Many days have gone by, since the outbreak of Coronavirus. This coronavirus pandemic was an unpredictable crisis worldwide. Due to this, social distancing and work from home has become the normal routine of a human being. This pandemic has affected the market and the financial status of leading companies very much.
In this crisis, old or traditional marketing strategies are not working. Marketers are working very less while focusing on learning new things and trying to know more about their customers, their brand and about their own self. This pandemic has drastically changed the lifestyle. Now, we are staying at home and spending maximum time online.
As a result, there is a change that can be seen in the behaviour of the consumers. The sales of the e-commerce business are uplifting day by day.
Entrepreneurs need to act smartly and to stay ahead
Companies need to take every move carefully, think before implementing about the consequences and act accordingly.
A job of the marketer is to predict the needs of their audience. Companies need to coordinate with their customer experience team; also they need to assess their annual budget and revenue to generate a good income statement.
In such a scenario, it is imperative to look for the better alternatives. So let us discuss the marketing strategy that would work in this Coronavirus pandemic.
Create a YouTube Channel
Matthew Ross, Cofounder and COO of, The Slumber Yard opined,
“One successful and cost-effective strategy we have discovered to drive more traffic to our website and promote our company is producing video content on YouTube. As you are likely aware, YouTube is owned by Google, and as a result of this relationship, Google tends to rank YouTube videos on the first page in search results.
As such, we have found that if you create a video that is relevant to your audience, you can often rank on the first page organically instead of buying ads. From there, you can use the video to drive traffic to your website through the use of verbal callouts and graphics.
This strategy helped us drive over 1 million visitors to our website last year directly from our videos. To put it simply, creating YouTube content is a lot more cost efficient than strategies like PPC ads or traditional print marketing”.
While Ryan Iron, the Engagement Officer, at Critter Depot propounded,
“One marketing strategy we are pushing is our YouTube channel and the tutorial videos we created on feeder insects. Our videos demonstrate how to breed crickets, what it’s like to get dubia and discoid roaches in the mail, and how to house superworms to maximize their life span.
We had moderate expectations for the videos, and created them mostly to supplement the product pages. But since a majority of the pet stores are closed, we have had a surge in views because people who normally buy at the store are being forced to buy dubia roaches and crickets online.
And because we have tutorial videos that demonstrate the unpackaging process, we have been able to convert a high number of visitors from our YouTube channel.”
Establish Your Company’s Presence on LinkedIn
Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn is strictly a professional app. Though exceptions are always there yet LinkedIn is a great platform to enhance your presence worldwide.
Jeff Neal, the Project Manager at Capital Coating concurs,
“Since a majority of the workforce is sitting at home; one medium we are heavily pursuing right now is LinkedIn. Because we provide service for industrial manufacturing facilities, a majority of our prospects, vendors, and existing clients are professionals with LinkedIn profiles.
And we have discovered that many of them are much more willing to engage in a conversation with you right now, because they have more free time on their hands. I have been able to generate leads from some of our epoxy floor vendors. And I have been able to help prospects identify industrial floor issues through some questions about their industrial facilities.
We have exchanged photos of current floor problems and solutions, and ultimately decided that it was time to schedule a site visit. A lot of our clients are still hesitant to install any epoxy floors in their industrial facility right now, due to social distancing and sanitation guidelines. But even if we cannot install industrial floors right now, building bond and rapport is the first step in establishing long term customer relationships.”
Track your targeted audience behavior: seek their interest and attention
The best means to increase your sales is to know your targeted audience behavior and after that the next plan is to seek their attention. You can gain the attention of your audience through social media easily. It is a medium through which wherever you are in this world, you can easily engage with your audience through the social media platform.
Social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, LinkedIn, Snapchat are cost-effective means to reach your maximum targeted audience because this is the time when everyone is spending their time on this lockdown.
A survey was conducted in India which observed that there is 87% increase in the usage of social media as compared to the last week before this lock-down. It is a beneficial thing for companies. They can increase the exposure of their brand and attract the audience at large. Through this social media, it is proved that the advertisement always plays an influential role in business life.
