We've been locked down for almost three months, and our world, as we know, has been turned upside down – business, even online, has been hit hard. But there's some light at the end of the tunnel with the lockdown slowly being lifted with the start of Unlock 1.0, we might start seeing things go back to normal – but are you ready for that?
Brand awareness, at least in the short term, is not going to keep the lights on. If you're one of the many companies that are badly affected, we assume you 're looking to maximize the efficiency of your marketing budgets instead.
Understandably, there has been an explosive use of digital technology by businesses and consumers following the lockdown measures. This includes consumers who may have never ordered online before, people who either did not understand or trust digital have had to become digital converts.
Office-based businesses that have never offered remote work suddenly realize that remote work isn't just possible, they 're already doing it. For example, Facebook has already committed 50 per cent of its workforce to work at home over the next decade. Here at Nebula, our thinking has changed similarly.
If you're serving a market sector that has exploded in demand, you already understand the opportunity. If you're one of the many businesses negatively impacted, there are some short term opportunities that, if carefully timed, could lead to quick wins.
Closely monitor your market trends, if demand starts to lift you want to be a part of the conversation as consumer demand peaks. Capitalise on lower advertising costs – cost per clicks for adverts on Google and Bing costs are lower than usual.
Your competitors are likely to hold back too, being the first to the mark could mean you're going to be in the early stages of the research with those customers.
Ensuring that your SEO is in order and that your rankings are strong in time for Unlock (lockdown easing) will make you visible when demand in your market sector rises. Improve your data collection – ensure that you have the data you can trust so that you can be agile in your decision-making.
Your existing and prospective customers are either eager to get back to normal or have already started to plan for later in the year. Once the lockdown continues to ease, this will no doubt lead to a surge in demand, but your marketing efforts are usually not that easy to switch on and off.
Now is the time to make sure that your digital marketing is ready so that, when the time is right, you can switch back on and capitalize on the opportunity. In the worst case, you're going to prepare too early and have to tweak some of your efforts, but the opportunity cost is high if you miss the boat.
Comments