March 31, 2020
•
5 min read
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues across Canada, life, as we know, has changed. New provincial and federal regulations have begun enforcing social distancing policies.
In the wake of these regulations, small business are faced with a unique set of challenges.
In terms of marketing, the natural response among many businesses has been to cut spending and shut down media initiatives altogether.
We highly recommend against this strategy, and here’s why.
While funds might be tight, the marketing you do now will lay the groundwork for a far quicker bounce back after things return to normal.
Especially if your competitors have turned everything off.
This is an opportunity to be the only voice in your customer’s ear.
The more people are stuck at home, the more time they are spending on social media After all, what else is there to do? Your brand has the potential to reach a much larger audience than before. Now is the time to be plugged in, and vocal.
Eventually, Canadians will return to work. There will be an increased need for socialization and engagement with others.
The brands that have the strongest marketing strategy throughout COVID-19 will see the benefits in the long-term.
THIS IS A SLOW BURN STRATEGY
Google Search has reported a huge rise in online sales in China, Italy, Spain and France as their strict quarantine policies remain.
More people are shopping online than ever. As these same regulations are applied in North America, the same rise in online sales is is expected.
Most experts agree: markets will continue to drop, and when that stops is unknown. As revenues shrink alongside it, businesses are going to look to cut non-essential areas.
Let us be clear.
Marketing is not that area. In fact, it may have become the most important tool at your disposal right now. Let us put it this way…
The best time to double down is when others are not.
When the markets are down, your competition shrinks because others are starting to pull back their spends. This just means a bigger stage — and faster results — for you.
The more eyes you get your brand in front of, the easier it will be to convert them in the future. Turning everything off and going dark just means an ever harder and far longer turnaround after Coronavirus.
Yes. This IS an opportunity to gain market share.
More importantly, it’s also an opportunity for you as a brand to carve out an important and helpful voice in this midst of the chaos.
Evaluate your media spend and marketing budgets through the lens of what is most important to your customers right now.
Your first priority is to be helpful.
.jpg)
Circumstances are changing quicker than anyone can predict. While we know things continue to trend downward, regulations are constantly evolving. That means huge shifts for businesses on the ground.
Constantly look at the data and watch your own analytics. What you thought would work two weeks ago, probably isn’t working today.
Make adjustments on your channels that ebb-and-flow with those changes.
The one thing that should remain?
Compassion.
Smart marketing decisions and the desire to stay afloat (and even grow your business) should never trump compassion. This is a scary time for all of us. We must remain connected, supportive and honest throughout.
If you fail at that, no amount of marketing you do will be worthwhile.
.png)
.jpg)
.jpeg)
