Reevaluating Customer Preferences With Revitalized Marketing Channels
Marketing in the time of coronavirus is a delicate balance - customers want the businesses they know to guide them through their new lifestyles, but without “exploiting” the crisis to sell their products. Navigating the current marketing landscape will require businesses to reevaluate what they know about the customer, reconsider the channels they use to reach customers, and shift the focus of their marketing communications.
Re-Evaluate What You Know About the Customer
A unique advantage small businesses have is their depth of knowledge about their customer. While big companies have to rely on analytics and models to guess at customer preferences, small businesses rely on personal and community relationships.
In times of crisis, however, customers change: routines have been upended, spending habits have been disrupted, and priorities are reshuffling. What you knew about your customer yesterday might no longer be relevant. Consider your customers’ current situation: are they setting up a home office for the first time as work moves remote? Are they struggling with school closures and taking care of their children? Are they looking for ways to stay healthy and stay indoors? Do they need your product/service or just your support? Answering these questions will allow you to develop a marketing strategy that can not only keep revenue coming in, but also build trust and loyalty in your customer base. “No one has ever experienced what we are going through right now,” says Carly Reed, a partner at public relations firm Finn Partners, “but as a brand be compassionate, be honest and you will create advocates for life.”
Reconsider Your Channels
For companies that rely heavily on physical advertisements, like billboards or signage, investments will need to be made in digital marketing. Companies that already have a digital presence will need to reconsider the balance of their communication between email and social media, specifically.
Some companies, including apparel company American Giant, have paused email marketing efforts altogether while keeping social media channels active. Such extreme action might not be necessary, but businesses should be conscious of “email fatigue” - customers receive dozens of emails every day, but only view 15% of them as useful.
To keep your customers engaged, focus on quality over quantity, and reach your customers where they are most likely to see your content: social media. As stay-at-home orders took hold across the U.S. in March, Facebook usage surged 70% and in April, screen time increased 76% overall. While people are at home and on their phones now, businesses have a unique opportunity to integrate themselves into the lives of their customers in a new way. Social media offers customers and donors constant access to your company’s content on their schedule without being bombarded by notifications from emails.
Shifting Focus: Keeping Content Relevant
Whether businesses have established digital presences or are just creating their first social media accounts, a primary challenge is producing timely content.
People want companies to address the pandemic, but they don’t want to feel like companies are trying to sell to them. Customers “really want to be learning” while at home, says Erin Allweiss, co-founder of PR agency The No. 29. DIY instructional videos and infographics, recipes/cook-alongs, and home workouts all are examples of ways to showcase your products and services to a home-bound audience looking for richer content. For nonprofits that can’t market a product or service, marketing the organization’s COVID-related efforts can keep their causes at the front of followers’ minds.
The pandemic is also a time to share your story. Showing how your business has adapted to our new normal and accommodated employees can endear brands to the 80% of consumers who are looking to support businesses that support their employees. For nonprofits, providing followers a deeper view into the workings of the organization can help accommodate donors’ increased selectivity.
Key Takeaways
Be there for your customer. Reposition your brand to be part of the customer’s new way of life, even if your messaging is focused on brand-building instead of selling.
Reach customers where they are. Screen time is surging, providing opportunities for social media and web advertisements. Find out where your customers are spending more of their time and make your way there.
Creatively show your relevancy. Reframe content in a COVID context, interact with customers to show them new ways to use your products or services, and give insight into your operations and personnel.
As a social impact initiative, Rem and Company also offers free consulting services and resources to small businesses and nonprofits impacted by COVID-19. Our pro-bono consulting teams provide small businesses with the opportunity to identify and prioritize issues facing their business, propose innovative strategies, and facilitate execution. If you are a small business or nonprofit in need of assistance, learn more about how we can help.