Can Marketing help in the face of COVID-19?

Firstly, we’re in week 6 people, give yourselves a pat on the back for getting this far. We’re all battling with a lot at the moment and having to balance so much ‘new’ stuff.

Business owners around the globe are in a state of uncertainty since the COVID-19 outbreak, as lockdown impacts everyone’s behaviour in terms of what they buy and how they spend their time. Everything changed really quickly. We were all just getting on with things as normal, now we’re getting our heads around home schooling, staying 2 metres away from people in the supermarket dance (anyone else think it’s like a choreographed routine? Just me?) and figuring out whether to host the family quiz on zoom or houseparty.

This rapid change has made us all question the relevance of current marketing messaging. Should we put campaigns on hold? Should we sit tight until it all settles down? Just stop marketing all together?

It’s weird isn’t it? We think it’s time to get your digital marketing game on and come out of the other side of this stronger. Make the most of it.

Here’s some stuff to be getting on with (there’s loads more, but one thing at a time, eh?)

Update your website content & marketing collateral

What mattered to your customers last month might not be the same anymore. Get that content refreshed and up to date. Make sure it’s filled with key benefits your product or service gives them right now. Some content might need tweaking, other bits will need more attention. 

We find that with some of our customers keeping website content up to date is one of those jobs that’s always on the back burner for when there’s some time to do it. This is it.

Bear the current situation in mind though. This is an opportunity to demonstrate how you care about your customers’ business issues. Show how your content relates to these issues and what your audience will learn when they read it. 

Write your post #Covid19 Digital Marketing Strategy

Have you got a marketing strategy now? So many of our customers didn’t have one when we started working with them. It’s so important to have a strategy and a plan. You can always adapt and change direction, but it’s essential when it comes to knowing what’s working and what isn’t. You won’t get everything right all of the time. A lot of marketing is about trial and error then doing more of the stuff that worked the best.

Take this time to reflect. Update the reports, think about what activity worked and what didn’t. Figure out why it didn’t. Set goals, big ambitious ones, then figure out the smaller, measurable objectives you need to set to get there.

Refresh your competitor analysis

When was the last time you properly looked at your competition and analysed them? I mean really looked. 

We could all spend some more time analysing what our competitors are up to. It might inspire you to take some action. It should inform your business strategy, are you behind or ahead of the curve?

How active are they on social media? Are they doing better than you or not so good? Are they focussed on a certain area of the market? What is it that’s working well for them and not working well for them. Where are you stronger?

Understanding your competition means you can understand your customers more. You get to see what they see. Do they see more or less of you compared to your competition? 

Do some target market profiling and research

Use this time to get more focussed on your customers. Who are they? What do they do? Don’t just look at the business they are in and the location, but really think about the actual person you are targeting. 

Have you got up to date and valid target user personas for your marketing activity? If not, write them. We have a template you can use if you’d like just let us know.

Start having a think about how you could talk to your target customers with increased knowledge. You can tie this all into your marketing strategy and content plan.

Create some cool new content for your content bank

Is there some stuff you could be creating during this time? Blogs written in advance – some things don’t have to date. User guides, research papers, white papers/ebooks, frequently asked questions. Have you thought about how you can create more video or a podcast?

Let us know how you are adapting during these times, we’d love to hear from you. I’m offering a free consultation to talk through what to focus on right now with a limited budget and team. Get in touch. There’ll be no sales pitch I promise.

#DigitalMarketing #StrongerTogether #B2B #MarketingStrategy