Adapt or disappear – this is how companies can stay competitive in the age of AI and crises

Today’s economic environment is both unpredictable and full of opportunity. Inflation, geopolitical tensions, changing consumer habits, and above all, the explosion of AI technologies are reshaping the market. For businesses, the question is not only how to grow, but often also how to survive.

“Companies need to understand that adaptation is not an option, but a survival factor,” says Mihály Tóth, a marketing communications expert who has been helping dozens of companies in crisis situations, generational changes, or rapid growth phases for more than a decade and a half. According to Mihály, the key to success is always the same: to recognize that marketing and strategy go hand in hand, and that technology only works if we add creativity and empathy to it.

The crisis as a teacher

Since the global financial crisis of 2008, no business can say that it did not have to face unexpected turns. Mihály Tóth experienced this firsthand: in 2007, on the eve of the crisis, he founded his marketing company KERKOM. In the first two years, he worked on the marketing of 47 companies, and managed to lead 44 of them out of the crisis.

“That’s when I learned that marketing is not a cost, but a life-saving investment. Company leaders tend to cut marketing first, even though it is precisely this that can bring new markets and save the business,” he explains.

According to him, the key to crisis management is not sales, but problem solving. This is the “Solving vs. Selling” mindset: “If a company just wants to sell, it won’t work in the short term. But if it can provide real answers to customer problems, it will build a loyal base in the long term. This is a lifesaver in times of crisis.”