During this pandemic, it is not the time to down your marketing tools. Online engagement is surging with more people forced to stay at home. As a result, a lot of people are spending time online, and this presents a great opportunity for businesses to reach out to social media and web users. You can get in touch with your audience by providing positive thoughts, information, and relevant resources.
So why is it important?
Well, your customers probably want to know if you are still operational, the services you are offering, and the inconveniences they are likely to experience. They need to get reassurance that interacting with your brand does not in any way endanger their lives.
What you CAN & SHOULD do:
It is the perfect time to emphasize on online products, pre-sales, certifications, and delivery services. Further, most people are looking for resources and activities to help them stay positive. You could be the source of hope through your marketing.
Update customers on changes in your operations.
You need to communicate any changes in your services delivery, safety, and operation hours through popular channels such as:
- Your website
- Custom emails
- Social media platforms
- Google My Business listing
- Online directories such as Yelp
Don’t cut back on marketing.
The worst mistake you could make is cutting down your marketing efforts. Most small businesses are looking for ways to reduce operational costs. As much as you want to cut on spending, don’t touch your marketing budget. While others are cutting budgets, it is the prime opportunity to target the orphaned customers. During pandemics, most consumers are restless and likely to make changes in purchasing patterns. Online marketing through a pandemic can help you grab such customers, who don’t know where to turn to.
Since most customers are now spending most of their time on social media, savvy marketers are redirecting efforts towards social media research. You can fund your online marketing research by cutting funding in terms of:
- Trade shows
- Travel
- Conferences
- Radio (less travel time in the cars so fewer listeners)
Focus on current customers.
Keeping your current customers happy is a strategy that will help grow your brand through word of mouth. At the moment, you should have advocates who support your business. Keeping your customers happy is just the right way. Since most people are idle, spreading the word should not take much effort. Ask them to help spread information through:
- Reviews & Testimonials: As of 23rd March, Google My Business announced that they will suspend new reviews and updates to profiles – owing to the fact that they have limited ability to review internally. In such a case, you might want to focus on polishing your current Google reviews than worrying about new ones. However, sites such as Yelp and Facebook still offer new reviews. Talk to your customers and ask them to offer positive feedback on such sites.
- Share company updates on social media: Sharing company updates will keep your customers in touch.
- Pro tip: You can start a loyalty program. If you already have one, this is the perfect time to double the reward.
- Offer presell gift cards: This gives you room to create incentives for “buy now” buttons with additional benefits for your customers.
- Call your customers and ask if you can be of assistance: If your customers are in need of your products, work out a way you can continue to assist them.
- Create virtual consultancies or offers: Zoom offers a free version which is very easy to get acquainted with. Use such platforms to reach your clients.
Uncover missed revenue streams.
Introducing things like affiliate marketing, digital products, online ordering, and other online technologies might be helpful. You don’t want to pile all your eggs in one basket— especially at such a time when the future is uncertain. We have seen many businesses changing the roles played by current employees. You could shift the roles of your office members to online work, product delivery, or virtual product development. This might help retain employees that have been deemed redundant.
Tools we use while working remotely.
- Zoom Video Conferencing – It allows us to use live video for the entire team. You can find some tips on how to integrate Zoom on the following blogs:
- 15 Zoom Tips for Video Meetings
- 10 Tips and Tricks for Zoom
- Zoom like a Zoomie!
- Slack: Slack is the perfect tool for quick chats and information sharing.
- Wrike: Helps with online project management, establishing due dates, reporting, and tracking of tasks.
- Google Drive & Dropbox: Perfect for sharing large files.
- Loom: Share links of your recorded website sessions via email, text, or WhatsApp.
Keep us updated on your progress and let us know if we could be helpful in any way.
