Covid-19 has hit us all hard. Marketing budgets are being slashed, reduced services are being deployed, and in some cases trading has ceased altogether. Issues around face-to-face exchanges, closed warehouses and distribution lines, and delivery services being unable to meet demand, have all contributed to businesses struggling to fulfil orders.
So, what can you do to drive value when your business can’t physically sell anything?
Engage with Existing Customers
When we can’t sell anything, we incur the worry of not gaining new customers. However, there is the greater risk of our current customers using their extra time to seek out alternatives to the goods and services we provide. Our first thought here would usually be to send out a generic email to the whole customer base explaining that we still care, but with engagement rates in e-mail marketing suffering, combined with many brands relaying the same generic message, this is not sufficient anymore.
Uploading first party customer data directly into paid social channels such as Facebook and Twitter, we can share our messages with our customer bases where they’re more likely to take notice. Doing so, we can update on internal developments such as stock notifications, advise which aspects of our offering is still available or provide free alternatives to keep our customers engaged. This poses a great opportunity to build and develop your brand in the eyes of the customers that you already have.
Grow Your Audience
Growing your audience during a time where sales cannot be completed is a great way to set your business up to hit the ground running when trading restrictions are lifted. There are strong opportunities to spread the message of your brand, and generate increased exposure, using paid initiatives such as awareness campaigns on Facebook, follower campaigns on Twitter, display placements across Google, and video ads on YouTube.
Users now have more time on their hands, resulting in a higher prosperity to explore content they find engaging, creating the opportunity reach more people and share content that defines what’s great about your brand. If applied effectively this can entice users to come back to your brand when business resumes as usual.
The brands that succeed at this will be the ones who the customer remembers and will likely see an increase in performance when trading resumes.
Prospecting New Customers
When operating within an industry that has essentially been turned off due to trading restrictions, advertisers all find themselves in the same position. Commonly, the first thought here would be to turn everything off because orders can’t be fulfilled. However, just because customers can’t physically get their hands on the product that they’re after doesn’t mean they stop wanting it altogether. In some cases, demand is in-fact amplified due to the extra time to research goods and services.
High converting channels such as Google Ads and Google Shopping should not be neglected here as customers will still be avidly searching. With less advertisers in the market, CPCs are likely to fall, giving brands maintaining paid search activity a great opportunity to attain lower CPLs.
To succeed, ad copy, CTAs, and landing pages need to be adapted to manage customer expectation regarding deliveries and exchanges, while providing greater product detail to compensate for the extra research the user is conducting.
If necessary adaptation is completed, businesses can aim to acquire new customers ready for when trading resumes as normal.
If you are looking for specialist paid media support to help your business thrive in a challenging climate then get in touch with us on 01438 870 220 or by filling out our contact form.
Dave Archibald
