How your marketing can help with the economic impacts of Coronavirus

As measures to stop the spread of Coronavirus ramp up around the country, businesses across all sectors are realising the severe impacts this virus will have on the economy, and in turn their bottom line. 

In times of uncertainty, budgets get tighter and expenses like marketing are usually the first on the chopping block. But, the messages you’re sending to current and potential customers now can help prepare your business for the challenges ahead. 

The Coronavirus situation is changing day by day so it’s a critical time for businesses to stay relevant for their customers. You’ve no doubt been flooded with a million news stories analysing every angle of the situation, and that’s because people are craving this information. 

There is now a fully engaged audience hungry for guidance and possible solutions, especially in the utility, energy and infrastructure sectors as these services are essential for the country to remain operating.

But there’s a right way and a wrong way to communicate your message. 

Here are five tips that your business can implement in your marketing now to help weather the Coronavirus storm and make sure your business is still standing when the dust settles. 

    • Update your messaging

The world isn’t business as normal and might not be for some time so you can’t be running the same marketing messages as previously planned. Think about your services, products and overall business and how you can tweak what you’re putting out there to stay relevant. 

With everyone’s thoughts only on coronavirus, it’s important for your business to acknowledge the current situation.

    • Don’t be opportunistic

There’s a big difference between acknowledging the current situation and exploiting it. Right now, people are open to hearing new ideas and solutions as they want to keep the wheels of business turning as much as possible so deliver your information in a way that is helpful.  Be genuine and try to help your customers without expecting an immediate return.

    • Be a useful source of information 

When bracing for major economic challenges, customers will be looking closely at their budgets and being more careful with who they spend their money with and will only go with businesses they trust. 

To build that trust, share content that is helpful and useful to customers in this difficult time. Content that provides advice on an industry problem, helps them increase efficiency or save money will be extremely valuable and will position your business as an expert in your field. 

Don’t expect an immediate result or sale – you’re setting your business up for the long term. 

    • You’re still here!

It’s a lot easier to retain existing customers than secure new ones, so make sure the ones you already have know you’re still available. Use your marketing to personally get in touch, see if they can use your assistance in the short term and this will help cement your relationships moving forward.

    • Go digital 

With most of the country headed for home lockdowns a lot of things are moving online. Take advantage of this by ramping up your digital communications. Are there online platforms you can use to directly reach your customers that you might not have been implementing? Think about utilising email newsletters, videos, social media and of course interactive webinars, all of which can help you make the move to digital.

If you’d like more advice on how you can use your marketing to help prepare your business for the upcoming challenges caused by the coronavirus, we’re here to help. Get in touch at [email protected].