How are you talking to your customers during lockdown?

Image credit: Glen Carrie on Unsplash.com.

But what it is safe to say, is that for three weeks your customer is online, scrolling their newsfeeds throughout the day, scanning for information and being influenced by your competitors’ strategic and astute digital media marketing campaigns.

Covid-19 is going to forever (and has already) change the way humans do business; it has expediated the onset of the digital revolution, our expectations of the quality of online content and people’s expectations of how their favourite brands communicate with them.

Consumers now have a taste of the power of online – many who had not yet been “converted”, now have been “forced” to go online, have learnt how to shop online - and it will forever change the way they shop, and of their expectations of brands and businesses going forward.

Business owners need to change the way they view, and value, marketing, how they communicate with their ideal customer and understand that the world has now changed forever and that their previous methods of “marketing” are no longer going to ensure a business post-Covid-19.

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So, how are you communicating with your clients right now to ensure that when you do reopen, it WILL be business as usual?
Here are some of our recommendations to enable you to reach your customer now, so that when it is business as usual again, you can be sure you do have a business.

Social media served

Social media really is the wrong name for this powerful tool that can reach your ideal customer even when they are not looking for you, or even thinking about you. Thanks to the exhaustive powers of algorithms, advertising on social media platforms enable you to not only serve your adverts and content on a plate to your perfect customer but serve it with their favourite meal too! Still not convinced?

Imagine taking out an advert in your local newspaper and being guaranteed your ideal customer not only opens the newspaper on the page your ad is placed but also clicks through to your website or online store.

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Effective social media marketing captures, holds and points your ideal customer directly at your brand, in a way that makes the customer feel like they are in control of the decision-making throughout the conversion process.

Content is truly king

Strategically communicated content whether it be on your (updated) website, in newsletters or e-mailers, on social media, in blogs or as part of your Google Adwords campaign, are effective and necessary tools for influencing your potential customers’ buying habits in 2020.

Well-constructed online marketing is like word of mouth on steroids, yet good quality content is a major shortfall for many businesses on social media and online in general. It is something that needs to be done well; poorly crafted content is not only wasting your (reluctantly-spent-on-marketing) money, it is actually turning your customer off your brand.

There is no later

Waiting for the lockdown to be over (and who can guarantee it will be only three weeks?) is too late to start talking to your customers again. They need to hear from you now; uncertain times call for reassurance while in isolation from their favourite brands, they need to know you care, are preparing for them and will be there for them with what they need when the horror of this is over.

Seize the day, grab the opportunity and use everything at your disposal to set a future for your business. Or be left behind.