Digital Marketing: How to Manage a Small Business Amidst the Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected us all drastically. With public health and safety at risk, governments around the world have imposed strict measures and advised their people to follow physical distancing guidelines, or better yet, stay at home.

With economies in a pinch, there’s no doubt that it’s taking a toll on several businesses. This has led to companies re-evaluating their strategies. And with online activity on the rise, digital marketing can be a good alternative for many.

So, if you’re one of the many businesses out there wondering how you can manage your brand amidst COVID-19, you’ve come to the right page. In this blog, we will discuss five digital marketing tips that can help you:

Maintain an Effective Online Presence

Once you’ve entered the digital world, it doesn’t stop there. For a business to thrive, you should know how to maintain a healthy online presence.

Here’s where SEO can come in handy. Algorithms change day by day. Hence, harnessing the power of search optimization skills can give you an advantage. This way your website can perform better, you’ll garner more traffic, and more importantly, you are more likely to reach your target market.

Keep in mind that nothing ever stays constant in SEO, so stay updated with the latest trends. Moreover, your overall strategy should include a combination of both short and long-term plans.

Stick to Digital Advertising

With the pandemic causing traditional media to decline, digital advertising has become one of the most reliable ways to fit with consumer behavior during the new normal. So, for business owners out there who have not yet shifted to the digital platform, there are plenty of opportunities waiting around the corner.

Many brands often go for paid advertising channels, but a word of advice, having too many may do you no good. Know where to find most of your target audience and focus your pay-per-click efforts from there.

Once you’ve navigated your way online, you can even take advantage of online marketing automation tools that are fit for small and big businesses alike. This includes:

• Hubspot
• SendPulse
• Aritic
• Buffer
• Pipedrive
  
  

Be More Empathetic

With the world currently facing uncertainty, being more empathetic is crucial. Not only is it the right thing to do, but it also brings a competitive edge in business. Reevaluate your marketing content and try to see if it is relevant or insensitive. In times of crisis, check on the people most important to you, such as your employees and customers.

Empathizing does not mean you should stop promoting your products or services, however. It’s allowing yourself to step into your customers’ shoes and understanding their needs and experiences during these unprecedented times. Through this, you’ll gain important information as to what your customers are looking for in your marketing materials.

Customer Retention Is Key

Let’s face it, everybody is going through a tough time during the pandemic. That said, finding new customers may just be more complicated than ever. Not to mention, customer acquisition costs much more. This is why focusing on the ones you already have can do you wonders.

Customer retention is crucial, as the pandemic caused spending to be at an all-time low. People are reconsidering where their money is going.

Though most of the world is still in quarantine, there are still effective ways to keep in touch with your customers. These retention strategies could help you:

• Use discounts
• Provide valuable resources
• Offer virtual services or products
• Create and post helpful content (i.e. tutorials, webinars, live streams)
• Be active on social media
• Measure customer satisfaction through surveys

Improving Communication Is Crucial

Many businesses have been severely impacted by COVID-19. And in an effort to save costs, some have cut own their communications budget. However, this could have critical consequences that go beyond the pandemic.

During these challenging times, people would want to know that brands have their back. They don’t want to feel like they’ve been left out of the loop.

To step up communication, communicate often with your key customers using clear, sensitive, and informational language. Reach out to them through the platforms they frequently use such as social media. For formal or urgent messaging, you can use email and text distribution lists at a maximum advantage.

All in all, it’s always important to walk everyone through with your business continuity plan and what you’re doing for your customers during a time of crisis.

Conclusion

The new normal comes with new challenges. And sadly, it’s not business as usual. We never really know what the next few months have in store for us. Not to mention, many businesses out there may struggle on how to manage everything, but now that a lot of things have gone to the digital landscape, there are still opportunities to be seized.

Focus on an effective online presence, and don’t be afraid to try out new advertising strategies. As everything shifts online, the need for communicating with our customers and employees becomes more important. Above all, let’s not forget to be human – to empathize with everyone during these challenging times.

Author Bio:

I am Louise Savoie Digital Marketer at Proweaver, a web development company specializing in Custom Website Design which helps sole proprietors and small companies increase their sales and grow their business. I am responsible in Content Marketing and Social Media Marketing.