Whatever type of business you are running, the past couple of months are likely to have provided a tough trading environment. Whilst the ability to re-open to customers in one form or another will no doubt solve some problems, it is still going to be necessary to adapt to what will become a new normal. Looking at your marketing strategies now in preparation could help your business to bounce back sooner and hopefully mitigate some of the losses you may have experienced.
Post lockdown marketing strategies
As with all marketing, your post lockdown marketing strategies should start with an understanding of your customers and the problems they are trying to solve. This will help you to understand how you can help them. If you have previously undertaken persona exercises to help you to better target your marketing, you should do the same again, this time through the lense of coronavirus and how that will impact your customers.
Addressing concerns
Try to think about any new challenges or barriers which might be affecting your customers and what may prevent them from accessing your products, services or location in the future. If you operate from a store-front or physical location, this could mean addressing concerns about the possibility of social distancing or providing reassurances about new hygiene practices at your premises. If you run a business which serves other businesses, think about whether you need to offer additional support services or address supply chain issues. You can use these new insights to think about your messaging and adjust your marketing accordingly.
Alternative Channels
You may need to consider alternative channels to market and sell your products - there is still a demand from customers, depsite the current difficulties, you may just need to think about alternative ways of being able to provide what your customers want. Being agile enough to be able to respond to the new market is critical to ongoing success - whether that means a new online store, a new product range or a different way of welcoming your customers to your premises.
As things slowly begin to open up - you may also need to prepare for satisfying a pent up demand for your products or services. There are obvious areas where this may be a factor - like for instance hairdressing and other similar personal, one-one grooming services, personal trainers, exercise classes. Use your existing channels like social media and email newsletters to keep in touch with your existing customers and let them know when you hope to be able to welcome them back. You may also want to consider some kind of loyalty bonus for existing customers like priority booking or welcome back discounts for example. Trying to get advance bookings or commitments from your existing customer base will give you some comfort that you will be able to both hit the ground running as soon as possible, as well as showing your appreciation for existing customers who want to stick with you.
Invest time now for future benefits
Spending time and money on marketing at a time when you may have suffered a serious downturn in business may not seem like a priority - however, some efforts and investment in this area now will likely pay dividends as we all start to emerge from lockdown. We have a number of free guides and other resources on our website which can help you get to grips with your marketing - even if this is not something which you have really done before. We are currently offering a free content marketing and social media consultation for new clients - visit our website to find out more.