Is your small business affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?
Businesses may need to reassess their marketing message during this turbulent time. Here are 6 crucial actions you can take.
1. Keep your customers informed
During uncertain times, your loyal customers want the most up-to-date information about your business. Have your hours changed? Are you temporarily closing? Are you changing how you operate for now? Let the public know! Your customers should feel like you’re riding out this storm with them and you’re there to help. Keep them informed on your website, social media, email newsletter and any other channels you use. If you have to close temporarily, customers will watch your website and social media for news about re-opening. Don’t let them down by re-opening without telling them.
If a business directly affected by COVID-19 hasn’t posted an update, it may look like they either don’t care or aren’t active online. Both perceptions are negative. Of course, some businesses may not need an update at all. If it’s business as usual, great! You may not need a coronavirus statement specifically (here are some ideas if you do), but it’s always smart to communicate with your customers to keep them happy.
2. Use all your marketing channels
When you send an important update by email, copy it to your website. Post it on social media. Add it to your Google Business Profile! Whatever channels you use to market to and inform customers, update them all. Stay active and engaged.
If you post an update on Instagram, don’t assume all your contacts follow you there. Some may only be on Facebook, and a few may only read your email newsletter. That’s a compelling reason to share updates across every channel. Remember to tailor each post to the channel: Instagram relies heavily on images, Facebook link previews allow a couple of sentences, and emails are generally longer.
3. Turn your message into a positive
Certain industries, such as travel, B2B, gyms, entertainment, window cleaning, restaurants, venues, theaters and coffee shops, are really struggling right now. Some are required by local mandate to close for a few weeks; others can stay open but must get creative to bring in business. Whatever you’re having to change, turn it into a positive and build your message on your strengths. For example:
- Vacation rentals: market your property as a much-needed respite.
- Fitness: stress the importance of not neglecting your health during quarantine.
- Food: highlight your take-out and delivery options (and sign up for the delivery apps!).
- Healthcare: explain the detailed steps you’re taking to prevent illness from spreading.
Emphasize your commitment to your customers’ health and well-being. Reassure clients that you still want to serve them, even if you have to do it differently than normal. Remind them what you offer, even if nothing has changed, because they may be curious how your business has been affected. Overall, stay honest and stay positive.
4. Reinforce your benefits
Why do customers choose your business in the first place? When the economy is good, why are you the ideal choice over your competitors? What value do you bring? Throughout the pandemic, remind your followers of those answers and why they fell in love with your product or service.
Is your food healthier? Is your service more affordable than your competitors’? Do you hold the top certifications in your industry? Have you honed your skill for years, even decades? Whatever your benefits are, reinforce them, and remind loyal customers why you’re the top choice.
5. Emphasize your promotions
During an economic crisis, spending is down and people are cutting back. They’re looking for discounts and coupons more than ever. Can you offer a discount or promotion? Buy-one-get-one, free shipping, 10% off or a free inspection? This is a golden opportunity to attract new customers and keep your current ones with a special offer.
Put yourself in your customers’ shoes. Do you like discounts? How do you feel when you get free shipping? Empathizing with your customers can inspire the right way to serve them through difficult times.
6. Keep it up
Mastering the first five steps doesn’t mean your marketing ends once COVID-19 subsides. The economy will stabilize. We don’t know exactly when, but once things return to normal, the marketing habits you’ve formed should become routine. Don’t neglect your website, social media and email marketing just because business is back to how it was. Effective marketing matters just as much when times are good as when times are tough. Make it a priority to communicate with your customers regularly, use all your marketing channels and promote your benefits in a positive way.
An economic crisis is an opportunity to build resilience and empathy, to adapt, to reassess our message, and to support one another. Those qualities will strengthen our businesses as we move forward.
About the author
Leighton Smith is Pioneer Media’s website designer, web developer and webmaster, based in East Tennessee. As a solopreneur, he is each client’s one point of contact and has built hundreds of websites since learning to code in 2006.
