5 Ways to Grow Profits During COVID-19
Blog Contributors: Emily Bussiere, Amanda Glynn, Sara Huedepohl and Heather Weaverling
While the COVID-19 pandemic has created uncertainty for individuals and organizations across the world, it has also created new opportunities. With a little care, companies are seeing new opportunities to expand their market share and grow profits.
Here are five tips from the experts at Strategic America to help your organization adapt your marketing strategies to meet the changing environment created by the global pandemic.
Focus on Compassion for Individuals and Communities
While having compassion for fellow man isn’t a marketing strategy, it is essential for companies that want to survive and thrive after COVID-19. Research from Nielson has shown that 72% of consumers point to a company’s efforts to help during the pandemic as a reason to consider a company’s goods or services. And more than 80% have indicated those making an effort during COVID-19 are setting themselves apart from organizations who are not.
The question here is, why does it matter how your organization responds to this global crisis to the average consumer?
Well, the answer lies in how this pandemic has touched their lives. According again to Nielson, more than 90% of consumers are worried about the impact of the virus. The way your company responds will either build their confidence in you or cause it to drop. And in a time when consumers are looking for stability, your compassion will move mountains.
As for growing profit and market share, compassion and the confidence it creates builds brand loyalty. And when your customers are loyal, they’ll continue to purchase your products and services for years to come.
Create Positive Customer Experiences
Like compassion, customer experience is more important than ever. And if you think how consumers perceive your company’s response is crucial, their current interactions with your brand will be held to an equally strict standard.
Research from Morning Consult found 45% of respondents said that a positive experience with a new brand during COVID-19 would make them strongly inclined to continue using the brand.
On the other hand, 24% respondents reported they would no longer use a brand they tried during the pandemic that gave them a negative experience.
That means giving your clients peace of mind is critical. Focus on the fundamentals, pivot to meet your customers where they are, and make sure to balance profitability with managing market presence.
Create Relevant Content & Messages
As always, the messages you send to your audiences need to be relevant to their wants and needs. In the case of the pandemic, this could mean shifting to virtual appointments, increased emphasis on cleaning or preparations, virtual resources or delivery—depending on what industry you represent.
But as your messaging changes to reflect the COVID-19, the people responding to your messages might change. Make sure you understand your audiences. Use your data to see where shifts might be happening.
For example, some of our clients in the home category whose customer base is often largely seniors are seeing more millennials request their services lately. This could be due to spending changes due to the pandemic keeping younger populations close to home.
Stay Present in the Market
For many businesses, it can be tempting to cut down on marketing when the going gets tough. But reducing your spend level could hurt you in the long run.
For instance, we recently saw increased, year-over-year growth for a client who decided to stay in market, even as COVID-19 caused others to leave the market.
And even if you leave the market, your customers haven’t. In fact, they’re spending even more time with media than before. People are consuming more television, social media, print and even radio than before the pandemic.
Just make sure you’ve got the right message for your audience—with compassion—and you’ll have more opportunity to reach audiences.
Grow Your Digital Efforts
You know you’ve got an opportunity to reach more of your audience before, but where should you concentrate your efforts? Right now, we’re seeing digital as your best bet.
There are a few reasons. Display campaign impressions and click activity are up. Cost per click is down. Plus, digital advertising lets you test messages, platforms and more to optimize your efforts.
The only current drawback is conversions. They have been down lately, indicating consumers are doing research but are not ready to buy. However, making sure they are seeing your messaging will help you stand out from your competitors.
Further Information
Interested in learning more? Contact Strategic America for a link to our COVID-19 webinar. Or reach out to us to talk about how we could help you create marketing plans that match your goals.