After knowing the taste and preference of your targeted audience you can grab the attention through social media ads. This will not only increase your sale but also build your Goodwill in the market.
Lonny Kocina, CEO of Media Relations Agency concluded that,
“The one promotional mix channel most impacted by social distancing is personal selling. You are not sending teams to expos and events. You cannot even sample consumers in grocery stores. What you lose in personal selling marketing power, you will have to make up in marketing power using other promotional mix channels.
Beefing up publicity efforts is a quick way to replace some of the face to face contact that will be lost with the lack of personal selling. That’s one place you can still reach the big groups. Publicity as a sales tool is underutilized by most companies and it is relatively easy to ramp up. Putting your best salespeople in front of reporters and producers who have big audiences is always a win.
Plus, unlike expos and trade shows, your competition is not right there beside you. I see a lot of trade show money shifting towards publicity and media coverage.”
Similarly, Lachlan Kirkwood, the Founder of ClickThrough surmised,
"In a time like now, it’s more important than ever for small businesses to prioritize adding value to their audience or community. By giving back to others, it builds a foundation of trust and authenticity. Adding value can mean a myriad of different things to your particular audience.
Whether it be providing some level of product or service at a discounted rate, or even offering emotional support to those who follow your brand. Regardless of what your business can offer, it is important to proactively make an effort to show your audience that you care. Your customers will remember the value you shared throughout this time and pay it forward wherever they can."
Stay Connected with your Existing Customers
Putting efforts to seek the attention of your targeted audience is a good marketing strategy but we should never forget about the existing customers of our company. You can't lose them; you can keep in touch with them through various techniques.
For example: Marketing automation. It is one of the perfect aspects for it. Sending messages or emails to your customers can generate 6 times more revenue through this.
For instance, if you give a reminder, gift voucher along with product recommendation via Email or text, your customer will keep in touch with you and this one is the lowest investment scheme to enhance yourself sales as compared to techniques.
Other than this the method to connect with your customers is to offer them discounts and keep your product quality good. The customers will automatically stay tuned with you. For instance, if you offer "buy one get one free" on your products and provide them with the best quality at the low price they will always maintain their loyalty because your quality is never compromised with a reduction in price.
Rameez Ghayas Usmani, an executive of PureVPN stated that,
“A small message these days can actually develop close relations with your customers. This is the golden time to bond with your customers where the whole world is locked down. A positive and strong message like asking about how they have been holding up these past few days and whether they are ensuring to stay at home could mean a lot.
Make sure not to send them messages constantly, this will leave your customers with a negative impact as if we are trying to cash-in the opportunity”.
Sarah Olea, the CEO of Social Light LLC opined that,
"Here is Social Light. We believe staying connected to your audience during this time is more important than ever. Our favorite strategy is online gatherings such as live or premiered events on Youtube, Facebook and IG."
24*7 Easy and Hassle-Free Accessibility
Easy and all-time accessibility draws the attention of your customer faster. You can adapt the strategy with easy digital marketing tools. Such as mobile apps; today almost everyone in public owns smartphones. So through these Smartphone apps you can quickly access your customers.
You can directly communicate with them and it shows that you are always available on their devices by sending them notifications. Even companies can generate or make the source of income through in-app purchases advertisements and promotions.
Mobile apps provide the personalized details of your customers that help in automated marketing. If we talk about digital marketing along with mobile apps, a company must own their customized website.
This website includes customer reviews and their valuable suggestions to make your business best. It helps to maintain a good image after taking the effective feedback of your customers when you upload the achievements of your company.
In brief, on your website it acts as an evidence of your authenticity that attracts the audience most.
Customers are Your Priority: They Must be Satisfied with your Services
The satisfaction of your customers is the primary concern of your business; if they get a positive response from your business and pleased by your services they will convey a positive review in their surroundings about your brand. And their positive reviews influence the others towards your business.
