Where to start with all of this??!!
Literally these are just the most worrying times for everybody and it’s quite understandable to be spinning in a bit of a blind panic at the moment.
I don’t have any magic solution, nor do I have ways to save your business – let’s face it – nobody does at the moment. BUT I do have some basic things to bear in mind that you can put in place. They may help you keep things moving or at least, help you adapt and re-asses. At the very least – get this time period to help prep you for when we get over this.
These are my thoughts (I am not preaching that you all need to follow my advice, you are all experts in your field – trust your gut also!).
1.FOCUS ON HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR CLIENT BASE AT THE MOMENT
Every single one of your clients has been hugely affected and disrupted at the moment. Whether it’s cash flow, consideration of price point on their purchases, not being able to get hold of basic items or struggling with managing work and family in self-isolation. How can YOUR business support those concerns and worries?
If they are worried about cash flow – do you offer payment plans? Could you offer discounts?
If they are concerned about hygiene risks – put in extra measures to reassure them.
If your products are a luxury item – consider during this time reducing the friction that might be caused by higher price tags. There is a volume of online sales out there which just wasn’t necessarily achievable before.
As an e-commerce business, focus on those basic items people will still be buying – coupled with the fact Vodafone have reported a 50% rise in internet usage on their network. It’s pretty clear your customer base are going to need you at the moment.
2. RECOGNISE THERE IS LESS NOISE TO OVERCOME AND MORE “SHARE OF MIND” TO GAIN
With many companies reducing ad spend and cutting campaigns – you can get much visibility at the moment. Don’t just knee-jerk assume you need to turn off those ads! Yes its a tough time and absolutely nobody respects a business taking advantage of the situation (like this guy here……). But many businesses are suddenly seeing a huge up tick in their ROAS (return on ad spend) because online purchasing has increased and competition has decreased. It’s even worth looking at running campaigns with Traffic objectives at the moment as you will get some super cheap CPM’s and CTR’s without having to use the heavyweight Conversion objectives! Definitely test this!
3.TAKE A LONG TERM VIEW
This WILL recover and people still need to run their business, keep their family occupied and look after themselves. So, even if they are not going to be spending as much now, they most certainly will in the future. If you totally neglect all of those warm audiences you’ve spent SO LONG nurturing, it’s going to make it incredibly hard to recover and fight your way back to front of mind when the time comes.
It’s going to be a much harder recovery if you let go of that momentum you’ve got going with paid traffic, be cautious about going back to your starting point. Keep communicating with those potential customers so you continue to build trust and affinity.
4. EXPLAIN HOW YOU HAVE ADAPTED
Have you increased measures to avoid the spreading of the virus to protect your clients? Shout this loud and clear and reassure people as much as you can. Are shipping times affected? Be clear about delays so you customers know what to expect. People may be wondering if you have stock issues of shipping issues which will potentially deter them from buying, however if you put some transparency on the situation, they will be more able to make an informed decision. If you KNOW shipping is delayed, most people are kind of OK with it. The issues come about when these issues haven’t been addressed. Provide reassurance.
5.ENCOURAGE PEOPLE TO SUPPORT INDEPENDENTS!
Your customers are all wanting to support independent businesses as much as they can at the moment. Pretty sure most people would prefer to spend where its going to support the community as best as possible. You may just find people are more willing than usual to use your store or services. We are all in this together.
6.USE THE TIME TO PLAN
Obvious one really but use the time to adapt – and do all those jobs on your website, processes, newsletters that you usually are too busy to really focus on. This ahead six months and what you need to do whilst things might be quieter.
7.MOST IMPORTANTLY… GIVE AS MUCH BACK AS YOU CAN TO THOSE WHO NEED IT…
If there is one thing you can do, give as much value and back to every single person who might need it. People will remember those who acted kindly and consciously during these times. I truly believe that at times like this, we really see the ethics of that business for what they truly are….
Good luck to everybody out there – if you need a free consultation, help looking over your campaigns – ANYTHING – please ask. Happy to help in these strange times.
STAY SAFE!!!
