We’re all facing unusual challenges right now as the global fight against COVID-19 continues. For business owners, the stakes are particularly high as we continue to socially distance and follow stay at home guidelines. Despite this, the level of ingenuity and creativity many business owners are displaying in pivoting their services, adopting new technologies, and finding alternate ways to serve their customers, has been nothing short of remarkable.
While many businesses adapt to a new way of working and shift operations to conserve funds so they can continue to pay staff and suppliers, it’s important to ensure customer engagement doesn’t fall off the radar. Understandably, few businesses will be flushed with extra cash to funnel into big marketing campaigns, however, there are other ways to ensure customers know what you’re up to.
Here are four easy and affordable marketing ideas to maintain a consistent brand presence and engage your customers right now.
Focus on content
Creating candid and timely content is the best way to reliably and consistently communicate your company’s mission with your customers, especially at a time like this when everyone is craving transparency. What’s not as straightforward is understanding the best way to get there, and what worked a few months ago likely won’t be as effective, or even possible, right now.
For example, you may not be in a position to run a strong broadcast media campaign that perfectly depicts your brand and your mission, however, you could easily maintain a compelling blog on your site or post ongoing dialog through your social media stories.
Create personalised messaging
Looking at purchase history data is a great way to collect information about your customers’ preferences and shopping behaviour. Customer behaviour is rapidly changing right now, so reviewing and refreshing this information regularly is a must to help you better understand your customers and create marketing strategies that will appeal to them right now.
For example, you can send targeted emails on certain brands or items to customers who have previously purchased them, you can also send them updates regarding those categories, like sales, discounts or alerts for new arrivals.
Keep filming
Video remains an incredibly important component of marketing efforts. The truth is that video makes up a huge amount of internet traffic, not just because it’s easily digestible but it also gives people the most realistic interpretation of your business, especially when they can’t visit you in-person.
If you haven’t explored this channel or are just getting started, the good news is that creating, posting, and streaming video content is easier and more accessible than ever. You can now record high-quality video with any smartphone and you can broadcast instantly on social media through platforms like Facebook Live and Instagram’s IGTV. From broadcasting live chats to creating a video series, the possibilities for brand videos are limitless.
Gift your goods
If you’re sitting on an overwhelming amount of excess stock and are brainstorming ways to drive web traffic and brand engagement, consider gifting. Whether it’s loyal customers, social influencers or new prospective clients, an unexpected and thoughtful arrival in the mail with a personalised note is sure to surprise and delight the recipient.
Not only does this drum up goodwill for your brand. It’s also a great way to get your products in front of a new audience and may even result in social media coverage, positive word-of-mouth and long-term customer loyalty.
No matter what your budgetary constraints are, there are plenty of free and affordable tools available to help you navigate this challenging time. We’re all in it together.
Jessica Cook, Head of Marketing, Square Australia
