24 Apr 5 Business Tips we’ve learnt during Lockdown
During the current economic uncertainty; in addition to the general concern for everybody’s wellbeing, we’ve put together some advice we have found to be true at this time, to help us all both prevail and excel!
1. Maintain Customer Engagement
If you are struggling to deliver your product or service, can you diversify some aspects online? We have seen some clients beat last April’s sales, even when they have had to diversify their products completely.
If this just isn’t possible and can’t supply for your marketplace currently, it doesn’t mean you can’t maintain and grow interest in your brand.
Continue boosting your brand awareness and keep leads warm by offering discount vouchers to be used later in the year, running giveaway competitions, or providing content in exchange for email sign ups.
Your brand’s reputation doesn’t lie solely with your product or service, the content and advice you provide can go a long way!
2. Keep Spending on Advertising
If (a big if) you can still provide your products or services, do not stop your ad spend unless you absolutely have to! We are seeing the cost of advertising on both Social media and Google ads drop significantly due to lack of competition.
You may assume people are generally less inclined to buy given the economic uncertainty, but as footfall diminishes, digital landscapes thrive. In fact, UK internet usage has almost doubled during lockdown so your online presence has never been so important.
3. Time you may never have again
Running an SME business rarely leaves much time for marketing, so if you find yourself with a little more time than usual, this is a perfect time to get ahead. Taking a few moments to analyse your online presence, before making any big decisions, could make all the difference to how you bounce back.
Capitalise on the increased chance of being seen by your target audience by taking stock of your website analytics, ad performance, email database and social media content for opportunities to improve!
You could also take advantage of www.free-review.co.uk to provide an expert second opinion on your current online presence.
4. Show that you Care
It is difficult to find anyone that hasn’t been affected by the pandemic, whether it’s family, friends, customers or suppliers. 70% of businesses have had to furlough members of staff, while thousands of businesses have had to close down for good.
This is a quintessential opportunity to show gratitude and generosity to your customers and the rest of your network. By offering to pause contracts to help with cash flow, offering free advice, or simply a call to ask how they are doing. You’ll find out who your friends are in times like these, so show that others care and it will be remembered fondly, long after the lockdown.
5. Review your Strategy
Strategy. Strategy. Strategy.
If you have a clear strategy in place, please review it, as this will probably have been affected by recent events. If you haven’t got a written Strategy that everyone (that needs to know) knows about, then this is a great time to do so. We have revised ours and can be a simple A4 document outlining:
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Diagnosis
The current state of play
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Goal
Make sure it’s SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Bound).
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Who
Your target audience – what are your buyer personas?
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How
What tasks are involved? E.g. Email Marketing, PPC etc.
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Why
A brief explanation so that everyone knows why this strategy has been chosen.
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Budget
The maximum financial investment that can be spent over the period specified.
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Measure
The KPIs you are going to measure success by and how often (weekly/monthly/quarterly) e.g. reach, web page traffic, leads, sales etc.
The purpose is to ensure everyone is working in sync and has confidence in what they are doing.
SME Support
We’d like to take this opportunity to offer our support to small businesses during such inauspicious circumstances. Thankfully, we are still going strong and determined to succeed by growing others. If you’re an SME in need of more help & advice, please feel free to contact us.
Furthermore, we are offering a FREE digital marketing review, analysing your online presence, and detailing your strengths and areas for improvement. Find out more below!