Lessons from a marketer who is currently working with a variety of industries and sharing what is working during this global pandemic
Amidst the COVID19 chaos, business owners are tasked with handling extreme difficulties – perhaps it’s closing business doors, shifting employees from in office to online, looking at the bills and wondering, how am I going to get through this? Naturally, some business owners are carefully considering their options at CGK Business Sales with selling being the choice of some across a variety of industries.
On top of this stress, in the back of our minds we are thinking, how do I pivot from this? How can I transition my business to somewhat benefit or at least survive during this time?
As a marketer, I am trying to answer these same questions in a variety of industries – professional services, food & beverage, ecommerce and more – and I wanted to share what we are currently doing with our clients in hopes that it may spark ideas for you.
I have laid out three tactics I have currently been using with clients that have been quite successful during COVID19:
- Provide Valuable Content
No one has experienced this before. As a result – we are looking online and to others to help answer our questions on a variety of matters. This is your opportunity to become a thought leader in your industry during this uncertainty. As you acquire a variety of questions from clients and potential clients, write those questions down. Each question can be an opportunity to write a blog, create a video blog or develop an FAQ page. By having this developed, you are staying on top of what is going on and providing valuable knowledge that will be much appreciated by your customers.
We work with mortgage and title companies and real estate agents – these folks are getting inundated with how do I delay payments on my mortgage, will this affect my credit score, should I refinance, how will this affect the value of my home? These are questions that your company can answer by doing a quick 1-2-minute videos from your home followed by a blog. When people google these questions or scroll along their social media newsfeeds, they will appreciate the information you are providing them and in turn give you a call.
For companies deemed “non-essential” and forced to close their doors – we are using this as an opportunity to provide fresh and valuable content in a different way. Our dentist client is sharing information on ways to “self-care” including ways on keeping your mouth and your mind healthy during this time. People want to stay abreast of what is going on, but they also are interested in ways to better their lives during a challenging time.
We work with an orchestra and broadcasted a Facebook Live of two musicians playing music in hopes to keep our patrons at ease and enjoy our sounds from home.
For our ecommerce clients, we are shifting our messaging to how their product will benefit customers during this time. For example – one of our clients sells command centers/wall organizers. We are providing a plethora of ideas for stay at home parents to keep their kids stimulated and entertained during this time. As well as schedule suggestions, meal prep ideas and more. All of these items can be organized on the command centers they are selling.
Look at this as an opportunity to help others – what knowledge do you have that you can share? This blog is another example. I wanted to take the time to help spur new ideas in hopes it may help you.
2. Stay Communicating
Just because your office doors may be closed, does not mean communication should come to a halt. In fact, now more than ever, this is the time to over-communicate with your staff, clients and potential clients. For businesses that enjoy communicating via calls, it might be worth looking into VOIP phone systems. Sphere IT – Watford can help businesses to transition over to a different phone system, allowing businesses to begin communicating with their clients and employees easily. VOIP phone systems normally help businesses to save money too, so it might be worth considering.
Our company is constantly putting out emails on how their company is handling COVID19. For example – our food and beverage clients are sharing how they are managing their restaurants, and what precautions they are taking amidst the pandemic. One of our clients, is providing curbside service and we are showcasing the gloves and masks the employees are wearing, how we are keeping our products sanitized etc. This can be done with any company, not just F&B.
A law firm we are working with is putting out webinars every week to stay in touch with clients and let them know that they are here for them during this time.
Don’t forget about your staff as well – provide State of the Unions – sharing information about what is going on in the company. Make sure to include both informative as well as positive news. Positive news can be difficult during this time but perhaps you have employees share a photo of them working with their children right along-side them. As a working mother, it’s not the easiest having a toddler running around, but I have enjoyed spending all this extra time with my family. Try to incorporate these stories within your communication as well. This positivity will help boost morale.
Host Zoom meetings with themes, where employees can dress up or change the backgrounds of their screens.
There are so many avenues to communicating with staff, clients and potential clients including but not limited to:
Email Marketing – we love tools like Mailchimp and Constant Contact
Social Media – Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, Pinterest
Videos – Facebook Live, IGTV, Youtube
Conferencing – Zoom, Uber Conference, Free Conference Call
3. Use Technology
This last point is a perfect transition into my next point, don’t be afraid to use technology. It’s easy to get stuck in our ways but the companies that are willing to pivot and change how they operate during this time are the ones that will succeed. Take an hour or two and write out how your business currently operates and develop an alternate plan on how to transition that to work in these current settings.
It could also be important to note that there could be the possibility of seeing your workload increase whilst dealing with the Covid-19 outbreak, so making sure that you implement the relevant technology, like this adaptive project management software from somewhere like ProSymmetry (read more information here) could be important to help you deal with this workload once you get back on your feet. In turn, this will help you to keep your business up and running during this uncertain time.
If you usually meet with clients face-to-face, use the app Calendar.ly to help set up your appointments and Zoom or Uber Conference to have online meetings.
If you usually provide a product, offer delivery or curbside service.
If you are a gym, fitness provider or offer a service, film videos of daily workouts/your service on your phone and upload them to Youtube, your blog or even use Facebook Live.
If you provide a professional service, create a webinar using WebinarJam to teach and educate or record a weekly podcast using GarageBand or Audacity.
I understand it can be scary to enter into this new territory, but it’s necessary for the survival of your business.
Lastly – from a more personal level – look at this as an opportunity to grow from within. Use this time to read books, brainstorm new ideas for your business, listen to podcasts and attend online courses such as those on Pluralsight. This is one of the most well-known options and you can read in-depth review of Pluralsight at Learn a Course Online here.
Suggested Books:
13 Things Mentally Strong People Don’t Do by Amy Morin
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits and Break Bad Ways by James Clear
Awaken the Giant Within by Tony Robbins
The 4 Hour Work Week by Tim Ferris
Suggested Podcasts:
Optimal Living Daily
Happiness 2.0
Life Kit
How I Built This
Suggested Online Course Websites:
Udemy
LinkedIn Online CoursesIf you are looking for more customizable ways to help your business thrive during this time, our company, eLuminate Marketing, is here to help. Contact me at lyndsi@eluminatemarketing.com to schedule a call and we can brainstorm ways to help your business during COVID1
