A Message to Our Clients and Partners: Marketing in the Age of the Coronavirus
Business & marketing decisions are difficult right now, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.
New information about the epidemic is coming in at a rapid pace via phones, social media, TV, radio and more. It can be difficult for business owners and leaders to keep a clear head about one’s business, given all of the noise in the marketplace right now. And those who lack a clear head during this time will undoubtedly take MUCH longer to recover their business to pre-COVID-19 levels, once this is all over.
Of course, at MindEcology, we believe that everyone’s first responsibility is to their families, friends and loved ones. And, in addition to protecting your loved ones’ physical and mental health, maintaining financial health for your business is also essential if you want to survive and thrive.
Here are our recommendations for how to help your business weather this storm and come out even stronger than before. Because, this thing WILL end. And you want your business to be in tip-top fighting shape when it does.
1. Maintain advertising momentum:
Resist the temptation to stop your marketing and media spending during this time. If needed, consider lowering your media spend by 30% to 50%. But keep it going.
Business & marketing decisions are difficult right now, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) global pandemic.
New information about the epidemic is coming in at a rapid pace via phones, social media, TV, radio and more. It can be difficult for business owners and leaders to keep a clear head about one’s business, given all of the noise in the marketplace right now. And those who lack a clear head during this time will undoubtedly take MUCH longer to recover their business to pre-COVID-19 levels, once this is all over.
Of course, at MindEcology, we believe that everyone’s first responsibility is to their families, friends and loved ones. And, in addition to protecting your loved ones’ physical and mental health, maintaining financial health for your business is also essential if you want to survive and thrive.
Here are our recommendations for how to help your business weather this storm and come out even stronger than before. Because, this thing WILL end. And you want your business to be in tip-top fighting shape when it does.
1. Maintain advertising momentum:
Resist the temptation to stop your marketing and media spending during this time. If needed, consider lowering your media spend by 30% to 50%. But keep it going.
While consumerism is down, media consumption is up: 22% for TV, 61% for streaming, and 57% for digital (as reported by Nielsen & Tech Crunch). This is a great time to be in front of your customers and prospects through advertising.
2. Get your house in order during this lull in activity:
There will be a rebound effect when the current crisis is over. People continue to need your products and services, even if they are not buying as much at this moment. There is and will be pent-up demand. Now is the time to embed your brand into the minds of your customers and prospects. Now is the time to finally get to those projects that had been lower down on your list:
3. Practice conscious messaging:
Let’s face it: there are only so many times you can remind your customers and prospects to practice social distancing and wash their hands during this epidemic. They will quickly become numb to this over-used messaging. Instead, craft your message for your prospects and clients (or visits, donors, patients, etc.) in a way that best conveys how you can help them during this time.
Meanwhile, take this time to hone and refine your core brand message. Narrow the focus. Get to the heart of things. Talk about it. Remind people of who you are and what you offer.
4. Maintain brand awareness:
Stick to the basics and maintain old-school brand awareness. Yes, brand awareness is a real-thing, even if your CFO doesn’t understand it. Now is not the time for making a hard call-to-action or direct response. Eyeballs are looking at you (and your competitors) right now for leadership. Meanwhile, our customers and prospects are largely stuck at home, consuming media of all types. Use the KISS method – Keep it Simple Stupid. Get in front of them, regularly.
2. Get your house in order during this lull in activity:
There will be a rebound effect when the current crisis is over. People continue to need your products and services, even if they are not buying as much at this moment. There is and will be pent-up demand. Now is the time to embed your brand into the minds of your customers and prospects. Now is the time to finally get to those projects that had been lower down on your list:
- Necessary house-keeping
- Internal process improvement (e.g., tools, workflows, templates, etc.)
- Passion projects
- Research (e.g., customer profiling, price elasticity, lead scoring, data discovery audit, and more).
3. Practice conscious messaging:
Let’s face it: there are only so many times you can remind your customers and prospects to practice social distancing and wash their hands during this epidemic. They will quickly become numb to this over-used messaging. Instead, craft your message for your prospects and clients (or visits, donors, patients, etc.) in a way that best conveys how you can help them during this time.
Meanwhile, take this time to hone and refine your core brand message. Narrow the focus. Get to the heart of things. Talk about it. Remind people of who you are and what you offer.
4. Maintain brand awareness:
Stick to the basics and maintain old-school brand awareness. Yes, brand awareness is a real-thing, even if your CFO doesn’t understand it. Now is not the time for making a hard call-to-action or direct response. Eyeballs are looking at you (and your competitors) right now for leadership. Meanwhile, our customers and prospects are largely stuck at home, consuming media of all types. Use the KISS method – Keep it Simple Stupid. Get in front of them, regularly.
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MindEcology is a uniquely-qualified strategic marketing firm capable of helping our valued clients (and future clients) get safely through this COVID-19 pandemic. We are composed of senior-level marketers with a passion for strategy and a penchant for consistent execution. You can benefit directly from taking advantage of our unique combination of marketing and data-driven insights.