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Marketing in the Middle of COVID-19

John R Ramos • April 24, 2020

The spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19) has developed rapidly, leaving many small business owners uncertain about their future. I have consulted with clients and prospective clients and they all have had a significant impact on their revenue.

Unfortunately, it seems these concerns are justified, but there are some actions you can take to protect your small business while at the same time, protecting yourself, your employees, and your customers.

In this article, I’ll lay out what I have been able to ascertain how coronavirus is impacting small businesses, how you can minimize losses and some steps you can take to protect your business. These suggestions are by no means exhaustive, as there is much we still don’t know about how this situation will play out. But we hope they will be a good starting point for business owners who are overwhelmed and unsure of what actions to take.

But first, I want to make clear that your number one priority should be to stay safe and take care of yourself.

As we go through these uncertain times, we are facing many unknowns with our businesses. Social distancing makes it a bit challenging to stay top-of-mind with our customers/clients as well as prospecting for new business.

Small business owners have to be very creative to get through it all. Some of us, have to think outside the box.

There is a new attitude of “never say die”, instead of “let’s close up shop”.

I would like to take this opportunity to revisit with you some of the marketing goals you probably had at the beginning of the year or perhaps as you were planning the new, upcoming year, in December.

You probably asked yourselves what you wanted to achieve through marketing as well as what’s important in a larger business context.

Your marketing goals most likely was to create a campaign that ultimately would help you attain a 60% share of your market. This would have brought you enough revenue to meet your long goals, to perhaps expand your operations. If they weren’t that ambitious, then, they needed to be set in a framework that would encompass the overall business objectives.

Marketing Goals You May Have Had

The first thing you probably thought of was how you were going to achieve your marketing campaigns. After all, you were going to be spending a lot of time and money on it. So, at the beginning of your planning, you had a clear idea of what you had hoped your outcome would have been. If some of these objectives were not covered in your initial major objective, then, not to worry, you have an opportunity now to fine-tune your goals with what I have listed below. By the way, these are some of the items I covered with my new clients when I consult with them)

…Than COVID-19 happened

I hope that with the next six items I have listed below, it will help you refresh your memory as to whom you were before this pandemic disrupted our lives. So let’s review some of those major objectives you most likely thought of and were placing a lot to time to achieve your marketing campaigns.

Awareness. This was and is, aimed at getting customers, making your business, products, services, website or other offerings come to light. Maybe this was going to be accomplished with the launch of a new website and/or updated content with new features, prices, versions, etc.
Action. This was and is, aimed at getting customers to do something specific in response to your marketing activities, maybe through making a purchase, visiting your website, taking advantage of a special offer, maybe clicking through on an ad in your website or perhaps inviting them to visit your place of business.
Brand Building. This is something that I profess time and time again. This is where Email Marketing shines. It will help you by getting to know your market and it helps them remember the name of your company and products or services. By continually staying in the public's eyes so that they get to know of you and your offering. Email campaigns will help you promote name recognition.
Announcement. Promote anything positive about your company whether it is key milestones, awards or any prestigious events. Maybe mergers or acquisitions or new key employees.
Affiliations. Help customers connect with you through a mailing list. Let them know that you have the same values regarding social responsibility. Another good attention getter is showing any endorsements or celebrities that have admired what you have accomplished.
Attitude. You must get others to think of you in a certain, positive light. You can accomplish this by confirming your place as a market share leader, showing any innovative and cutting-edge, or perhaps how your products and/or services are used by others.

So I am hoping that the above list will help you to refocus as there are many marketing goals that you probably planned on and got sidetracked by no means of your own doing. But as you start putting the pieces back together you may want to narrow on a new set goal and /or approaches as you reinvent yourself in this “new norm" of Digital Marketing.

Feeling the Pinch

With over a hundred countries and more than half of the world’s population currently in some form of lockdown, brands and marketing experts are reevaluating their strategies and marketing budgets for the remainder of the year. Businesses of all sizes — be they corporations, startups, or small businesses — are trying to stay afloat amidst the pandemic and many are struggling to manage their operations or communications during this time.

