When life gives you lemons, make lemonade.
This idiom is meant to inspire us to see good in a bad situation and to take action accordingly. But, as the world turned upside down in a way that no one was prepared for, it’s hard to know what to do, let alone how to make the best of it for your business.
But, what we have always known is that successful businesses are resilient and adaptable to change. And though, this is some serious change, how to prepare now for what lies ahead can help improve your business moving forward.
Here are three ways businesses can pivot their marketing strategies and emerge stronger than ever before.
Create Appropriate Content:
It’s important to keep communicating with your audience/customers in a relevant and appropriate way, aligning your messaging objectives with the shifting audience mindset.
The businesses that haven’t addressed the fact that it is no longer business as usual have lost customers’ trust. A recent Edelman study showed that one in three consumers had already stopped buying a brand they believed had not done the right thing in the face of the crisis.
Whether it is weeks or a year from now, clients will remember brands for not only what they did but by what they didn’t do during a crisis. So, it’s important to create content that lets people know that at your business has a heart.
See how Ford’s ad Built for Right Now simply conveys the company’s century-long commitment to their consumers and mission. In addition to manufacturing medical equipment, the company is also supporting consumers facing financial hardships through the Ford Credit payment relief program.
The solution-based company, insightsoftware, has also done a great job keeping its customer’s needs top of mind by creating a dedicated resource page. We worked with their marketing team to develop assets to promote an on-demand webinar with industry-leading CFOs advising businesses on how to best navigate through the uncertainty. Curating expert advice to assist customers who may be struggling in the current situation is a sincere and effective way to earn loyalty and trust.
Adjust Your Email Strategy
Creating high-quality content to share over email is also critical during this time. B2B clients need to know that services and solutions, critical to their remote workforce, are up and running. And B2C customers need to know who is open for business online or otherwise.
Also, taking into account your audience and their new shifts in need may open up opportunities for your business that was not there before. Your service may be the right solution to a new challenge your client faces.
Resy, emailed their customers with a guide to show what restaurants were offering takeout and delivery. With the food industry being one of the hardest hit, Resy’s support makes a difference.
Ultimately, it’s important to choose the right strategy, so the emails are engaging. Having strong, well-vetted content, ideally, prepped ahead of time, allows you to deploy emails based on customer-originating triggers or sudden changes.
Altice Business continued to keep its customers well-informed through weekly email messages of understanding and support for their business customers. Each effort we created provided timely tips, links to helpful resources, and suggested solutions to for the challenges SMBs are facing during and post-pandemic and delivering some of our highest CTRs.
Boost Social Media Engagement
As people continue to practice social distancing, they are turning to social media to stay connected. In fact, social platforms are seeing their usage double since the start of the crisis. But, even though consumers are spending more time on social media, it still doesn’t mean it should be business as usual in your marketing efforts. But rather than stop marketing, companies should use this opportunity to deepen relationships with their consumers and increase brand affinity.
By shifting content strategy to address social distancing and give their followers what they need the most right now – being together while safely apart – Ikea Spain reminds us with #YoMeQuedoEnCasa (#I’mStayingHome) how our homes are our special destinations.
You don’t have to mention all the problems of the world explicitly in all of your content, but taking into consideration the tone of your captions and how it could be interpreted by people facing a different reality than you is critical to keep a positive brand identity.
So although your 2020 marketing plan may have taken an unprecedented turn, having an acute understanding of your audience’s shifting mindset and relevant needs remains more important than ever. If you need support developing your transitional marketing strategy, we are here to help. Contact us for a free consultation today.
