Unless you’re selling ventilators, hand sanitizer or comfort food, your product may not be getting much attention right now. And, if you rely on trade shows and conferences to get in front of prospects, you may be doubly concerned. It may be awhile before you can get one-on-one with prospects again. You might be tempted to dial back your marketing, but for the long-term health of your company, now’s the time to take action.
Marketing in today’s crises-focused, remote world takes a special touch. You can’t simply turn on the same campaign you had running pre-COVID. I realize that for some people, primarily communicating from a distance may be new and a little scary. It’s a brave new world though and as a professional who has been working in the digital communication world for years, I can tell you that you may just grow to like it. I was thinking about companies who may be somewhat new to this and came up with a couple ideas you might want to try.
- Get personal with your customers. We’re all in this together, albeit apart. Now’s the time to share digital content about the people behind your product and your company. Our Media Relations Agency team has been busy creating content that humanizes the companies we represent. Today it’s people first, not products. Jumping right into talking about your product might seem pushy in the current climate. So lead with your people first and then transition the story to the product. It’s kinda like small talk before you bring up the more serious stuff.
- Shine at virtual conferences and tradeshows. Personal selling is effective because it’s just that, personal. But there are ways to make these new virtual events feel personal too. A savvy combination of trade publicity, targeted digital advertising and “people-first” business communication can help keep your pipeline flowing while you wait for social distancing to fade.
- Optimize your Amazon storefront. If you sell on Amazon, make sure your storefront is more than just a listing of your products. Now more than ever, it should be an extension of your website, delivering the same thoughtful messages. If you’re not selling on Amazon, what are you waiting for? It’s no surprise that online grocery sales are skyrocketing, but other categories are also seeing phenomenal increases as well.
- Listen and respond to your customers with added kindness. This isn’t new advice to be nice to your customers. But how you go about it may be different because everyone is online these days. Social media feeds are overflowing with COVID news. Americans are celebrating companies doing the right thing and chastising those making poor choices. Doubling down on your social media can help you win the hearts of your followers and prevent harmful reputation damage.
There is a marketing concept for this. It’s called Marketing Orientation. Two contrasting orientations are societal and sales. Being extremely societal would be selflessly altruistic; being extremely sales oriented would be ultra pushy. So, where are you on that scale? Where was your messaging on that scale before COVID, and where do you think you should be now? It probably makes sense to move to a more societal approach the next couple of months.
This pivot from personal selling to the virtual space may have you scratching your head. If you need help fine-tuning your Amazon storefronts, preparing for virtual trade shows or developing the situation-specific content for your company, that’s what we’re good at. While our team isn’t physically together right now, we were able to transition seamlessly to helping our clients get their stories told during these unprecedented times. We’d love to help you, too. Get started by requesting a free consultation. Call 952-697-5269 or complete this form.