Especially in this pandemic, when everyone is staying at home and scrolling their phone screen on social media, this technique will help the most.
After reading the positive reviews about your product posted by your customers on various social media platforms; for instance: comments by the audience for the post uploaded by the people on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, will definitely attract others and your sales will increase day by day.
You can conduct a session on a social media platform with the general like, like you can go live; because direct communication satisfies the customer most and leads to the authenticity of your business.
Marion Weiler, the founder and fractional CMO of Weiler International ventured,
“Don't cut back on marketing, but redirect marketing dollars to social media and other digital tools and focus on frequently and clearly communicating to current clients and potential future clients. Where applicable, you can develop virtual interactive offerings, which you can communicate and offer through online and social media channels.”
Keep it Simple
Jason Lawes, Owner at Red Sentence Ltd propounded,
“When it comes to online marketing during the current pandemic, there are two things which are so important: consistency and simplicity. You don’t get long to get people’s attention with your message, whether it’s on your website, through an ad in a printed publication or on social media, so you need to make sure you K.I.S.S. (Keep it Simple, Stupid!).
Keep it clear what you are trying to say and how you say it. Like a bad joke, if you have to explain it, it won’t work. In a world where you are reaching out to people through your website, through channels like Facebook, Instagram or LinkedIn, consistency is the key; Consistency in tone, consistency in visual styling, consistency in your branding.
Your message will stick better if it’s instantly recognised each time. When using social media, especially a B2B platform such as LinkedIn, offering value and advice with your content rather than being too pushy and sales-orientated, will provide more opportunity for engagement with potential customers. Ask questions, don't just sell!”
Focus on your Goals
Going through this thriving pandemic we need to be very strong and determine to fight against this pandemic. It is a stressful time for all but you can't lose your hope and focus from your goals. It needs to be connected with ways to make your company prosper.
The secret behind the success of every business is customer satisfaction. You should take every step carefully in this economic downturn. You can't make silly mistakes, your marketing strategies must be well planned and stay protected.
Jagruti Bhargav, the Marketing & Communication Strategist at SocialPilot surmised,
"A few tips that I would like to give the marketers would be: Set a schedule for yourself. It is easy to forget the working hours when it comes to WFH & we may end working way past our regular times. Collaborate with your team - Since you're working from various locations, it becomes all the more important to stay on the same page.
There are tonnes of collaboration tools like Slack, Trello, Zoom, etc- Upskill! This is a great time to learn new skills. Learn data analytics or content marketing or performance marketing. Courses are available in plenty on Udemy, Hubspot, Google academy, etc. Experiment with a different strategy.
During these times, you would find time to gain some fresh perspective. Try experimenting with a few strategies you haven't tried before. For example, dip your feet in influencer marketing, or look at a referral program, try launching a webinar, etc.”
Go for Partnerships
Kean Graham, the CEO of MonetizeMore proposed,
“Strategic Partnerships: Now more than ever, businesses are hungry for new streams of revenues. Therefore, businesses are most open to new strategic partnerships. MonetizeMore has partnered with several companies that have complimentary offerings.
As a result, we refer each other to clients. We have received our highest quality leads via this channel and have found now has been the easiest time to establish new partnerships.”
Evaluate your Returns on Investments (ROI)
Carrying out your research is always important to analyse your success on investment. Always check the effectiveness of your strategies that you adopt for marketing. Through these tests you can also analyse the feedback of your consumers and make changes as per the requirement.
Khaleelah Jones, the Founder and CEO of Dime Digital stated,
"Any paid activity- boosted posts, paid search, you name it. It is cheaper and less competitive as other companies pull back their marketing spend (but more people are online). Take advantage of that!"
Conclusion
The above marketing strategies would definitely work in this coronavirus pandemic for the companies. This time we can't expect too much or lavish returns but yes, we can stand with our Nation and help our economy to face this crisis with full hope to overcome it and strength to fight against this unpredictable pandemic. The best part of the above mentioned marketing strategies is that it is cost effective and time effective as well.