Small business owners are feeling the pinch as budgets get reallocated and priorities start to shift, but luckily you are uniquely qualified for these times. You can pivot and adapt to changes at the click of a button and know how to communicate sensitively during times of emergency. Right now, you need to pool your resources, settle in, and assist not only your clients and customers by creating a new sense of normalcy.

If Email Marketing is not currently part of your marketing and communication strategy, (See below if you would like to try it) the time has come to start implementing it along with the best security practices as it relates to email marketing. With the world in lockdown and economies on the brink of a possible global recession, email marketing is a low-cost, high-return option that will keep your communication lines open.

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Something To Think About

The saying, “It’s not what you say, but how you say it” has a higher bearing on our marketing messages now more than ever. Creative special offers and the everyday buzzwords we usually use might be perceived very differently than they were before this crisis.

You must keep protecting your brand’s reputation at the forefront of everything that you do. We live in an era where 90% of customers research a company online before buying from them, and any particularly poor or embarrassing messaging choices can easily make news in your industry. As a result, your copy and messaging need to evolve and be sensitive to our current reality.

Few Crucial Tips

Ensure your message speaks to your audience. The crisis communications for nonprofits dealing with COVID-19 will be completely different from the communications sent by a small online retailer to its established or regular customers. Always use sensitive language while the crisis is ongoing. Also, in the words of marketing expert Dan Jak: “Personalization is not about your customer’s first or last name. It’s about relevant content.”

I believe that your services or products are a critical part of everyday life, but to get your emails opened and read, it is crucial to understand that your new normal has changed what people perceive as essential or critical.

Try to build your messaging around the need or role that your service or product can fulfill. For example, instead of the usual “Spring Must-Haves”, ask yourself how your service or product will make your client or customer feel valued. Let them know how your product can add some relief.

Ask yourself if your messaging comes across as sensitive and aware, but still positive. As with any outreach marketing strategy, it is very important to find the right balance between a positive and uplifting message that also does not come across as overly enthusiastic or pushy. In short, do not add to the fear and negativity, but also do not act as if nothing is wrong.

Careful about messaging that creates a false sense of urgency e.g. “stock up” or “hurry”. With most essentials such as hand sanitizer and toilet paper in short supply, consumers will most likely be very sensitive to messages that instill additional fear and feelings of uncertainty.

Email Content

Do you usually make use of videos, pay-per-click (PPC) ads, or motion graphics? What would make the most sense at this stage? What can you do content-wise to ensure that your current subscribers stay engaged and hopefully continue to make purchases?

COVID-19 updates are indeed very important, but they should not be the only focus of your content and messages over the next couple of weeks.

Before investing your time in a dedicated COVID-19 update, ask yourself if it requires a distributed email or if you have any other means that would be better suited for the update. Examples could include directly text messaging your customers or posting a general update on your website.

Try to limit any content that focuses on one individual product when possible, and remember that you may run out of stock. Rather focus on more category-specific CTA’s and landing pages if your stock levels are unpredictable.

Do you have a batch of new products or a new range of services coming in? If you invest in email marketing services, you can create a spaced-out release schedule that will give your subscribers something new and exciting to look forward to. By following this strategy you will have the additional benefit of distributed revenue over a longer period.

Are you planning a sale? Remember that people may have a limited income during this time and they will think twice about the necessity of your product or service. Your usual customers may not be interested in certain products during this time no matter how good a deal you are offering. It is also important to remember that massive discounts at this point may damage your brand in the long run as it might cause your customers to only buy your product/service when you have big promotions.

Keep an eye on the images you are using in your current content. Avoid images that feature traveling or large groups of people, rather focus on images that portray serenity and individual joy.

Change your online messaging to include your new clients or customers, as many are transitioning to online shopping and cloud services during this time and maybe brand new to your products or services. Set up quick surveys if necessary to find out if your onboarding experience relays the necessary information and trust with your business or company.

