Business popularity ebbs and flows with time, and societal shifts can cause such trends. The onset of COVID-19 has shown this to be true for many businesses that are now attempting to realign their marketing approach. Marketers have had to adjust and pivot on the fly in the new normal.
As Coronavirus and the oncoming recession settles in, businesses will have to remain flexible, making changes to stay ahead of the economic decline. You can implement some of the following realignments to strengthen your marketing strategy and get your business out of a decline.
Do Your Research
You should look inward if business begins to take a downturn. Ask yourself:
● Where are sales most being affected?
● Has traffic and engagement decreased on certain channels?
● Has your audience changed while your products haven’t?
● Is there a disconnect between your brand voice and products/services?
This will help marketers identify the source of your problems, which can then be prioritized and fixed, as much as possible.
Consider A Brand Redesign
If your industry has shifted its focus, your company should have changed with it. If you haven’t, it might be time for a brand redesign. Beyond changing the look of your business to meet the modern age, you can update your brand voice and tone to meet updated trends of your industry. This can include reducing the use of technical jargon and increasing the empathy present in your language.
Bundle Products And Services To Increase Value
Looking to increase sales? It might be a good idea to bundle some of your products and services at a slightly decreased price. By pairing related items together and dropping the price, you’re incentivizing customers to make a purchase through you, offering them multiple useful products in just one, affordable purchase. Furthermore, such a deal can be marketed through various channels, including emails and social media advertisements, to entice people to engage with your website and, hopefully, make a purchase.
Change The Way You Talk To Your Audience
Shifts are sometimes required to keep your company feeling fresh. In other cases, change may be required to ensure you’re still finding the right audience. If you’ve relied on traditional marketing thus far, it’s time to move into the present. Change or expand the channels your business uses to communicate with customers. If you’re an automotive shop, it might be a good idea to start a YouTube channel where you can upload regular tutorials related to basic car maintenance that can be done at home.
If you are a clothing company, consider creating an Instagram where you can share images of your clothing and outfits, hopefully to entice customers by your aesthetic. And if you are a software development company, consider jumping on Twitter to discuss common tech and to solve basic problems for people in need.
With so many communication options available nowadays, it is in your best interest to make use of them. Such expansion can help you find customers who have been looking for you all along, too, but were never able to find you.
Explore New Networks
If you have found that your business is struggling with customer engagement, it might be time to expand your network. One of the easiest, most useful ways this can be achieved is through the implementation of an affiliate marketing strategy.
By relying on affiliates, you can have a network of personalized, unique brand representatives—from social media influencers to fellow businesses—who can tell their audiences about your products and services. You can even craft specialized content to have affiliates talk about relevant world events, too, discussing what your business is doing throughout a crisis.
Gamify Your Affiliate Network
It can be helpful to gamify your approach in times of trouble, and this is especially true when upgrading your affiliate marketing strategy. Consider offering specific prizes to your affiliates to incentivize hard work, such as the following options:
● Offering a cash bonus for the first ten affiliates to earn a specific number of conversions or
● Providing tiered coupons they can give to their audience to see how well they can convert customers to certain sale numbers.
Follow Up With Customers And Site Visitors
If you haven’t done so already, have a popup on your website when someone visits your homepage. The prompt should ask the visitor for their email address and mention you’ll provide them with coupons and company information via email. Furthermore, you can do the same whenever a customer makes a purchase, offering them the option to stay in the loop going forward. By getting their email addresses, you’ll have an easy way to reach out to them, going forward, increasing brand engagement.
Focus On Email Marketing
Previous customers can be a great asset in a time of business decline. It might be time to reach out to them if they’re not returning to your website.
Targeted email campaigns are a great way to get back in touch with previous customers, whether you want to tell them about a new product, inform them about a brand update, or share a one- week-only coupon just for their use. Whatever route you try to take, email campaigns provide a seamless method for you to contact and interact with previous customers—hopefully, effective enough to bring them back into the fold.
Modify Your Marketing Masterfully
Business declines happen, and economic crises such as the effects brought on by COVID-19 can increase their likelihood. If your business faces such a decline from Coronavirus or other major disruptions, there are ways it can be managed. It just requires some time and effort to update your business’s marketing strategy. Always be ready to adapt, evolve, and pivot your marketing or advertising campaigns accordingly.
