Antur Cymru Enterprise offers advice on marketing out of Covid-19 and beyond.
Here we explore 6 key areas to review and reignite your marketing and seize on this opportunity to refocus your activity.
The Covid-19 crisis has changed the way consumers and businesses operate and we now find ourselves in the “new normal”. The need to focus on marketing is more important than ever.
- You are still open for business, so tell them!
Reassuring your customers that you are still offering your products and services and that the quality will not suffer due to the pandemic is a key starting point.
- Get your communications into gear and give calm and reassuring messages.
- Send out email updates and start looking at how you communicate with your customers.
- Keep your social media channels up to date and post regularly.
- When sending out invoices, statements of account and other communications include up-dates, feedback forms and offers.
- Review your marketing messages.
There is no better time to review your brand message and the content within your marketing communication channels.
- Identify the gaps and maximise your messages and communications where current customers and potential customers may find you.
- Learn from what has worked in the past. Now is the time to put robust ROI (Return on Investment) measurements in place.
- Think about what might work during and post-Covid and talk to your current customers and research potential new markets.
- Know what your competitors are doing and secure your market position and carve out opportunities for future survival and growth.
- Now is not the time to follow the status quo, stand out from your competitors and be the business that offers the ‘new normal’ solutions.
- Ask your customers and your team on what makes your business stand out from your competitors. Get the message out, your USP (Unique Selling Point) is your standout headline.
- Don’t just post ‘old news’ and be seen continually selling. Ask opinions on products and services and things that matter to your customers.
- Tell your customers about your softer business credentials such as sustainable business policies.
- Review your online marketing platforms.
There is no time like the present to review your online presence:
- Review your text and keywords on your web site, make them work harder on search engines.
- Use your keywords to review SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) and how you can be found online.
- Review the way your website works on mobile platforms, recent research shows that in 2019, 58% of website visits were from mobile devices.
- Create valuable and engaging content on your websites, such as webinars, vlogs, case studies, guest posts, viral content and ‘how-to guides’.
- Keep harnessing the power of Social Media.
Ingrain Social Media into your marketing mix as a cost-effective way to get your unique messages out to current and potential customers in a timely and speedy manner.
Here are a few actions to explore:
- Create engaging content around your products.
- Consider paid boosts and sponsored ads.
- Post interesting content regularly.
- Consider ways to get feedback such as online competitions.
- Consider special offers, product tasters or other added-value benefits.
- Be more creative in your offering and communication than your competition.
- Brainstorm with your team, they will have great ideas so engage and empower them.
- Invest time and money in a clever use of images and video.
- Get customer engagement with virtual platforms such as Microsoft Teams and Zoom meetings.
- Email a survey or pick up the phone and ask why they buy from you.
- Continually use feedback to refine your offering and your messages.
- Be sure that virtual relationships will in many cases replace face to face relationships.
Review your IT systems and have the right solutions in place, here are some areas to consider:
- Review your remote working solutions and empower your staff to drive virtual sales and marketing and continue business growth.
- Get your Wi-Fi connectivity right and use it to capture customer data and buying habits and refine your offering and regular marketing communications.
- Get the right virtual team and sales platforms in places such as Microsoft Teams, Zoom and Skype.
- Get to know the opportunities that IT Systems such as Microsoft Office 365 can offer to streamline your marketing operation and capture virtual business opportunities.
- Review software opportunities that things like Mailchimp, Eventbrite and other marketing software can offer to make your communications easier, consistent and measurable.
A final note:
Once you’ve reviewed, listened, and refocused tell it loud!
Do you need help with your marketing strategy and communications and refining or reinventing your online and social media platforms?
For further information click on the following link:
https://anturcymru.org.uk/consultancy-services/
Or enquire about our Marketing Services for Welsh Businesses by speaking to Dai Nicholas, our Marketing Manager now on 07736542280