Ingenious Ways to Market Your Business During a Pandemic

This article has come at the right moment considering the world is still smarting from the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Indeed, it is quite a time to be alive. This is because the pandemic has eaten deep into every sphere of life. For obvious reasons, businesses whether off or online, are affected.

This has led to a sudden shift in how most businesses are run. Yet, the loss suffered is too numerous to mention.

Many stopped operations while others could only stumble along, barely balancing the books.

And with unemployment hitting hard, the market for a wide range of products has dwindled.

But it’s not all doom and gloom now. Many business owners have survived thanks to ingenious ways to stay afloat.

With the COVID-19 pandemic still very much around, it’s best to focus on what you can control.

Staying positive is great but there are smart ways to help you market your business. Who’s to say another pandemic won’t happen?

You can have the perfect response and still be in business with the following ways to get your business out there.

Show how Your Brand can Help

If you’re running a business, chances are that you’re prepared to offer value.

It’s the same with every other brand out there. As such, the products that could ease the burden of a pandemic stay at the forefront.

If what you do supports or helps people during such dire conditions, tell that brand story. Use the following steps:

Make your benefits known

What impact do your products have in the homes of your customers?

Do they help to keep them free from stress especially without a job in hand?

In other words, make known your benefits and the value your brand brings to the table. It’s a story to share.

Create helpful contents

You don’t have to be directly involved with everyone to be helpful. Sure, you’d want to show your customer base ways they can maintain hope.

Yet, your brand should think broadly. Set up ways to inspire, educate, and if possible, entertain people stuck at home.

Remember to keep the focus on the help you offer. Marketing will naturally take its course.

Maintain Contact With Your Customers

During a pandemic, being human is enough for a good number of reasons.

Sure, social distancing and other measures apply, but there are ways to can keep in touch with your customers.

Try to develop a stronger relationship by letting them know you care.

Also, it’s important to let them know the key role they played in making your business what it is.

Be open

Letting your customers know how you’re helping staff or employees stay safe is also a nice touch.

To do this, an open dialogue on how your business operates at such times is also beneficial for your marketing needs.

This way, they get to know what to expect from you during such times, and what shape your business is taking.

Details on cancelations and refunds help to maintain a strong connection.

Tweak Marketing Campaigns and Content Timelines

A pandemic puts constraints on every part of the economy. As such, even marketing campaigns and scheduled content timelines could be affected.

What you can do is have them tweaked or moved to a more suitable time.

So if you were planning to run a marketing ad, you should put it on hold even if the launch is imminent.

What should be paused?

The timelines on major campaigns should go first especially if they’ll seem inappropriate at the time.

You don’t want your customers feeling you are insensitive.

What’s more, a marketing campaign may have some elements that could serve your business well in the future.

So rather than take it off your plan entirely, push the date for a better time.

Set your priorities right

If you have a lot going for your business before a pandemic, it won’t be the same when it fully hits.

So just like pausing some campaigns, you’d have to keep some going. In line with that, setting your priorities is important.

For instance, if you have a more customer-centered campaign, it’s a nice priority to have.

At least, you can make it your pivot to support your customers more.

Enough time to prepare

Having to pause your content and campaigns will give you an edge when things get back to normal.

Start drawing up preparations for events that could happen after certain restrictions might have been lifted.

Further, this period will help you understand and determine what is more relevant to your customers.

Make Special Offers

Desperate times call for special offers. As the whole world got to find out, a pandemic creates a lot of uncertainty. But the fact is it is also a time to put on a marketing masterclass.

Get special discounts and incentives rolling. This way, your revenue keeps flowing and your customers still have buying power.

You’d be amazed at the number of people surfing the net looking for discounts.

Special offers will help you engage with customers and often ensures that your doors are always open.

More so, it’s a positive move if you have a load of products you want to get off your hands.

This move will have the most impact on essential goods.

For instance, if you run a grocery business, a mini slash on goods shows you are sensitive to the times.

Don’t Take Advantage of the Situation

Many people, as the world witnessed with the COVID-19 pandemic, were quick to capitalize on the crisis.

Some businesses hoarded essential materials and bought into the fear of people. You shouldn’t do the same.

Not only will it be counterintuitive, but it will put your business in a bad light.

What you don’t want is the wrong type of marketing where your business sets a bad precedent.

Keep people informed

Businesses have a better platform to keep people safe. You can do this by letting your customer base know the proactive measures you’re taking.

