When we are feeling that the world is slowing down, and the role of the marketer is at a dead end. However, it is a complete round-about, as this is an opportunity to grasp knowledge about customer behavior and virtually engage them with the brand. This crisis makes it necessary for a marketer to look at the customers as individuals and not like a segment. The call for the hour is relying on real-time data and providing brands the opportunity to know all about the customers. Interaction with customers in this time will benefit in developing a positive engagement that is strong enough to withstand distance, device or location that is bound to differ for all customers.
Then how should marketing strategies evolve, when social distancing and work from home have become the new cool?
Adaptability, innovation, sharpness, and empathy are the new tools of the marketer to survive the negative sentiment and economic slowdown in the global economy.
Here is how you can adjust your marketing strategy and sail your boat amidst the storm –
1. Anticipate Consumer Needs
Social distancing and staying in lockdowns can lead to boredom, stress and a sense of being distant from the world. This makes it critical to identify customer needs and address them as opportunity for innovation. Businesses need to look for problem areas to connect more with customers. Listen to your customers, understand their sentiments and develop a front line based communication system with them. Use social listening to monitor their concerns about health and how will life be normalized again. Keep a close monitor on customer care emails, phone calls and service chats and a response stay honest with them always. This is the time when you build trust with your customers, look for a long-term perspective. Tell them if you can’t deliver the product, the customers who will be willing to wait are trusting the brand’s intent. That matters the most!
2. Be Present in the Digital World
For the first time in decades, the world is locked in their homes at the same time. This obviously means an increase in screen time on their mobile phones and laptops. When we all spending all our time on online platforms, social media is the only glue that is binding us all together. Although COVID-19 has disrupted marketing and advertising initiatives, but now digital marketing has taken the front seat. Marketers can hit the bull’s eye by keeping their brand make a significant presence on social sites. Campaigns that help customers and brands to interact will help in creating a relationship. This time period is to look at the larger perspective, customers have never got the chance to be free of the hustle-bustle and could never really understand the language of the brand. This is the time when you mark the right step forward and build trust-worthy bond with them.
3. Invest in SEO and content marketing
Marketing experts are seeing a performance loss in the organic channels due to a lack of overall search demand. Reviewing the overall data, a dozen of websites have shown a massive drop in organic performance. The keyword rankings are going flat, Google search console is showing a drop in impressions despite the consistent ranking. This means that it is not a problem in the SEO plan but a drop in search demand all over the world. Still, we would recommend continuing your progress on SEO and Content marketing. Reducing your efforts in your SEO activities will significantly risk all the hard work done priorly. As once the search demand normalizes, your organic traffic will have a competitive disadvantage. Check google trends to analyze how searches are constantly changing for your product. Take your content strategy to the next level, use the underutilized resources and fill in product-specific content for SEO. It is critical to continue your efforts for your SEO campaign.
4. Maximize email
Email marketing may sound old, but it was never out of the league. It is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to connect with your customers. Despite the fact that search demand is low, with email marketing you might get your claws back in the game. Newsletters and email campaigns will constantly remind the customers that their brands are mindful of the seriousness of the pandemic and ensure that they stand by with all customers. The newsletter won’t have to promote deals or products but more likely to invest in customer value. Creating goodwill now will pay back dividends when the times are more certain.
With the current situation, no one can predict what lies for us in the future and when will all of this will get normalized. But we need to survive, and for that, we must stay vigilant and sharp.
- Understand and anticipate customer needs and adapt accordingly.
- Stay relevant and up-front with your marketing strategy.
- Keep investing in the right channel that works for the long-term.
- Be empathetic and focus on helping customers, build a bond with them
On this note, we leave you saying, ‘We are in this together’.
