08 Jun How Your Business Marketing Strategy Can Weather COVID
When COVID hit, businesses were forced to evaluate every expense they had to weather the shutdown. With the uncertainty of the length of this shutdown, consumer’s behaviors and buying patterns are challenging to predict. Now that we have almost three months of consumer data, we can see which marketing strategies are working and which businesses will flourish in this post-crisis environment.
It’s important to note that success is not industry-specific. It is related to how businesses stay in front of their customers during and after the shutdown.
Advertising is Essential!
A natural response to economic struggle is to lessen or eliminate things within your business that seem non-essential. Advertising and marketing are essential!
A case study conducted by The New Yorker showed the difference between two cereal manufacturers’ advertising strategy during the Great Depression.
“Post did the predictable thing: it reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg profits had risen almost 30 percent, and it had become…the industry’s dominant player.”
This teaches us that companies that focus on marketing have a huge advantage over their competition and can gain market share during economic downturns.
Be Careful about Following Marketing Trends.
It can be common for small business owners to fall into a rabbit hole of what’s trending, or what they previously have been told is a good marketing strategy. The words “We’re all in this together” have been so overused in marketing recently, but the feeling of this is still very relevant in our culture. It can be demonstrated through your marketing rather than said which the Greater Keller Chamber has done an EXCELLENT job of leading the way for all of us!
Sales are indeed not only driven by clever marketing campaigns or the product itself. There is a psychology to consumer behaviors that includes embracing brands and businesses that make them feel hopeful about the future or a part of their community. The businesses that adjust their marketing message to the current times and learn to pivot their marketing strategy strategically will weather this downturn very well.
Familiarity is GOOD.
On that same note, with all the changes we are experiencing, people are seeking the familiar. We know it’s easy to watch online “marketing experts” and the younger, tech-savvy generation to see what they are doing and have them tell you what the future of marketing looks like, but you are the expert in your business, and you know your customers. For the most part, that hasn’t changed.
Studies have shown that companies that consistently stayed in touch or in front of their customers through phone calls, social media, or email marketing or relied on their connection with the community when advertising, performed better during the COVID-19 crisis than companies that went silent.
There is a time and place for cutting-edge marketing (*cough* Superbowl *cough*), but you don’t have to use that as the primary strategy during times of massive change.
Developing a marketing strategy during an unprecedented time is never easy, but our team at Life in Motion is passionate about helping your business reach its fullest potential. If you would like to discuss how we can help your business contact us at 817.431.9861 or visit lifeinmotion.com