First of all, I would like to state that this is not clickbait and express my deepest condolences to those who died and were injured in this war. Moreover, I would like to express enormous sympathies and respect for the Ukrainian country. However, this war is not only against Ukraine but against democratic and free society as well. Therefore, it’s vital to defend our society’s two most essential cornerstones: FREE WILL and a Strong economy. Moreover, many things can be learned from the Ukrainian President and the Ukrainian nation, which could help solve future conflicts easier. And of course, businesses can learn a lot as well; therefore, it’s essential to talk about those things.
The Ukrainian nation and soldiers achieved remarkable things by pushing Russian Soldiers back. And Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky achieved some remarkable things in the Politics arena, considering the sanctions imposed on the Russian Government. We have never witnessed a situation where the world’s political community would impose such enormous sanctions over four days. Furthermore, we had never seen a situation where European Union countries provided guns and armor to a third country. I believe everyone thought this situation would be similar to earlier ones when politics will talk, disagree, sum up into deep regrets and no actual actions. But this situation was different. And the main difference between all other times, when politics did nothing, and the success of Ukrainians today is that Mr. Volodymyr Zelensky and all of the Ukrainian nation and politicians were able to l convince the rest of the world of their truth.
So why was this country able to achieve this massive twist while many other countries haven’t? Because they were able to sell this idea to the world, they did it by using all the best sales and marketing theories available today.
So let’s look at what sales & marketing knowledge were adapted to this situation and why it is much more effective than just public relationships or common sense politics.
#1 Using out the Heroes’ stories while crafting their messages.
First, Mr. Zelensky and all Ukrainians taped into the heroes’ stories when crafting their communication messages. Such messages are deeply engraved into all of us; therefore, such messages are compelling and reach the mind faster than any other type of message. It’s even more powerful than the horror scenes. Why it’s so? In this remarkable book, “The hero with thousand faces,” Joseph Campbell analyses myths and stories of all the most influential cultures, and he noticed that every culture was built on the same stories. Those stories start with a man or country, who first struggles to find himself or achieve their goals, but suddenly, when some challenging situations come, one finds courage and strength to win against a much stronger enemy. In other words, those stories are understandable all over the world, and it doesn’t matter the cultural differences. Therefore Ukrainians were able to catch the attention of the world fast.
#2 Understanding who your customer is.
The other difference we saw from other previous situations is that the Ukrainian Government understood its ideal customer persona. In other words, they understood that they needed to reach the hearts of different countries’ citizens because they could reach the hearts of politicians. And this, again, is a crucial difference when talking about any other conflict. Most of the time, conflicting countries try to talk to the politicians, which are concerned with their inner countries’ problems and issues. But when you reach the hearts of those who elect the politicians, a wholly different and faster scenario evolves. Therefore, the Ukrainian Government has done a wonderful turning into simple human beings, who do want that the war would arrive in their country.
#3 Using the power of Omni communication channels.
The other difference that made a considerable impact was using all the available communications channels to distribute the information. In such a way, the message about suffering country and heroic stories was distributed firmly and broadly. We all saw that Facebook, telegram, and other groups on social media were created to distribute information. We also saw many youtube and Tik Tok messages as well. With the help of those channels, the Ukrainian Government reached the vast majority population of other countries and boosted the morale of both citizens and soldiers.
Moreover, with the help of social media, Mr. Zelensky and other politicians became social heroes. For the first time in history, followers are actually waiting for politicians to talk.
#4 Having a clear and consistent Call to Action.
The other and maybe the most crucial difference we saw is that the communication was full of clear Calls to Action. They called to action their citizens; they called to action other country leaders and citizens. Furthermore, those calls to action were reappeared many times. Of course, salespeople know the importance of the call to action, but it was a rarety within politics, at least until Mr. Volodmyr Zelenksy showed how powerful it is.
But here Ukrainians can also do a massive mistake, as when you overuse a call to action, then you can get the opposite result. Therefore, the right balance is crucial as well.
#5 Using out the voice of Influencers.
With the help of President Zelensky, the Ukrainian nation was able to influence influencers in Russia and other countries to start an anti-Putin campaign. The influencers started impacting the world fast, shirts with winged phrases emerged soon (#slavaukraini, #ruskijvojenokorabliidina.., etc.), and many influential people in countries created various charity organizations. Influencers made both political and social impacts as well. And those initiatives helped to achieve the needed momentum for fast change.
#6 Using out the momentum
The other significant difference is that the President of Ukraine used momentum. The leading sales theory says you need to hit the nail while it’s hot. So if talking from a sales perspective, you need to make the sales while the prospect is still hot, not losing the momentum. If you take too long, the prospect will forget you. Mr. Zelenksky did a tremendous job here. I can just imagine how many calls and conversations President had during those three weeks, but this was the game-changer for Ukraine and humanity. Without the momentum, we would most likely see deep regrets and no action from politics.
#7 Taping into different Schemas
We saw the other bomb talking from the communication side last week when President talked in the USA senate, Bundestag, and United kingdoms parliament. Mr. Zelensky could tap into different schemas by linking the Ukrainian situation with WW2. Moreover, to achieve that, he used familiar sayings for every country. For example, he reverted to the pearl harbor tragedy when talking with the USA. With Germany, he mentioned the berlin wall. When talking in the UK, he tapped into the famous Winston Churchill speech: We will fight on the beaches…
As we can see, many great things were achieved by the Ukrainian Nation and Mr. Zelensky. Some analysts say that the war will be ended in 2 upcoming weeks. With all the intensity initially, it’s a miracle that it can end so fast. In the beginning, analysts thought that we would have a long-lasting conflict like in Afghanistan. I’m not a war expert so I might be mistaken, but this is the first time a state used all the best communication, marketing, and sales tactics. Of course, the Ukrainian nation is brave, but they wouldn’t do this without tapping those tactics we talked about. As only with the help of best communication and sales practices were they able to get the attention of governments and receive needed supplies in days, not months or years.
The ability to use out all the tactics and possibilities today’s connected world provides is a super-strong weapon that can stop wars and win competitive battles in the business arena. So I do not doubt that the Russian war in Ukraine and its failure will be discussed in the military books and the sales and marketing literature. And of course, we urge other conflicting countries to use those methods. Furthermore, we also urge businesses to use those methods to speed up their growth.
I hope that the war-ending predictions will come true.
Peace for everyone.
About the author:
Tomas Ananjevas is a supply chain professional with 15 years of experience purchasing and selling Logistic’s services and building a supply chain from scratch. He founded a consulting, training, and staffing company that works exclusively with the logistics industry. Tomas is currently helping logistics companies implement the necessary changes that ensure business growth and continuity. You can arrange a time to talk with tomas by clicking here.
