Finding the New Normal in Marketing

We are all feeling it– the devastating impact of our current state of affairs.  First, the COVID-19 pandemic – which is still in full swing, then the riots following George Floyd’s murder – causing many cities to shut down marketplaces and businesses to be looted and burned to the ground.  We are seeing an economic and social down-spiral that leaves many of us to wonder – what do we do next?

\As far as the economical impact, it is safe to say the business landscape has drastically changed.  But, businesses can still sustain themselves and recover from today’s economic crises by changing up their marketing strategies to reflect new consumer habits.

Along with impacting human life, today’s crises are negatively influencing the global business and economy. It’s a challenge to market during a crisis and at the same time plan for the future. Industries are not able to operate effectively in this challenging situation. This has made marketing more critical and complex than ever for many businesses.

We have already seen a behavioral shift - people spending more time at home and on the internet. Since people are still semi-quarantined, there are more eyeballs browsing online than before and people are consuming more digital content on all fronts.

In general, keep up the following and your business can continue to thrive.

Be smart

Work smart and be ready to tackle the challenges ahead and retain existing customers. This is a unique time, when a small allure can result in huge gains for business. This is not the time to panic. Many big companies are using smart marketing and advertising campaigns to promote positivity and communicate important messages.  Small businesses should too.

Be social

It is essential to keep in touch with customers. It's cheaper to retain an existing customer than acquire a new one.  Everyone is glued to social media right now! With increased reach, engagement and time spent on social platforms, businesses should NOT pause their social media efforts. Social media helps put you in front of where your target audience is already browsing.  While doing this, connect with your customers with compassion and empathy. Start an awareness campaign that may inspire, ignite people to cope with the current situation.  And please refrain from the “We’re in this together” statement.  It is overused and actually false. (Are you in the same boat as Fortune 500 CEOs?)

Be visible

It’s the “out of sight, out of mind” mentality.  If you stop marketing, you’ll be forgotten.  While consumers are scouring digital platforms, this is a great opportunity for your business to improve its online visibility, which means driving visitors to the website to capture future sales. If you haven’t updated your website to meet today’s marketplace, that should be your first investment.  Consumers will bounce right off your homepage if they do not like what they see or read.  One of the best times to get found by potential clients is ensuring that they can find what they want at every point of the purchasing lifecycle.

In a recession period, some choose to make the unfortunate decision to cut or eliminate their SEO budgets. Their rankings will hold for a few weeks and then start to slip as Google's algorithms begin to recognize that there's nothing new or interesting happening on their site. Every time a site drops in rankings, another one moves up. DON’T cut your SEO and SEM budget because it will eventually help to reach customers in a more cost-efficient and quicker way.

Be strategic

There is no one-size-fits-all method in the digital marketing domain. Consumer sentiments and behavior has changed and will continue to change. Be strategic when planning both for the short and long terms. Your plan should be implementation-ready no matter how much notice you have to put it into place.

Be measurable

Measuring means tracking marketing spend. Brands need to be measured against success criteria: sales, numbers of hits, queries, numbers of leads, or referrals etc.  Utilize Google Analytics, social media ROI and any other analytical tools you already have in place to get a comprehensive picture of your status. 'If you don't measure, then you can't manage'. And if you're not managing, then you could be pouring money down the drain.

Be creative

'Necessity is the mother of invention'. Measure success and learn from the experiment. If marketing budgets are tight, then knowing what works makes it easier to make the decision of where to invest. Whatever experiment we do; it should be quick, cheap, and easy to deliver.

Be truthful

The real opportunity is for businesses to really focus on developing transparent messaging across the board.  If you want to stay in the minds of your customers, you need to be proactive and aware no matter the crisis we/you are facing.  For now, that means keeping messages fresh and reminding clients that your business is still in the game. Make sure you are delivering the right message to the right person at the right time in an honest manner.

Be smart

When the economy seems to be crashing, some businesses seem to go into hibernation mode. But, you should take this time to re-think, re-adjust, re-define and upgrade marketing efforts. Now is the time  to enhance digital communication and deliver great experiences at each point of the customer journey.

As the “new normal” continues to define itself, so should your marketing tactics.  We are all becoming more and more accustomed to adapting, your marketing should be adaptable too.  Not sure how to readjust your marketing priorities during this exceptionally unique time? SK Consulting can help!