A survey of UK businesses, conducted by Marketing Week has shown that 50% of companies have been forced to cut their marketing budget due to the effects of marketing during covid-19. Alongside this many others said they would maintain their spending and some were unsure of what strategy they would use. Only 7% of those surveyed said they would be increasing their marketing budgets.
While it is inevitable that many businesses will have lost income and had to make cuts, it is important in times of uncertainty to put effort into your marketing to stay afloat. Investing in this will help you to reach your target audience and make sales during or post-pandemic. Of course, how you structure your marketing during covid-19 is dependent on what sector you’re in, but there are some tips that will help you to thrive, no matter what area of business you’re in.
Get ahead and prepare for post-covid success
While no one knows when their industry will be back to “normal”, it is important to use marketing during covid-19, to your advantage to ensure you’re in the forefront of people’s minds when they are able to make bookings or purchases. For example, beauty salons had to close completely during lockdown and had little information or notice as to when they would be able to reopen. However, those that kept on of top of their social media marketing, through things like “how-to” posts and live streams on Instagram, kept their audiences engaged. This made sure that their posts were at the top of their followers’ feeds when they were given the green light to re-open and wanted to share information on booking and processes.
Collaborate with others to grow together
One positive that we can take from this time, is the sense of community that has been shown. Collaborations can take many different forms but at a time when most businesses are struggling, it can be really useful to work together to share information and resources. This could be through exchanging links on each other’s websites to improve SEO rankings and promote your businesses to new audiences. It could be a simple shout out on social media, or you could work together to launch a collaborative product or event. Teaming up like this can help to give each other a boost and reach new prospective customers or clients.
Reassure people about your business
From getting a haircut, to viewing properties or even buying groceries, everything we do has changed due to covid-19 and social distancing measures. This can make customers anxious so it is important to update your audience about how things are running and any covid-19 measures you have in place. It is also a good idea simply to let your customers know you are still open, or running your business remotely, or even when you hope to return. You can also encourage your customers to contact you if they have any queries, as this allows you to address any potential doubts that could stop someone from purchasing or booking.
By using these tips to build on your marketing efforts, you can learn about your target audience and what works best for them. You can use this information to create great content and ultimately lead to sales. If you would like to discuss your marketing strategy with our team, please get in touch here.