7 Ways To Do Smart & Responsible Marketing During Covid-19

There isn’t a business that hasn’t felt the COVID-19 aka Coronavirus pinch which has brought into a halt almost all business operations worldwide. Social distancing, lockdown, and stay at home are among the new terms people must get used to in a bid to tame the spread of this mysterious disease.

Businesses have taken appropriate measures to protect employees by allowing them to work from home. The question is “how can businesses do smart and responsible marketing in the face of COVID-19?” Mobile search traffic has gone down by 25% according to the latest trends caused by COVID-19. And now that the World Health Organization has declared it a pandemic, businesses need to be smart in their marketing strategies.

In this article, we are going to share with you several ways to do empathetic and mindful marketing during a crisis as shared by Jonathan Atlan, a PR and marketing expert. who also offers assignment help to students. #Coronavirus has affected PR and marketing strategies but businesses must come up with ways of reaching out to customers smartly and responsibly.

 

How COVID-19 Affects Your Business

Apart from coming up with measures and precautions to tame the spread of the disease, people are asked to observe precautionary measures to survive it because it has already claimed the lives of thousands of people. Businesses need to know how to work around it when implementing their marketing strategies. Undeniably, PR and marketing strategies have been affected for various reasons given that customers are thinking of how to stay safe from the disease. That means that no amount of marketing can get into their ears. And if you try to interrupt them with marketing messages, then you will look as if you are lost.

So what should businesses do? Of course, businesses have to go on but with caution.

“During challenging time, marketers need to avoid some things and focus on empathetic marketing strategies that could face little or no resistance to customers while staying safe from the pandemic,” says Justin Alps, a marketing expert who also helps students with their college essays.

In this article, we will show you how to do marketing with compassion during this challenging time. And even if businesses are different, we hope the strategies listed here will act as a basic action plan. Let’s get started.

 

 

1. Don’t Take Advantage of the Crisis

It’s usual for many people to take advantage of any crisis. But as a brand, you need to avoid capitalizing on any crisis, not just the COVID-19 alone. Here are the steps to follow:

• Keep communication channels open. Your employees and target customers want to know what measures you’re taking to protect them. For instance, if you are planning to close your stores or if you are planning to bring in some policies related to Coronavirus, you should let your customers know this.
• Don’t add fear. In some countries, when the Coronavirus started biting China, many people started putting fear on customers announcing that masks would be sold at three times the normal price. Many people bought them at hefty prices due to fear. People have already panicked, so don’t add more panic but be mindful of your marketing language.

 

2. Put Your Target Audience First in Everything You Do

Everyone is in a panic mode, your target audience included. Your audience is looking for ways to stay safe from the disease. You need to stay relevant to them. Show them that you care for their needs and concerns more than you have been telling them (of course, this is the spirit for all businesses but it’s especially important during a crisis like this one).

In some countries, a few mobile money transfer services have decided to reduce their transaction charges. For instance, in Kenya, the largest telecommunication company, Safaricom allows its subscribers to transfer up to $1500 from their bank accounts to their mobile phones for free. Some financial institutions have opted to share saving tips with their audience.

 

3. Reconsider the Content You Are Sharing

This involves the content you are sharing whether through social media, email, blog posts or during campaigns, etc. You need to make sure you are using content that doesn’t promote the spread of the virus. For instance, you should avoid sharing pictures of people working in an office or touching each other in social gatherings. Reconsider your messaging language. As usual, you would use words like “stay in touch”, “lend a helping hand” and many other terms when putting your message across but during this time, you should reframe your messages particularly ones that encourage people to stay close to each other.

 

4. Show How You Can Help Your Target Audience

Just because your business isn’t in the health industry doesn’t mean you can’t come in and help your target audience during this quarantine times. After all, your business should provide value to your customers no matter what they are going through. During this panic and stressful time, customers are looking for products or services that could ease their anxiety. If you can offer something of value to your customers while in lockdown, let people know.

• Tell the public how your products or services could help them while staying at home. Let them know if your products allow people to work at home without getting close to each other.
• Educate your target audience. As mentioned above, you don’t need to be in the health industry to provide value to your customers during this challenging time. You can still be of great help to your customers by educating, informing and entertaining them while they are in quarantine.

According to Best Essays, businesses that will continue to survive are those that are going to focus on helping people during this challenging time.

 

5. Put More Emphasis on Online Services

No conferences or in-person events are going on around the world even in countries where there are no cases of COVID-19 currently. To support your PR and marketing strategies, you need to look for smart ways like creating webinars, going live on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter to engage your customers, etc.

 

6. Take Advantage of Social Media

If there is one channel that can be said to be omnipresent no matter the time, then it is social media. And this is especially important at this time when everybody is at home. Keep all the content you share on social media up-to-date. Share content that relates to your audience and keep your brand on top of the others.

 

7. Make Your Current Content as Visible as Possible

If your target customers can see all your blog posts, social media posts or Facebook videos related to COVID-19, and how you are helping the public to stay away from the disease, they won’t forget you even after the crisis. So, how can you make yourself visible to the world? By optimizing your digital channels such as your website, blog, etc. Keep all the information updated and adjust your tactics concerning the crisis.

 

This One Will Pass Too

No one knows when or who will end the crisis but we hope it will come to pass even if it will take longer. The question is “how will your audience view you after the crisis?” During challenging times, businesses of all types are reminded to focus on addressing the needs and concerns of their customers more than ever. What is your marketing like, during COVID-19? Are you providing value to your customers? Are you being empathetic or are capitalizing on the crisis? You have the answers!

 

Author’s Bio

Michael Gorman is a prolific PR and marketing expert who also offers dissertation writing services to students. He also works with Top British Essays, one of the best essay writing service providers in the world. Michael has also been recognized for offering the best essay writing service in the USA. Being interested in everyday development, he has shared plenty of helpful tips, tactics and marketing strategies to help businesses cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.