Change, Don’t Stop, Your Marketing During a Pandemic

We all feel it.  The Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) has negatively impacted business across the country and around the world. Companies of all sizes are being forced to make tough decisions on how to keep their business afloat.

Some think the first step is to cut out marketing departments, but consumers are too invested digitally to stop ALL marketing. You can cut your marketing budget or outsource marketing if you really want to save money, but do not stop interacting with your customers. Now is the time you want your customers to see you - and see you in a gentle and caring way. Focus on your message and what you want your customers to think about you - this is your BRAND.

Use the COVID19 Downtime to Focus on Your Company's Brand

Whether using Google, Facebook or another online platform, you can reach out to current and potential customers with customized branding methods. What is your business doing to help the community? How do you want your customers to think of you during this crisis? What are you doing to make life easier for your customers? What solutions are you providing?

By replacing your branding and messaging from sales-driven to those of general concern and care, you can impact the thoughts consumers have about your company. An effective branding campaign draws attention, stirs curiosity, and although not immediately, when customers are ready, they later convert.

Prevent Losses with Smart Marketing

During this time of widespread quarantine recommendations, it’s important to keep your budget trim and reduce any unnecessary overhead expenses. The goal is to get your business through the event and prevent any long-term damage to your brand or your customer base.  That means making strategic marketing decisions. While you may be desperate to save money anywhere you can, it’s important to maintain a coronavirus digital marketing plan to stay relevant.

Review current ad campaigns and suspend any that no longer make sense, or make adjustments to your advertising strategy. One business might increase targeted ad spending on social media platforms to highlight a new delivery service or video chat option. Maybe your business was able to go virtual or online.  You have to market the shift or nobody will know about it. Now is a good time to get back to basics with your SEO digital marketing. 

You can boost your site’s organic reach by updating webpage titles, H1 descriptive headers, and meta tags. Refreshing your page content with new information and updated backlinks will help keep your brand at the top of search engine results when your customers naturally come searching for your products or services. Building your organic search traffic can have huge benefits to your business. While your competitors may be drawing back, it’s a great opportunity to go after their market share. 

Spend some time researching your competition. It’s not just good advice for businesses during a coronavirus outbreak - it’s good advice year-round. Find out what your competitors are lacking, and what they’re offering that customers are searching for. If you can identify their market audience, you can take advantage of that information and use it for competitive ad retargeting.

Pivot to New Markets and Services

Some businesses will thrive during a pandemic. Food delivery apps, meal kit companies, and e-commerce sites (and toilet paper companies) will have the most to offer during a pandemic. After all, today’s instant gratification consumption culture means people are accustomed to getting what they want…fast. In normal circumstances, everything from groceries to personal care items, medications, and meals can be at your front door in under an hour. Companies that are able to capitalize on the high demand for online shopping and deliver convenient service will see exponential growth, especially during a viral outbreak when people are stuck inside. 

If you are experiencing the economic impacts of COVID-19 on your business, it could be a great time to pivot. Stay in touch with your clients and let them know about any changes or precautions you’re taking. Remind them that any temporary setbacks will end and business will eventually resume as usual. If you’re able to jump into rapid delivery or online shopping options, use this as an opportunity to capitalize on the increased need for e-commerce and porch-side service. Let your audience know you’re being proactive and working hard to provide the products and services they rely on, all while protecting the health of employees and customers alike. 

Spend some time brainstorming how your company can create new content for new platforms you haven’t reached yet. Informative or entertaining video clips, articles or blogs, and photos for social media stories can all help boost your organic reach and even monetize your digital marketing efforts. By creating engaging content, you’ll stay fresh in the minds of an audience actively seeking out new media. 

Obviously, people are spending more time at home, which means fewer customers walking a brick-and-mortar store. Leverage e-commerce technology to meet the demand for digital sales, and get strategic with your advertising budget to minimize the economic impacts on your business. Utilize SEO techniques that keep your brand in customer feeds and build organic reach with fresh content. Your clients will be looking for shopping and entertainment outlets online, so think creatively about providing new media like blogs or videos, and offer new services whenever possible to meet the needs of those stuck in quarantine. The businesses that cut back on digital marketing during this time will suffer the most from the coronavirus outbreak, and maybe even go under.

We understand that we are in unprecedented, scary times.  But now is not the time to give up.  Now is not the time to stop marketing.  Now is the time to get creative, to assess your brand and stay in the forefront of consumers’ minds.  Break through newsfeeds inundated with Coronavirus updates with messaging your customers want to hear.

We’re here for you during this pandemic.  Together we can weather the storm.

Which Comes First – The Branding or The Marketing?

Too many times, individuals use the terms branding and marketing interchangeably (and marketing and advertising – but that’s a topic for another time).  Yes, sometimes it’s difficult to tell the difference between branding and marketing but the more they are used as substitutes for one another, the more confusion there is.  Both are vital to the success of your business, but for different reasons.

Difference between Branding and Marketing

Branding is why. Marketing is how.

Branding is long-term. Marketing is short-term.

Branding is big-picture. Marketing is strategic, focused and single-minded.

Branding is strategic. Marketing is tactical.

Branding begins inside your organization. Marketing begins with the consumer.

The most successful companies – regardless of size – focus on both branding and marketing. The combination is powerful. The order in which branding and marketing is approached matters.

Branding comes first. Marketing comes second.

It’s tempting to jump right into marketing. After all, your ultimate goal is sales, and marketing is the strategy used to optimize for sales. But if your strategy is based only on the quality of your product and service, you are at a serious disadvantage. Competitors can offer the same or perhaps a superior product and service.

What is your differentiator?  What is your why?  Who are you and why should consumers care?

Building awareness is important. Consumers need to understand how your product or service solves their problems. You need to figure out how to connect with your consumer, and the sooner you can figure that out, the sooner the cash flows. But at some point, the consumer will look past the hype to see if the brand truly matters to them.

Marketing is your message. Your brand is who you are.

Your brand lives in the hearts and minds of your customers and your prospects. It’s what they think when they hear or see your name. Your brand is based on a wide range of experiences and perceptions, some of which you can control and some of which you can’t.

The ways consumers interact with and assess products and services has changed dramatically over time. Consumers are increasingly tuning out marketing and advertising and are digging deeper to better understand the brand behind the product or service.

If you invest time and effort into understanding your brand, the ways it connects with consumers on an emotional level and how to effectively communicate it across the customer experience, you are much more likely to see a return on your marketing strategies. The more emotion consumers have invested in your brand, the more likely they are to buy from you.

Brands that engage with consumers, showing their personality and sharing their values, surpass their competitors. These brands hear their customers, and ultimately the customers hear the important message – our brand matters because….

Marketing helps find and motivate buyers. Branding creates loyal customers and advocates.

Your brand is your promise to consumers. It’s about the experience they can expect when they interact with your brand. Your brand allows consumers to anticipate future behavior because it is built on consistent behavior. In fact, the more consistent the behavior has been in the past, the more quickly the brand can convince consumers they “understand” what your brand is all about.

Remember, marketing is what you do to attract people to your brand with your message or brand promise.  Your brand is how you keep that promise with the brand experience.

Need help determining your brand and developing a strategic marketing plan?  Contact SK Consulting today.  From concept to creation to implementation – we’re there with you every step of the way.