Every company has a marketing strategy in place. Marketers also know what to do when things don’t go as planned. The global pandemic influenced the marketing world tremendously. The economies around the globe were hit hard because everyone found themselves in uncharted territory. However, marketers can adapt to anything, and they made a lot of changes to fit their customers’ needs.
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How to Adapt Your Marketing Strategy Right Now
Modifying a marketing strategy in the middle of a pandemic could seem complicated, but in essence, marketers tweaked their existing ones just a tiny bit. Here are some marketing moves we noticed during the pandemic. These made a huge difference for numerous marketing strategies:
Focus on Social Media Marketing
The pandemic forced the majority of people to spend more time indoors. For some, quarantining also means scrolling through your feed for hours and being online all the time. It is a great way to stay in touch with your loved ones and not feel completely isolated. With the increased number of social media users, companies prioritized various platforms like Instagram and Facebook.
Marketers stopped forcefully promoting their products on social media. Instead, they are focusing on building a long-lasting relationship with their customers. Posting engaging and relevant content is the key in this situation. Successful social media posts are usually informative and relatable. Not to forget that marketers are also answering messages and replying to the comments faster than before.
Reach Out to the Community
Regardless of the size of their company or business, marketers shouldn’t forget their communities. Many people lost their jobs, and any help means a lot to them, especially if it comes from a brand or business they are familiar with. There are various ways to reach out to the community, such as donations and volunteering.
Marketers also sponsor events in their area to raise funds for the unemployed or those affected by the pandemic. There is no reason why any company should stay on the sidelines when there are so many ways to help. These are not small gestures, and a company can strengthen the bond they have with the customers by simply being there for them in time of need.
Connect with the Customers
Listening to the customers is now more critical than ever. Large brands are doing their best to figure out what their audience needs at the moment. Therefore, speaking with the followers and customers should be on the top of the to-do list. People are not into aggressive marketing and frequent product launches right now.
Some businesses even invited their customers to help them shape their marketing strategy through feedback and insightful comments. If you are running a marketing team, consider interacting with your audience by asking them what they want to see from your company in the future. It is another excellent way to make the customers feel valued. Marketers are also prompting customer care to always be available. It means responding to mail and questions as soon as possible.
Be Empathetic
The customers are very likely dealing with a lot right now, from financial troubles to the possibility of unemployment. Brands do need to acknowledge this. Posting compassionate and supportive content all over your social media will show the customers that a company thinks about them even now, during the pandemic.
Many large businesses embrace empathy and regularly share encouraging content. Everyone is going through a difficult time right now, and great marketers are well aware of that. Marketers are acknowledging the pandemic, but flooding the followers with well-known information is not recommended. Instead, educational and helpful posts are the way to go. For instance, Walgreens made a series of informative videos that explained COVID-19 and answered all the questions people might have. It later became a newsletter educating people on how to get free prescription delivery.
Honesty
Almost all businesses had to make significant changes during the pandemic. Therefore, honesty is the best policy. If a company cannot ship their products as quickly as they used to, they need to let their customers know. Businesses have to be transparent and realistic. So setting achievable goals during this time is a must.
Companies shouldn’t make promises they can’t keep. If they make several wrong moves, the chances are the customers will lose their trust in them. Consider everything that is happening around us and be open about your brand’s struggles too. It is better to go slow than to make your audience believe in half-truths.
