Setting health concerns aside, it’s now clear that the COVID-19 pandemic will leave long-term economic and business consequences in its wake. In these uncertain economic times, it is tempting to focus on staying afloat and putting out all fires as and when they occur. However, it is crucial to rethink your business marketing strategy and plan effectively for what’s coming next.
Business Marketing Tips During the Coronavirus Pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected companies worldwide. Businesses are forced to make tough choices on how to ensure continuity and stay relevant. While some CEOs think that the most important is to cut out the marketing department, shoppers and consumers are too invested digitally to cut all marketing strategies.
Sure, you can outsource the business marketing function to a reliable digital marketing agency to cut your business marketing budget. But never stop interacting with your clients. Here are six business marketing ideas that will help you stay ahead during the lock-downs.
1. Invest in brand awareness
Whether using Facebook, Google, or other online platforms, you can successfully reach out to your current and potential clients with custom brand awareness tactics. What is your branding doing to help the target audience and the community? How will your clients think of your brand during and after the crisis? Is your brand doing anything to make life easier for your clients?
There are many changes in the business world and consumption choices. During these challenging times, your brand should be taking the right actions to serve its target audience. Some of these business marketing actions include;
A shift from sales-driven messages
Let your clients know that you still care about them. For instance, you can run an ad on social media just to let know your fans know that ‘we are in this together.’ Most social media networks like Facebook might not allow you to run ads with ‘COVID-19’ or ‘coronavirus.‘ So, send a positive message to your audience and let them know that you still care and value them. This will impact their thoughts about your brand.
Empathy and transparency
Most consumers feel vulnerable right now. And empathy is critical. The nuances of company voice are more delicate than ever. Any brand that chooses to exploit consumers commercially may not fare well during and after the coronavirus pandemic.
So, try as much as you can to associate your brand with empathy and good things. Consumers will remember your brand for its good acts in a period of crisis, particularly if these things were done in generosity and compassion.
Associate your brand with good things
Feel-good content that promotes positive messages and alleviates anxiety can boost your brand awareness. Remember, consumers will always recognize true purpose and authenticity in everything you do. And they will thank you later.
2. Establish Online Presence
If your business has zero online presence, it is time to set up an online platform for your business. If you have a business website or online store, it’s time to amplify its presence on social networks, search engines, and other ‘spaces’ where your target audience spends time.
The COVID-19 pandemic continues to deliver a devastating blow to businesses across the world. In response to the changing business environment, brands have begun changing gears to navigate the uncertainty and challenges created by the pandemic.
Trade show sponsorships, travels, event marketing, and other related marketing strategies aren’t the best business marketing strategy today. Amid the fear of attending or sponsoring huge events (most of them have been canceled), marketers are shifting to online marketing strategies.
Digital marketing is more than editorial and blog posts strategies. Indeed, it is a holistic approach that relies on a wide range of online marketing strategies such as social media, emails, SEO, and paid advertising to maintain constant engagements with the current customers and connect with new ones.
With the potential threat of many, if not all, your marketers working from their homes, it is recommended to rethink your business marketing strategy. If you have a business website, amplify its presence in search engines.
3. Stay Relevant and Helpful
Make sure your products or services are of additional use or relevance during the coronavirus crisis. Also, your business marketing methods should reflect this value, particularly if you’re introducing special services during the outbreak.
Also, it is wise to go beyond just marketing your products and be helpful to your target audience. Create video tutorials and share them with your audience. If you don’t know how to create a video, you can definitely use a video editor tool for better results of your video.
You don’t need expensive cameras or special skills to do so. Just try as much as you can to stay relevant and helpful to your audience during these hard times.
4. Sent Gift Cards
During the coronavirus pandemic situation with widespread lockdown recommendations, it’s crucial to trim your budget and avoid unnecessary overhead expenses. Indeed, you should focus on getting your business through the crisis and prevent long-term damage to your business bottom line.
A simple gesture of sending a simple gift card to your customers is likely to help them remember your brand, even after the crisis. You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on gift cards. Focus on simplicity and relevance.
5. Special Offerings
It is much easier and affordable to market to your current client than looking for new ones. Analyze your business performance and consider special discounts and offerings. Is it possible to speed up your deliveries at no extra cost? Can you offer discounts if your customers buy in bulk?
Special offerings will keep your customers thinking about your business, and probably attract new customers.
6. Offer Consulting and Coaching Services
Each day, a coronavirus outbreak continues to hit economies and businesses hard. Most employees and consumers are confined to their homes due to the widespread lockdowns in a bid to stop the spread of these infectious diseases. That means brands must implement the necessary business marketing protocols to safeguard both employees and consumers.
You can consider offering online coaching and consulting services. This is an opportunity to connect with consumers, employees, and other business stakeholders. Share insights with them and help them to think through various issues.
Wrap up
The world is facing unusual circumstances that are affecting businesses across different industries negatively. It is time to rethink your business marketing strategy to ensure the perpetuity of your company. When the outbreak ends, and it will end, make sure you have all your current customers and new ones. I just tought you how to do that.
Stay Safe.
