Our local curve is flattening, cases are at a low and our State Governments are considering relaxing restrictions further. This means businesses and our customers may start returning to a sense of normalcy again over the next few weeks.
This means it’s time to prepare now and shift the paradigm of your Marketing accordingly.
So – what Marketing should you be doing at the tail end of COVID?
Prefer to listen, rather than read? Here’s the Podcast summary!
First Things First
Hopefully, you’ve been listening to me since February when I’ve been saying over and over: don’t stop marketing during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Why? Because your customers were looking for you while isolated at home.
For those who took heed, excellent! You will come out of this way ahead of your competitors because you’ve been building branding awareness while everyone else disappeared. Congratulations! It’s now time to shift your angle to suit this new phase and build upon these great foundations.
For those who didn’t (or couldn’t) – it’s unfortunate but it’s ok. Now is the time to ramp up your marketing efforts and start to catch up.
If you continued marketing through the outbreak, then great news: you’ve likely built up a substantial audience that you can now communicate with as part of your Marketing After COVID-19 Plan.
Marketing After COVID-19
5 Ways To Shift Your Marketing Post-COVID
(1) Rebalance your Marketing approach
Over the last few months, the most effective marketing messages were softer, nurturing and defensive communications. After all, we were all going through a tough time and no one wanted to be on the receiving end of aggressive advertising.
However, as things are starting to head back to a sense of normalcy, you can start to ease back into a balance between educational content and selling messages again.
Just be the judge of your own product and industry so you can time it well, but you don’t want to go too long without sales! In other words, if you’ve been building brand awareness over the last few months, you may want to be marketing now to move people to the consideration and conversion phases of the journey.
(2) Assess the viability of your COVID adaptations
Many businesses tried new techniques and embraced innovation to pivot their model during COVID. Well done!
But with the environment settling down, it’s time to have a good look and see which adaptations worked well, which need work, which ones to stop and which will still continue to apply.
Some new practises and business models may have changed your business for the better and so they’re great to keep. But there may be others that were a temporary band-aid that now needs to go – whichever you have, it’s important to determine this so you can be spending your marketing efforts wisely post-COVID.
For example, if you have launched a new digital platform to continue your services with people in isolation or you’ve put more emphasis on eCommerce for your products, do they still apply? Or even better, can you make them a normal part of your business going forward?
Which COVID-19 adaptations have you made to your business during the pandemic?Do these still apply after?
(3) Keep your audience informed
It’s time to build your content marketing around messages that communicate what your business will be doing now that COVID restrictions are lifting. Just like before, your customers are looking to their favourite brands for direction – so, give it to them.
For example, keep them in the loop about how your stores will be starting to reopen and how you will continue to ensure their safety through hygienic practises. You may create explainer videos on how you will be operating going forward or send a newsletter to update people about how you’ll be operating as things change.
And don’t forget to keep updating your website and Google My Business! That’s where people will look.
Trust me – people appreciate proactivity. Brands who are on the ball give the distinct impression of leadership.
(4) Revisit your Marketing Plan
Yep, it’s time!
Take this opportunity to reset and refresh your Marketing campaigns. No one could have predicted the pandemic this year, which means your 2020 plans you made back in December or January are likely out of date.
Go back to those campaigns and determine which messages need to be updated and which campaigns are still relevant, given the circumstances. For example, remove anything that may seem inappropriate or irrelevant for your marketing after COVID-19.
To learn more, read: The Six Pillars Of A Complete Marketing Strategy
(5) Reach out for assistance
Businesses of all sizes, types and industries have done it tough over the last few months – there’s absolutely no denying it. This may have left you wondering which way to go now or what you should be doing next.
So, reaching out for assistance to Marketing Professionals may be an excellent idea to get more personalised marketing advice to help your brand adjust more effectively.
For more, contact Melotti Media for Marketing help, or see our Services here.
Just remember!
However, these 5 Marketing tips will help you best prepare and adapt to the inevitable shifts that will occur. Be flexible, keep your client’s interests at heart and you’ll do great. Good luck!
How Can Melotti Media Help You?
To engage your customer and achieve ongoing business success today, you need quality copywriting and consistent content. However, we understand that this is easier said than done.
You’re time poor and spread thin, and writing isn’t your expertise. So, focus on what really matters, while we take care of all of your copywriting and content marketing needs!
For more information or to speak to a quality copywriter to get the results your business deserves, contact me now at rnquire@melottimedia.com.au.
I can sharpen your words to achieve your goals, today!
Christopher Melotti
Melotti Media Copywriting and Marketing Solutions
www.melottimedia.com.au
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