This blog we discuss some of the marketing necessities needed in a post virus laden world. At the present time, let’s use the word “post” loosely. Call us cynical, but we don’t believe we’ve seen the last of the virus. Or, the last of business shutdowns. This is especially true given the variants that are popping up.
We’ve all seen what happened over the last year and a half to business. Most importantly we saw what happened to small business. Some made it through. Some did not. Most are still feeling the effects. It’s always good to plan ahead. We hope nothing happens but it’s always good to be prepared. Let’s talk about some of the marketing necessities you’ll need to know if any future shutdowns occur again.
Preparation is key.
Website. The website for your business serves as your online home. It should be pretty, comfortable, functional, and secure. In short, let’s look at each individually. Pretty meaning designed well and nice to look at. Comfortable equals easy to use. Functional means everything is operable. Finally, secure meaning, well, secured!
Look up some statistics and you’ll quickly find that during the shutdowns, online searches were through the roof. Customers will Google, Bing, or whatever to see that you have an online presence. Many customers will not even entertain contacting a business without a site.
Staying in touch.
Email Marketing. Another key point of preparation is to consistently touch base with customers. There’s a host of ways you can do this. For example, one of them is email marketing. Yea, yea, email marketing sometimes gets a bad rap. Maybe you’ve already tried it and it didn’t work for your business. However, it’s all in the content and/or offer!
Custom email blasts can (and in our experience does) work well. During the shutdowns, two of our local clients continued sending quarterly emails. Their open and read rates were off the charts. The length of time their customers spent reading were also very high. Comparatively speaking, their numbers were almost triple the standard rates of email blasts. Why? They spoke to the customer.
Both of these clients are still seeing the positive results of staying in touch through email. Their base knows they care and trusts them. They offered help, information, and weren’t necessarily pushing just sales. We’ll be happy to share these stats and references for both clients. Just ask us! 🙂
Other ways to stay in touch.
Social Media. One of the marketing necessities that can’t be left from the list is social media. Good grief, social media usage numbers exploded during the lockdowns. For some businesses, it was their only way of communicating or marketing.
It’s important to realize though, your social media marketing shouldn’t be just about selling. In fact, we’d recommend only making that about twenty five percent of your posts. Maybe less. Companies that offered consistent help and solutions for the given situation prospered. Creating humorous content during the stressful times also mattered. With this in mind, remember, consistency is key. Your business can’t post randomly once per month or two and expect to see results. It. Will. Not. Happen. Instead, plan to post several times per week, or get some help that can manage this for you.
Direct Mail. Ye olde direct mail. People were home during shutdowns. They still received mail. Consequently, if this occurs again you need to be ready. Again, we hope it doesn’t come to this, but a prepared mailer strategy in place is better than not having one at all.
A solid direct mail plan and design with beautiful imagery or graphics plus a great offer will pay dividends. No, we’re not talking about slapping together some boring, cheap, flimsy, pieces with drab stock images. Will. Not. Work. We are talking about custom mail pieces with a punch! Pieces with spectacular attention grabbing textures, colors, photos, and a big bold offer are what stands out. Coupled with a helpful message, your business will really reap the rewards.
Do you have any alternate ideas for other marketing necessities in the event of another shutdown? We’d love to hear them!
Need any advice or consultation on a marketing preparation strategy? We are always here to help.
