COVID-19 has caused immense problems for businesses around the globe, so it’s been more important than ever that companies have been able to adapt in order to survive.
“Finding a silver lining to the current situation can seem like a real challenge right now, however there is always one to be found,” says Paul Edwards, Director of Pentagon Plastics “seeing the resources and the supply chain network that we have on our own doorstep work night and day to keep our country going through this challenging time is inspiring”.
Often, it’s not necessarily the direction of a business that needs to change but rather their marketing strategies. Coronavirus has changed so many things, but it’s now time for businesses to change their marketing as part of their response.
Buck the trend – now is the time to spend
Businesses are now spending less on advertising and marketing, but this is actually good news – it means that there’s less competition. Now is the time to spend because the results you’ll yield will be far higher, which is great news for your business.
Companies should focus their ad spend on branded terms, as the quality of the traffic will be higher, and reallocate ad spend towards more effective marketing periods in order to see success.
Focus on web conversions
The increase in ad and marketing spend means there’s a higher chance you’ll be seeing an increase in people coming to your site. With this in mind, you want to ensure that they are going to convert at a high level.
There are a few different ways to improve your web conversions, from focusing on commanding headlines to being more strategic about where you place CTAs and buttons throughout the user journey. Now is also a great time to consider the navigation of your site – navigation plays a huge role in conversion rates and the direct traffic you receive from landing pages isn’t the only traffic you should be focusing on.
Make sure that your navigation is simple so that visitors to your site can get around easily and find call to actions quickly.
Paid ads are becoming cheaper
The fact that fewer businesses are marketing themselves at the moment has brought prices down, which is a benefit to small businesses who want to dip their toes in the world of paid ads. PPC is effective for many industries and if you’re willing to spend, you can see a great return so now is the time to spend in order to make money.
With paid ads, you can target your marketing more directly to customers searching for businesses and services just like yours, as well as providing you with measurable ROI. But what’s really beneficial for small businesses at this time is that PPC provides immediate impact and quick results, particularly when compared to the longer-term strategy of SEO.
Follow your success stories
Now is the time to analyse how your products and services are performing. One of the potential impacts of COVID-19 is that it may have altered what people feel like they need.
Small businesses need to be responsive and unafraid to focus on the products and services that perhaps were not a priority before the pandemic. In order to thrive during this unprecedented time, businesses need to be flexible and adapt to the needs of the customer.
Focus on communication
Throughout COVID-19, it’s become critical that businesses maintain open communication. Make sure that your site and social media channels clearly state your opening hours, delivery options and changes, product availability and anything else that may be impacted by the pandemic.
It’s critical that you communicate any changes online as soon as possible – in fact, Google recommends updating your business hours and description if your business is affected, so that people searching for opening times and details will be aware of the changes.
In addition to letting people know when they can drop by, by updating your Google My Business profile, you can let them know about additional precautions and measures taken.
Final thoughts
The pandemic has created problems for so many people around the world and the likelihood is that we will see more changes going forward. From a business perspective, it’s important to adhere to social distancing measures and government guidelines, while remaining adaptable. By staying flexible and listening to the needs of your customers, you can still thrive during this time.
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