SMEs - How To Market Your Business During COVID-19
Throughout 2020 it has become clear that the Covid-19 virus isn't going away. Some businesses are adapting at a pace that is unprecedented and there can be a temptation to pull back on marketing in a bid to 'tighten our belts'. However SMEs everywhere are facing the same challenges in a recession, where consumer habits are changing and where in some cases they cannot even open for business. Business owners who can market to the right audience and make changes stand the best chance of thriving and weathering the storm.
Whether you are going back to the drawing board with your marketing strategy or you are sticking with what you were doing prior to March 2020, there are three areas that might be worth thinking about.
Know Your Customer - with changing consumer habits and behaviour are you still targeting the right people? Analyse who you have sold to during lockdown for example and ensure that you are marketing to that sector.
Offer Solutions to New Problems - pain points have changed and so too can your offering. Customers may want to pull up to your shop or warehouse and pick up an item rather than browse in a physical store for example.
Is your existing business plan working or do you need to address the points above and make changes?
It isn't business as usual and even if you are fortunate enough to be busy, nobody knows what is round the corner. Therefore it may be worth noting our tips for marketing during the coronavirus crisis.
Stay Connected
Keep in touch with your customers regularly and let them know that you are there for them. Use the phone as this is direct and will back up emails and social media contact. A conversation is personal and will stick with people.
Appropriate Messaging
Be mindful of your pictures that you are putting out and whether they adhere to current guidelines. So posting on social media showing crowds of people may not be the best idea at the moment and will switch some of your audience off with everything that is going on in the world. Be there, show empathy and offer solutions to peoples concerns in your communications.
Maintain Online Visibility
One report from Ofcom earlier this year showed that adults are spending a record 4 hours per day online. More time at home working is one factor and the surge in video calls and meetings is another. Your online presence is therefore more important than ever. Your website needs to be effective and work for your business. If it isn't then there are services to help you to improve the situation.
Websites are our thing and we have built and continue to support hundreds of Essex and Suffolk business. Contact Us for a free no obligation conversation about making your website more effective for your business.
Brainstorm New Ways To Market
Be inventive and creative and look at tools such as Google Trends and Rising Retail Categories to help you to pinpoint key words and popular topics now and over time.
Can You Offer Something Unique?
We recently came across a Karate Instructor who couldn't run classes after school as normal. He has taken these classes online therefore. Parents still want their children doing sport and moving around after school so his offering works for some people. Can you take a different angle to navigate the guidelines and offer a solution to peoples' wants and needs?
Community Focus
Try to help customers with a free handout or online class to show support and appreciation. We incorporated a 'Support Your Local Business' initiative to our marketing strategy during the lockdown period to show thanks and support to our loyal clients.
How To Market
The methods that are hot right now might surprise you and in the spirit of change and trying new things, be sure to review your channels and maybe add something new into the mix.
Part of your social media strategy may not include live video, which is popular right now and with more people online, your reach may be wider than ever before. Broadcasting to your audience is a great way to reassure them that you are still there and ready to assist in any way that you can. Blogging is a favourite of ours here at Leading Motion and we try to blog across our business websites as regularly as possible.
We phone our clients and ask them to blog at least once per month and in some cases we write and post the blog for them as an extra service. New, unique content is a great way to increase your online visibility. Shop or ecommerce websites are on the up, we have certainly seen a rise people wanting to branch out and sell online.
If you have been thinking about it, our advice would be to act now. We can design and build a bespoke website in 14-17 working days, providing you give us some content and your logo. Finally, and worth mentioning for some the reasons that we have explored in this article are webinars. Host a webinar instead of a social or business event.
Peak peoples interest in your business offering and put a face to the name? Most importantly be responsive, reactive and use a range of methods to broaden your reach and get noticed.
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