The reality of the situation is that our customers are living in fear. 

A pandemic is spreading and people are living in ‘lock down’.

Are you worried about what this means for your business?

How can you market what you offer in a way that feels authentic and doesn’t alienate clients at this time? Following The Government’s recent announcement that we can only leave our homes for strict reasons and all ‘non essential’ businesses have to close (online businesses can still operate during this time) … there is huge temptation for businesses in our industry to ‘run for cover’ and to cease all marketing activities until this all blows over.

Preparing your marketing for an online world: 

Build an online shop: During the upcoming months and weeks birthdays will still take place and your customers will be keen to celebrate these in isolation. It is essential that you are visible and have a website that is now your ‘shop front’.

Take the time to learn about SEO and how your website can be ‘found’ online by your customer. Consider investing in google adverts as your customers search online for the perfect gift. 

Grow your social media: Now is the perfect time to commit to growing your social media following. Build your customer base until they are ready to buy from you / it is the right time to present them with the opportunity to buy from you. 

• Run competitions
  

• Partner with influencers
  

• Run facebook / instagram adverts and grow your following
  

• Make your customers laugh during this time
  

• Set some ambitious targets for social media growth and set about growing your customer base. 
  

Focus on Engagement: Engaged audiences on social media mean that your paid adverts will perform better and followers are more likely to see your posts. 

• Sharing engaging content
  

• Make your followers laugh
  

• Alleviate their boredom
  

Regularly check your social media insights and see which of your posts are performing better. Ask yourself why this is the case? And commit to creating more post like this. Look at other social media accounts that have great engagement and see what you can learn from the. 

Regular E-mail Newsletters: If you have an e-mail community, continue to send regular e-mails to them. Share content that adds value during this difficult time. 

How to adjust your marketing so you connect with your customers instead of alienating them: 

Double-check your messaging and tone: This is a difficult time for your customers and they are afraid, concerned for their family’s health and their entire life has been turned upside down. Ensure that you speak with empathy and sincerity. Acknowledge the reality of the situation they are in without adding to the fear and scarcity they are seeing in some media outlets. 

Share your authentic brand: Your customers are stuck at home and their old life of eating out, holidays and active social lives no longer represents their current reality. Use facebook live, igtv and social media to demonstrate that you understand their life today and build relationships with them. Your brand doesn’t have to be professional videos, photos of packed shops and events but rather, you and the message you can share with them. 

There’s a time to build relationships and a time to sell: Now may not be the best time your latest product, but it is the ideal time to grow your audience online. We are witnessing a perfect storm for online marketers as most of the population is online every day and keen to absorb as much information as possible. Focus on tweaking your marketing effort so you add more value than ever before.

That’s not to say that you won’t generate sales during this time. There will be special events, birthdays and anniversaries and customers will search online to buy gifts. If you are first visible to your potential customer… they will be more likely to buy from you.