By Rick Keilty
Eastpark Consulting
Looking for Customers? They’re Waiting For You Online
Nothing rivals the sadness we all feel for families who have suffered the impact of Covid – 19. New terms like the curve, contact tracing and social distancing have become part of the daily lexion. Equally devastating has been the economic impact on countless businesses. As the country starts down the path to reopening, businesses face many difficult and challenging decisions if they are to recover.
Paramount to their success will be their decisions on marketing. There is a great deal of research that offers guidance during periods of economic distress. What is profound is the one common thread in all the research: Companies that maintain their marketing during the Coronavirus Pandemic will emerge stronger and gain ground as consumers return.
You can maintain your marketing without breaking the bank. There has been a significant shift in how people consume media. People are spending much more time online and turning to social media for endorsements of products and services. Facebook and Instagram report a 70% increase in the time people are spending on their platforms. This means the timing is great to reach more of your customers while spending less. Now is the time to leverage this trend by shifting budgets into digital platforms.
With digital marketing your message is targeted to specific consumers thereby making the investment very cost effective. Cutting out waste is the key to efficient marketing! Creating digital and social media campaigns have the advantage of being affordably priced and extremely nimble. Being able to make quick creative changes during these uncertain times allows you to “market to the moment.” Things are changing everyday and your message needs to reflect that. Tools used to track campaigns continually measure performance and ROI.
Messaging should be sensitive to the emotional state of the market. The right theme creates an opportunity to deepen relationships with customers as well as employees and suppliers. However; do not lose sight of the sale since it is the lifeblood of your business. People are still buying and planning to buy in the near future. The ability to capture the pent up demand of this current economy will allow those businesses to gain significant market share when the economy returns to the new normal.
In an economic crisis, marketing that fails to deliver sales means that the business will likely struggle. Be certain your messaging clearly demonstrates how your product or service can help
people today. People are drawn to businesses that are strong, relevant and show resilience in times of crisis. Your marketing message should reflect that.
Today investing your experience and expertise in running the business is time well spent. Conversely, you will be pleasantly surprised how little it costs to outsource your marketing to skilled professionals. It can actually save you money.
Your marketing must be cost effective, executed in a timely fashion and above all deliver results. An in-house DIY approach may lack effectiveness and is time consuming which reduces productivity. Outsourcing your marketing means you can concentrate on all aspects of reestablishing your business. It also guarantees that marketing remains a top priority and receives maximum attention by experts in the field. (written by Rick Keilty)
Rick Keilty is a member of the Experts in HOW team. He has decades of experience managing digital and traditional media companies.
