While the full impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak is still unknown, we do know that small businesses will be marketing in an economic downturn.
People and businesses are worried about their jobs and finances.
Cities and countries are suddenly being locked down and isolated.
A lot of businesses have been hit hard as their sales have disappeared virtually overnight.
When faced with this difficult situation it can be challenging to know how to your market your business.
One thing we do know that is if businesses want to keep afloat during the Coronavirus recession and get back on their feet after lockdown, they need to keep marketing.
Here are some simple steps you can take to market your business in this Coronavirus recession.
- Research your target market
When the market conditions change, there is a fair chance that the wants and needs of your target market will have changed too. It is critical that you understand what your ideal clients want and need now.
How have their pain points and challenges changed?
What solutions are most important now?
Reach out to your clients and past clients or send an email survey with a list of questions.
While demand has dropped away for certain types of services, there are also opportunities to create new services or shift to online delivery.
Market research will provide you with the valuable insights as to what these opportunities may be.
- Maintain a consistent presence
If you’ve spent considerable time and money building up your marketing, then you won’t want to let your audience go ‘cold’.
Ensure that you continue to engage and nurture your leads, so that when market conditions improve, you’ll have a ‘warm’ list to market to.
Send more regular emails, post on social media, engage with your followers, and collaborate with other businesses to increase your visibility.
It will be far easier to generate growth and get your business momentum back if you are still top-of-mind when your prospective clients are ready to buy again.
- Introduce new services
Identify if there are new services that you could introduce.
For example, are there new service packages you could create at lower or higher price points than what you offer today? Are there service guides, courses, workshops, or programs that you could create to share your knowledge with others online?
- Use alternate marketing channels
In this uncertain time where events are being cancelled and people are not going out, consider how you could deliver your services virtually online.
Online teleconferencing tools such as Zoom are great for delivering training or services to clients.
Or you could create a private Facebook group and run live group sessions with your clients.
If you’ve introduced online webinars or events, you can use platforms such as Eventbrite or Facebook to take registrations and/or payments.
- Negotiate to retain existing clients
If you have clients who are seriously impacted by this COVID-19 virus (such as travel agents, hospitality businesses, and event venues), then it’s important to show empathy and keep the lines of communication open.
Proactively reach out to them and have an honest conversation about their circumstances.
It may be better for you to agree to a reduced service offering, discounted fee, or a deferred payment, rather than lose the client altogether.
You could also generate some serious goodwill for your business, if you’re able to help your clients and show understanding when they need it most.
Your clients will remember who helped them during their time of need, and if you negotiate to find a win-win outcome, then you’ll likely have a client for life.
- Boost your value proposition
Rather than impulsively applying discounts to drive sales, consider if you can add more value to your offer instead. Are there additional sessions or appointments that you could add as bonuses or resources that you could include to provide extra value in your packages?
When it comes to promoting the additional value, you can either market it as a bonus special, or announce that you’ve changed your service package to provide more value.
- I often hear business owners tell me that they are too busy for marketing and can’t seem to find the time to keep their client pipeline filled.
This economic downturn is providing the perfect opportunity for you to use time strategically.
Set up your marketing systems now, so you’ll be far better positioned to attract clients and grow your business when things return to normal.
To provide some examples, you could use this time to create marketing templates, write blog articles, record podcast episodes, network with others, update your website, or build a new webinar or lead magnet to grow your email list.
These are all assets that you can use moving forward in your business and will help you scale more effectively over the longer-term.
This economic downturn will pass, and market conditions will return to normal in time.
While it may feel uncomfortable now, focus on those practical things that you can do to adapt and keep serving your valued clients.
