Marketing Your Business During COVID: How to Do it Right
Owning your own business is the quintessential Canadian Dream. It's the essence of success that courses through every entrepreneur's veins. But there are so many caveats and obstacles in becoming successful that owning a business can turn into the Canadian Nightmare — financial failure.
More than half of all small businesses don't make it to see their fifth birthday. If those overwhelming odds weren't bad enough, the current pandemic has tightened the noose on the remaining half. As a business owner, you should modify every aspect of your business plan to accommodate for the COVID19 pandemic.
Marketing your business to demonstrate how healthy the firm is should be a top priority. Here's how you need to adjust your marketing strategy to cope with the Coronavirus.
Instilling Faith
Reach out to your customers and your loyal patrons. Let them know how their favorite business is doing. This instills faith among your customers that your firm will survive and thrive through the pandemic.
People tend to steer clear from dying businesses. It's an unfortunate consequence, and it's usually the final nail in their coffin. People don't want to shop at a place where their purchased goods might not be secure in the future.
Would you buy a $3,500 television from a mom and pop store that has "closing soon" signs out front? Or from a business with a strong foundation that offers warranty and security?
Confidence in your own business is confidence that's extended to the customers.
If you have a mailing list or some other means to reach out to your customers, utilize it. Tell them how well you're doing. This is not a fruitless endeavor, it's an invitation.
Transition to Online Sales
With everyone locked at home, now's the time to target their online shopping.
Just about every employee who sits behind a computer is at home, working remotely. Without the prying eye of management, you can bet that they'll be shopping more freely through online purveyors.
Start pushing your online shop and the ability to purchase your good or service online. If you don't already have a website, invest in one. Not only is this a good short-run investment to snag the Coronavirus shoppers, but it'll last you past the pandemic.
Perchance that you do have a website, push for SEO. Manipulating your business to be among the top searches in a search engine is the most powerful form of marketing. The convenience factor is immense for people that are looking to buy an item; if your shop is first to be seen, it'll be a competitive advantage.
If your small business can afford it, buy ad space on a heavily-trafficked website. Reallocate some of the budget that you may have had for newspapers or local news and invest it in cyber ads. You'll notice an almost immediate uptick in traffic to your site.
The only downside to having a website is its maintenance and starting cost. If your business is truly strapped for cash, you can try one of the cheaper alternatives:
- Etsy for selling products
- Shopify
- eBay presence
Any sort of online entity that'll represent your shop is better than have a sole brick 'n' mortar store.
Get Social in Marketing Your Business
Just about everyone that traverses the internet has some sort of social media that they post to or browse. A sense of community during a pandemic is rather comforting for a lot of people.
With so many people looking to social media to vent or to seek guidance in the face of the Coronavirus, you should have some sort of social media outlet for your firm.
Use this as an opportunity to evaluate your customer demographic, as well. Are you a hip, fast-fashion brand that's trying to market to teens? Or are you a bike shop that's aimed to get more middle-aged dads on two wheels?
When you know your audience, you'll know how to market to them via social media.
Younger crowds have an obsession with fast-paced media — it grabs their fleeting attention. Marketing through Snapchat, Instagram Live, or TikTok is vital.
But young people are getting more and more clever. They don't like being sold something. Gen Z wants to interact and be a part of brand marketing.
Millenials involve themselves more on Instagram and social chatting websites, like Reddit. Don't opt for an Influencer, as it's pandering and pretty bad for marketing at this point. Instead, sell your business as a modern, progressive entity.
Millennials love social justice and attention. Market your business as green and progressive. On Instagram, create posts that center around your customers.
Take Proper Medical Precautions
Most of the country is fully supportive of masks and taking caution not to spread the virus further than it has.
Advertise that your business complies with this sentiment. Make it known that your firm fully supports wearing a mask while in-person. Enforce the rule of social distancing.
Advertising that you're a health-conscious business might alienate a select few people from visiting your store. But for the vast majority, people want to stay healthy and free of the virus.
Customers will gladly visit your business if they know they'll be safe. If it's a free-for-all, the health-wary will avoid your business like, well, the plague.
Marketing for the Virus
Owning a business is your ticket to success. Capitalism and business founded this country. The Coronavirus has made it a little harder on business owners, however.
Marketing your business to cope with COVID is essential in keeping your company afloat.
You should instill faith into your customers that your business is thriving. From there, transition to online sales and social media marketing to capture a more prevalent online presence. Make it known that your business is healthy and compliant with COVID regulations.
Interested in learning more about business and the financial freedom that comes with it? Reach out to us for some more information, or if you just want to talk.