Let them know what policies you’re setting up and the changes you have to implement. Such measures help to add value to customer relationships.

This is because they’re informative especially when you hit the right notes.

Stop the alarms

In every pandemic, panic is rife. So you shouldn’t add to it by relaying the wrong information and safety tips.

What’s more, the kind of language used is important. When you’re marketing your business, avoid dramatic language.

Whether that’s with blog content or video, check your facts.

Keep a level head

Job losses during a pandemic are the highest. So it doesn’t make sense bragging about your profits or sales figures.

Have some humility and show some empathy with genuine campaigns that show you care.

A pandemic won’t last forever, and people won’t easily forget.

Yet, in your bid to stay humble, avoid campaigns that are clueless or not with the times.

Repurpose Contents

During a pandemic, a lockdown is often imposed. What your business can do with all the time?

Check your website for content and repurpose them. This a simple but very effective marketing tactic. Nothing stops you from using content multiple times.

Tweaking your content is something your competitors will gladly do especially if it fits the current circumstances.

It doesn’t have to stop with written content too. Recordings and podcasts can be transcribed into whitepapers.

For videos, transcribing them into blog posts is a good marketing tactic.

Remember to keep things simple though. Along with the hardship, you don’t want to put a strain on your customers.

Adapt to Imposed Rules and Regulations

In critical periods, the government puts additional rules and regulations in place. This isn’t a deliberate target on businesses.

Since safety and overall health are important, they have to be observed. However, you can rise above this without breaking the rules.

All you have to do is get innovative or borrow a lead from thriving businesses.

Change your marketing ID

If you run a store and people can’t visit, it’s time to take their orders and have the goods delivered to their homes.

The same thing goes for a restaurant that can arrange for pickups on the curbside. Either way, you won’t go against the rules especially for essentials.

It’s a digital age. You can communicate with your client through any means.

This includes normal calls and social media apps that help you reach out.

For instance, if you run a gym, you can make a video and send it to your subscribing members.

Use Social Media to Connect With Customers

Social media is a viable tool to market your business during a pandemic. It helps you connect with your customers in more ways than one.

Keep in mind, that most people will be stuck in their homes during a pandemic.

As such, there will be a vast increase in the number of people using the internet.

This is because it is probably the only source of maintaining some sort of interaction or communication.

Create conversations with your customers, and let them engage in your business. There are platforms suitable for this including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

You can run ads on either or all of them. This way, you gain more brand awareness.

More so when you’re trying to issue special offers customers and will appreciate it.

Online visibility is important

Can your business be found online? If you have to think about it, then you need to up your game.

Get some money out and invest in Search Engine Optimization (SEO). This will put your business out there during a pandemic.

When people are searching for products online, yours should rank on the first results that pop up.

Even if finances are difficult, don’t miss the opportunity to get an edge over your competitors.

Make Videos

Videos do so much for businesses. So going this way will also help you.

Remember, during a pandemic you can’t have many physical interactions. Videos will help you maintain the attention of your customers for long periods.

Also, they’re far more effective than written content or images.

All you have to do is make sure your videos are engaging. Also, follow the normal rules of engagement.

Keep vulgar language and contents far away. The type of video content you can come up with includes explainer videos, tutorials, and information on new products.

While at it, throw in a video on how your customers can stay safe during a pandemic.

Other tips for videos include:

• Keep them short and to the point.
• Make sure it matches your target audience or customers
• Quality is everything. Make sure it’s engaging
• Post the content in social media for more shares

Create online polls

Psychologists have often said people love it when their names are remembered.

Second to that is having their opinion count for something. In line with the social media drive, set up polls to gauge how they feel.

Your aim should be to learn what they think of your products and what better way to serve them.

A good example is the Instagram Story Polls feature where you can ask your followers a raft of questions.

You can find out how they’re spending all the time in their hands. What’s more, the results can show you where to focus your marketing.

You’ll have better ways to get your campaigns out there and reach specific audiences.

Again, it will sit well with your customers especially if you can turn the results into content for them.

Whatever the case, you get statistics that give you a marketing direction.

Conclusion

Getting to run a business during a pandemic is a privilege especially when you consider others have to close down.

While marketing your business is not the be-all and end-all, it could make all the difference between how you react and the post-pandemic times.

Overall, these ingenious ways to market your business will help you feel productive.

More so, you’ll add value to the lives of your customers and humanity in general.