rise and it takes your customers longer to decide.

For more advice visit the episode record.