Over the past few weeks we’ve all been subjected to Coronavirus lockdown and none of us can be sure when we’ll be back in our offices. Not only have our lifestyles changed dramatically, it seems as though they’ve been put on hold for the time being. Sure, there are some positives – we can all wear our pjs to work and binge watch Netflix later, but to be serious, every business and industry has been impacted in some way by the pandemic, and obviously we need to work together to get through this. So below we explore our top marketing tips to help us during these very strange times.

STAY ACTIVE

With many businesses being forced to shut down operations and furlough a large portion of their staff, it’s easy to take our foot off the gas with regards to marketing and communications, and yet this is just when we should be putting more effort into staying active. At the same time, no one wants to see businesses showing off or taking unfair advantage of what is a difficult situation for everyone just to steal a march on the competition. Read the room guys.

Keep in touch with staff, customers and suppliers – let them know that you’re still around, check in with people, learn how they’re doing and if there’s anything you can do to help at this time. Communication is key. Businesses will be remembered for how they operated during this time. And yes, there have been a number of incidents of businesses not acting in the interest of the greater good; they’re sure to be remembered for it.

REVIEW AND CELEBRATE

It’s easy to be overwhelmed by everything that’s going on at the moment. There’s not much within our control and a lot to worry about for business owners, so take the time to review your business and marketing successes. Note what you’ve done that’s worked really well. Should you be doing more of it? Take time to find out what your staff are doing at the moment that’s having a positive impact. Are they volunteering, donating, fundraising? Be proud of your business and your employees. Talk about it.

GET AHEAD

You’re no doubt working from home and operations may have either stopped or slowed, but you can still use this time to plan and think more strategically, either for your business or your role in it. A lot of businesses struggle to find the time to consider marketing and execute it on a daily basis, but this is your opportunity to start planning for the next 6-12 months. Get ahead on content – get those blogs written that you know you should but never seem to find the time for; encourage your team to write a blog in their own specialist areas. Devote some time to planning your social media content and your email communications.

CONTENT

With so many people working from home, we’re digesting more media and content than before. Currently we’re consuming 16% more advertising messages through digital and traditional methods, with print advertising generating 21% more attention than previously. As a brand, now is the time to create content while people have the time to read it. There’s no shortage of tools out there to help you generate fresh content ideas that are interesting and relevant to your business.

GET READY FOR LAUNCH 

We’ll soon (hopefully!) be back to normal, so think of this as a chance to relaunch your business. What do you want to be saying to your customers, suppliers and staff when all of this is over, and what are the best ways of communicating it? Make sure you have everything ready to go once we get the green light. There’ll be a huge opportunity to make a splash when all of this is over.

We’ll see you on the other side. If you need any help with your marketing, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We want to make sure that as many businesses as possible are still standing at the end of this, and we’re more than happy to help where we can.