Why marketing is even more relevant in today’s environment
With so many uncertainties in today’s environment, it’s hard to imagine that marketing would be a priority for any business during the COVID-19 pandemic, but continuing to market and promote your brand is even all the more important right now.
As more and more businesses are having to rapidly alter the way they run their operations in order to keep their “doors” open, it’s vital that they look at alternative and creative ways to communicate and stay engaged with customers. According to a recent study from The 4A’s (Consumer Sentiment Towards Brands During COVID-19), 43% of those surveyed stated that they’re reassured to hear from brands they know and trust, and over 56% responded favorably to hear that their brands are taking action to support their employee base or donate goods and services to the cause. It’s critical at this time that companies understand what their customers are looking for during the pandemic, and what they can do through marketing to reinforce their brand.
As more users go online to connect with friends, family and co-workers, social media usage has grown substantially, with Facebook usage growing by 37% (source: TechCrunch Report; March 26, 2020) and both Instagram and Facebook Live’s views doubling. And even though most non-essential businesses, especially retailers, have shuttered their physical doors, many have found creative and uplifting ways to connect with their customers using social media. Nordstrom has launched a wonderful campaign on Instagram that highlights employees in their homes and focuses on what they’re doing to stay safe and healthy (both mentally and physically) while sheltering in place.
Joann Fabrics has helped with home mask production by offering free masks kits to those who can sew and offering to deliver the completed masks to those on the front lines in healthcare. Gyms and yoga instructors have started offering their members online training via video communication channels like Zoom to help keep people moving, even at home. Restaurants — both large and small — have been effective at providing up-to-the-minute changes to their menus, hours and method of delivery using social media, emails, and texting. In fact, T-Mobile cites a 77% increase in MMS and a 26% increase in SMS messaging over the past weeks, showing that businesses across many different verticals are attempting to stay connected with their audience.
This isn’t to say that businesses should be inundating their customer base with a slew of haphazard communications to stay relevant; messaging should remain consistent with a company’s beliefs. Consumers are smart enough to know when an organization isn’t being truthful. And if you’re launching communication campaigns, consistency across channels is key. Nothing’s worse than sending a customer up-to-the-minute communication via emails and texts, but not keeping your website or social media pages current. For example, I received email updates from a very popular local restaurant about their new menus and limited times due to the coronavirus, but later when I tried to locate that same information on their website, there was nothing posted to reflect the changes. Creating confusion will only frustrate and alienate your customers.
Marketing professionals — both in-house or contracted — should be making recommendations to organizations as to what campaigns will be most successful to help support their financial goals and enhance their image. Quickly adapting to the rapid changes in the world and staying relevant to both current and future customers will be vital for any business that wants to succeed at weathering this crisis.