Marketing During A Pandemic 7 Dos and Don’ts for Every Business
Marketing is usually the first to go during a recession. I’ve heard this all of my career and have seen it a few times now. Not that this was ever a smart move, but in today’s connected world, this can be a huge mistake. Your customers and target audiences are always connected. If you don’t capture their attention - and you don’t have to trust me on this one because you already know - someone else will. As you regroup and test new marketing approaches, here is a simple list of dos and don’ts we hope you find useful:
The 7 DOs:
Show Empathy - and ask if you can help
It’s a tough time for a lot of people right now. Instead of the next sale, or the next offer, maybe it’s time to give back and help out? Ask your customers what they think would be helpful. You might be surprised by what you learn. This can be something simple and doesn’t necessarily need to cost anything. However, you will feel good, your employees will feel proud, and your customers will notice.
Review and adjust your current marketing plan - don’t pull a Charmin
This may be obvious, but if you have not done this yet, drop everything and re-calibrate your marketing plans. Work with vendors, if something is pre-flighted and try as best you can to minimize the activities that don’t make sense. I was sitting at home and had the TV on in the background. I heard something that caught my attention and could not believe what I was seeing - a Charmin commercial in the middle of this pandemic when toilet paper is sold out everywhere and shelves are empty! Now, I know this is an activity that had already been scheduled and most likely not refundable. However, Charmin should have done better, in my opinion. They could have created a cheap but effective variant of the ad with a message of compassion or something different - ANYTHING really, other than “Buy Charmin we are the best” when there is NONE on the shelves of America. Again, I get the intricacies of tv ad buy, but man that left a bad impression on me.
Be flexible
It’s important to be flexible and open-minded during these times. Things you may have done in the past may not work at the moment. And things that you thought you’d never do, well, those are the things that may actually help. There is no rule book that can provide modern marketers a step-by-step job aid during these times. You most likely, not different than what you should be doing anyway, will have to test your way through this.
Review your existing touchpoints - especially automated ones!
Your customers interact with your brand in myriad ways. It’s always best to have all touchpoints mapped out and know exactly what a customer sees at every touchpoint. However, the larger the organization and the more complex the marketing strategy, the more difficult this gets. What a great time for you to step back and ensure you understand what each customer is seeing to ensure you’re not being insensitive or out of touch.
Surprise and delight - proactively provide help
If you can do something for your customers that will put a smile on their face, there has not been a perfect time to do so. All we hear in the news is pandemic this, COVID-19 that… it’s mentally exhausting. We’re all tired and can’t wait for this to be over. Well, if you can make someone smile right now, that can leave a lasting impression.
Be self-aware
It’s important to be self-aware and read the proverbial room. Understand what your product or service offers and your value proposition is incredibly important during this time. Maybe your message needs to shift? Maybe your creative needs a tweak? Maybe, just maybe, you don’t send that email just yet. This is the theme interwoven in the topics already covered but a really important one. I’ll touch upon this a bit more in the DON’Ts.
Take care of your team
With recent trends, teams have been squeezed and are being stretched thin, and I mean prior to COVID-19. To make a sports analogy here, everyone is playing full-time and there are no subs. Then this pandemic hits and it’s like we’re going into overtime. If you have ever been in that situation (my apologies if you haven’t), you are exhausted physically, started to cramp up, and the mental exhaustion kicks in. It takes all you got to continue pushing. In all successful teams in this situation, the team captains or team leaders step up and help give the team that extra boost of confidence and that third of fourth wind to keep pushing. This is how your team is most likely feeling at the moment. Exhausted. Frustrated. Worried. Running out of steam… Don’t just push and pile on. Think about how you can care for their mental health and well-being. You need these players for the next game. Don’t assume they are ok. Take care of your team!
The 7 Don’ts
Don’t make light of the situation
So many brands have taken a refreshing and much welcome light approach to things. They’re funny and quirky and their messaging is not what one would call your normal business-speak. Think about the recent campaigns for Old Spice, if you will. I half don’t understand their commercials (probably not their target audience either), but I appreciate their quirky ness! There is a fine line, however, between being edgy and quirky and being downright disrespectful. Be careful that you’re not treating this situation lightly and that you are not insinuating in any way that this is not serious. Tone is always important, but during these times, you need to be really careful as to how you come across. Be fun and light, be quirky, but check your tone and messaging to ensure you’re not being insensitive.
Don’t assume your audience cares about your plans
I cannot count the number of emails I received with a subject line similar to “Our plans for COVID-19”. What I can count is the number of those emails that I opened. A whopping big old goose egg. Zip Zero. None. You’re my insurance company, or the car dealer I bought a car from 10 years ago. I am sorry, but I do not care about your plans. You have added zero value to my life in recent years, I’m not an active customer, and/or your email is not directly targetted to my particular needs - so please, just don’t.
Don’t patronize your audience
I don’t know what is worse. The “our plans” message or the “we’re here to help” message. Most brands I interact with that I like doing business with, always have a very specific message or product that can help me. Saying “we’re here to help” or “we’re right there with you” without any substance feels absolutely cheap and uncalled for. Unless you have a real and relevant way to help me, please just keep it to yourself.
Don’t flaunt it if you got it
This is especially true for luxury brands, but with over 40 million Americans out of work, as reported by the New York Times on May 28, 2020, your luxury yacht ad is not going to sit well if it’s not HIGHLY targeted. Even then, you still need to be careful. As we hunker down and adapt to this new reality, people are seeing their needs change. For some brands, their niche market will be much more limited - especially as aspirational customers start to disappear. The last thing you need is to become an internet meme of how out of touch you are. Mind your brand and don’t flaunt it you got it… not for a while anyway.
Don’t emphasize something you’re supposed to do
If you’re doing the right thing and doing what you’re supposed to do, don’t emphasize it and pat yourself in the back. It’s petty in norma times, but especially now, you’re SUPPOSED to take care of your customers and team. You should talk about it, as that highlights your brand culture, etc, but be careful not to come across as too self-serving. It’s a dangerous slope while sensitivities are high.
Don’t Assume your creative is fine
Content calendars are great as they allow you to plan months in advance and have content locked and loaded, ready to go. If your content was created before this pandemic, or even before we were fully immersed in it. PLEASE CHECK YOUR CONTENT before it goes out the door. You could save yourself a lot of headaches by not assuming you’re good to go.
Don’t give your competitors a chance to win your customers
Lastly, this is the biggest “DON’T” of all, in my opinion. You’ve worked so hard to build your brand, to get your customers to buy, and to try to keep them happy. Don’t go dark now. Don’t give your competitors a chance to steal your customers right from under you. With all the pressures we’re facing, and with marketing budgets being squeezed ever so tight, it can become a feeding ground for your competitors. Be creative, change your tactics, and adjust your budgets - do what you need to do - but don’t go dark. When you decide to turn the lights back on, it may be too late.