This could be the perfect time to do an audit of your business’ current transactional and triggered emails. Fine comb the wording of each email in your list, and adapt and update where you feel it is necessary. Be sure that every one of your touchpoints is meaningful and relevant. Each message should speak to our current state of affairs and relay your values.

Emailing Timing Is Crucial

Most of your daily schedules have been upended. You are missing daily commutes, regular meetings, early morning coffee, and maybe learning to adapt to working from home.

Consumers are now focusing on online shopping and visiting their preferred social media channels more often. While this may make you think that marketing via social media needs to be your main focus right now, the truth is that email marketing remains the most effective tool for engaging and converting users, being seven times more effective at creating sales than the major social media outlets such as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn put together.

For this reason alone, email marketing needs to remain at the forefront of your efforts to generate sales from customers, and your success can come down to how well you evaluate the timing of when your emails should be sent.

You do not want your emails to end up in a spam folder due to not being opened, so it might be worth your while to do a limited amount of testing to gauge the ideal time for your emails to be sent. As your subscribers may now be home-bound, the optimal times may have changed significantly. Bear in mind that these schedules will have to be revisited once we return to our normal routines.

It might be worth your while to consider how the rising amounts of time spent at home can impact the usage of your product. If someone will need more or less of your product or even more or less of your usual services than usual due to the current lockdowns, try to determine how it might influence the timing around your follow-up. It is always a good idea to put replenishment triggers in place if you haven’t previously done so.

Communication and Transparency Is A Must

We’ve all had to inform our clients and customers of out of stock products or delivery delays after big promotions (think Black Friday). At this point, issues like these should be anticipated and planned for in advance.

Be sure to convey this to your customers or clients upfront so that it does not catch them unawares. Remember that there is no perfect formula out there that can assist you to create the perfect email. Just be honest and authentic in your communication.

Where possible, communicate any known inventory or delivery issues on your created content e.g. paid advertisements as well as on your website to ensure your customers are informed beforehand. By giving your clients or customers a well-advised heads up, you are building loyalty and trust.

If you wait to inform your client or customer of any possible delays and other issues until after they’ve made their purchase, you may have won that single purchase, but the client or customer will have experienced a negative buying experience.

After the purchase has concluded, try to reiterate the possible issues or delays in your confirmation emails and on the accompanying invoices. Depending on your customer management system, you may have the ability to send an email or text message along with every shipping update. If not, try to get it in place as soon as possible. People look forward to receiving their online orders, and regular updates will lead to more positive buying experiences.

Never Forget The People Behind The Emails

While governments across the world — from China to Australia to Brazil, and everywhere in between — have placed strict measures to keep us safe and healthy, we are unfortunately still (at the time of writing this article) very much at risk of contracting the virus. It is very important to have a back-up plan in place for your email marketing strategy and implementation should the company or person in charge of your projects become affected in any way.

It may not be the most pleasant part of your current planning, but you do need to plan for any contingencies in advance to ensure that a person or company can jump in and manage your strategy or projects to keep the lines of communication open between you and your customers.

My final Thoughts - For Now...

It has been said that times of crisis does not create a character, but reveals it. The way your business or company carries itself during this pandemic and the worldwide crisis will play a direct role in your ability to retain your clients or customers as you go forward.

It is also important for marketers and business owners to remember that different individuals will react differently during times of crisis. As such, think about how you would like to let people know that you understand the challenges that they are currently facing and show your concern. They might be experiencing feelings of anxiety and panic and may even be traumatized and completely overwhelmed.

By staying empathetic and mindful in our current reality, your business or brand will reap the benefits in the long term. Our current situation is only temporary, but the ripples will remain forever.

I hope that if you have found this article of value, that you would share it on your social media platforms.

Please let me know if there is anything that I can assist with your marketing. You are certainly welcomed to reach out to us if you want to have a free ½ hour consultation.

If you have a topic you'd like us to cover, email us at john@thejrsolutions.com. We would be very happy to try to accommodate your request.

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