Preparing your post coronavirus marketing and web strategy
18 June 2020
Despite the slowdown in the local and global economies, confidence is slowly returning to a range of businesses as lockdown measures are pulled back. Now is a great time to revise your digital marketing strategies and get ahead of your competitors.
Coronavirus has fast tracked digit disruption in our homes as well as our workplaces. Social distancing, working from home, attending virtual conferences, being medically treated via telehealth and accessing remote learning have reshaped our lifestyles. People are spending greater amounts of time online and purchasing more services online.
In normal circumstances, consumers have a wide range of needs that businesses and service providers aim to meet. In the current world of doubt and uncertainty these needs have become focused around safety, belonging and control. Their suspicion of false or deceptive marketing messages is extremely heightened. Any advertising or marketing activity that comes across as exploitative or insensitive to people’s current situation could do irreparable damage.
Things have changed. People have changed. Trends and data have changed. Your brand and marketing strategies need to change.
Audit your website and its content
As the economy opens up and lockdown restrictions are removed, your website should serve as a primary source of truth for you and your customers. It needs to be kept up to do date and relevant with accurate content and information. Take a hard look at your website and ask the following questions:
- Is our website still relevant for our target market and customers?
- Is it easy to use and navigate?
- Are the call-to-actions prominent and easy to follow?
- Is the content and information accurate, useful and up to date?
Many people are currently feeling isolated and concerned about the future, many have lost their jobs. They have an increased need to connect and communicate, and are demanding efficiency, speed and information more than ever. Your website is the primary mechanism you have for communicating with your customers and connecting with them.
Increasing digital service delivery and ecommerce capacity
Social distancing laws and trading restrictions have forced many brick and mortar businesses to close. No one knows when normality will return or what exactly it will look like. But it’s feared that many businesses will never re-open. Many retailers, wholesalers and manufacturers were able to increase their level of sales via their e-stores and ecommerce channels, while physical stores and outlets declined.
The crisis has encouraged most organisations to innovate and deliver more of their services, or some aspect of them, online. It might be time to develop and extend your site’s e-commerce functionality. Focus on improving the customer experience when people purchase products from your site by:
- Improving site speed
- Enhancing navigation
- Designing product pages that encourage sales conversions
- Streamlining your checkout process
- Providing quality content and customer reviews
Maybe think of running a special discount for your customers. At the moment, a lot more people are shopping online and looking for discounts to save money.
These are challenging times. But your business has the opportunity to fight back and flourish. Now is the time to move forward and engage with your customers. This is a time to really show empathy and compassion to your customers and really be there for them. This as a great opportunity for your brand to stand out during a difficult time.