After the attacks conducted on September 11, 2001, the United States dramatically changed how the country addressed security concerns. Fast forward nearly 20 years, and we are dealing with another monumental event that has caused a seismic shift in how we do business. COVID-19 has triggered a series of events that have led to what many people are calling the “new normal.” We have experienced the onset of social distancing measures, as well as restrictions on how a large number of businesses can operate. As we continue to deal with ramifications of the pandemic, business owners can address and explore shifts to the way they run their business, including marketing.

General Shift in Marketing Strategy During the Pandemic

Instead of trying to play catch up to the economic devastation generated by COVID-19, your business should focus on how to move around marketing priorities to get the most bang out of every promotional dollar. Before we present specific marketing strategies to navigate the “new normal,” let’s review a few general tips to get the marketing ball rolling.

Review and adjust automated marketing tactics
Adapt to rapid changes
Embrace new marketing channels
Rearrange promotional priorities
Think outside the marketing box

Grocery stores represent a good model for learning the value of thinking outside the box. Instead of shuttering their doors, many grocery stores have created the ideal environment that welcomes customers, while ensuring customers follow social distancing guidelines. Marketers must also think outside the box, as well as lean on longstanding marketing practices that are making a comeback.

Specific Marketing Strategies During the Pandemic

According to the marketing experts at GoPromotional, COVID-19 has taken several traditionally successful marketing tactics out of the picture. For example, promoting a company at trade shows is no longer a viable option. Adapting marketing strategies in the era of the Coronavirus means relying on one time-tested tactic, as well as exploring ways to leverage the power of digital marketing. The internet has paved its way to reach out to most businesses and help them learn digital marketing strategies without compromising the safety of everyone. .

Printed Mail Still Rules

With a vast majority of residents of the United Kingdom hunkered down at home, printed mail marketing messages have come back into play. This means business to consumer marketing via printed mail should have more of an impact on buying decisions. You may be already sitting on some promotional pens, magnets, logo printed notepads and feel as if they could go to waste, but this is the perfect time to include them in a mailer. Because few professionals are commuting to and from work, printed mail is not as effective for a business to business marketing strategy. However, this is the perfect time to reach out to associates and send a personal token like a mug, with your logo, to their office at home.

Video Marketing from Home

The coronavirus has led many people down the YouTube rabbit hole, where watching one video eventually turns into an entire night on the popular video marketing platform. Let’s look at a few video marketing ideas for the CPVID-19 era.

Testimonials from happy customers
Demonstrate how to use a product
Videos that explain how to do things
Top 10 lists
Behind the scene videos

Many people have taken the time opened during the crisis to create funny and oftentimes inspiring videos. You should try to do the same thing when marketing a business using video platforms such as YouTube.

Attract Customers by Sending Emails

The best thing about email marketing is that you gain permission from customers to send them helpful information on a regular basis. There is not any cold calling involved; just ask for visitors of your website to opt into an email newsletter, and off you go. You do not even have to actively manage an email marketing strategy.

Automation does it all for you.

Automated emails allow your business to establish delivery sequences, such as once a week or one time every two weeks. Email automation also gives you the flexibility to write content weeks, if not months in advance of an email marketing campaign. Emails represent one of the most effective ways to ask your customers for feedback, which you turn into new and improved products, as well as more responsive customer service.

Harness the Digital Power of Social Media Marketing

A comprehensive report released by Social Media Examiner stated that nearly 90 per cent of the business operators polled use social media to increase exposure for their products and services. Social media sites such as Facebook, Twitter, and Snapchat can help your business engage with customers in real-time.

Social media marketing during Coronavirus can produce the following benefits:

Attract more potential customers to your business website
Feature a product or a service
Answer customer questions to build credibility
Move your business up Google’s search engine rankings
Increase the number of loyal customers

Loyal customers represent about 20 per cent of your customer base, but they drive around 80 per cent of your sales. This fact of business life is even more crucial, as we learn how to market during the COVOID-19 pandemic.

Build a Second Storefront Online

Yes, your brick and mortar store might be shuttered for a few more weeks. How do you generate sales, without foot traffic leading to the constant pleasant sound of cash registers ringing? The answer is improving how your online store functions. Now more than ever before, creating a highly interactive website that allows customers to buy products online is the cure for what ails business sales.

You do not have to build an elaborate eCommerce store; just make several, if not all of your products available for sale online. Your business website also represents the primary point of contact for customers to reach you. Without access to the business phone system, you should establish another way for customers to get in touch with you in a timely manner.