Applied Communication Methods of Relationship Marketing for Adapting the Business to the Crisis Environment

Purpose: This article analyzes the reactions, communication, and marketing strategies of some of the most affected areas of activity during the COVID-19 crisis period, namely the tourism and the luxury-goods sector. The measures provided for the limitation of physical contact between people generated drastic pay cuts and rising unemployment rates. Design/Approach/Methodology: The method used to conduct the study is desk research followed by semi-structured interviews with eight tourism agencies managers and seven small-luxury-goods brand managers, which aim to offer a panoramic perception of the situation, a market prospecting, and a useful practice guide for enterprises. Findings: Among the basic results of finding that the world of luxury goods is subject to huge losses, one solution is to develop relational marketing in this sector, while in tourism, flexibility and innovation could save the business. Some of them waited too long to restructure the business model into a feasible one in a crisis. In contrast, others reacted immediately, and few managed to identify methods to survive or even increase their income during the crisis. Tourism agencies focused on internal markets and on tourism types that imply nature and social-distancing, while luxury-brands concentrated on recreating the luxury experience even in online. Practical Implication: This article contains a best practice guide that can be used by companies in the tourism industry or the field of luxury goods to improve their performance in communicating with customers. Originality/Value: This article's originality comes from in-depth interviews with marketing and communication representatives from the analyzed sectors, tourism, and luxury goods. Their input, together with the specialized literature, can generate examples of good practice for other companies.