What do we do about this Covid-19 situation that is happening WORLDWIDE?
How do we make sure our businesses survive?
This is THE question EVERY business owner is asking themselves.
People all around the world are locked down in their homes, affecting several businesses’ income. No more travelers, no more regular visitors, no more walk-in buyers, so how does our business survive this situation?
ANSWER: Adapt and evolve.
Like the past history written in our books, with every economic crisis / recession, businesses that survive through are those that are prepared to adapt and evolve. After all, this is the key factor as to whether your business will make it through the tough times ahead. So how do we as business owners market our product/service while our existing and potential customers are all stuck at home? When no trade shows or exhibitions are available for networking or customer relation building? When a simple word-of-mouth referral or a strength in a solid reputation is no longer enough?
What are the 2 things people still have? INTERNET AND TIME.
Several countries have turned to the digital world and are providing services online where people can still reach without travelling to them. Adapting their services and product so that it is readily available online for purchase or usage. Some businesses have even introduced new services or products to fill in the needs of people in today’s circumstances.
With people spending EVEN MORE time on the internet searching for articles, items, classes to fulfill their needs and for self improvement. Digital becomes more important than ever, because it is inevitable. Majority of the businesses have and are pulling out of paid media due to tight cash flows, and organic reach is more important than ever as people are spending more time searching their interest or their needs.
Digital marketing will become an organic strategy where frequency is essential for the majority of the businesses and those that can afford to invest in ad campaigns will see major return on investment (when done right). Your marketing strategy for your business should be focused and oriented around writing SEO oriented blogs now more than ever, posting on all digital platforms frequently, sending out newsletters (personalized) to your existing database, direct messaging through social media platforms. For those of you who have savings and backings will be recommended to grab the now abandoned paid campaigns, cost is lower and reach is higher as competition becomes scarce. These are the marketing solutions for businesses to survive and continue to be discovered during this Covid-19 circumstances.
Now let’s get into more details of the 4 tactics that can significantly improve your chance of not just surviving but thriving;
Organic reach and communication
At times when people are spending more time online than ever before, organic reach in your relevant places is essential in retaining customers and grabbing attention of new potential buyers. Be vigilant, post 7 times a week on Facebook, twice a day on instagram, twice a week on youtube, send out personalised newsletters, direct message people who are interacting with your products and engage in all other high usage platforms you didn’t engage before.
Take Advantage of CHEAP Online Ad Campaigns & Paid Medias
For those that have some backing to INVEST in Paid Ads & Media (see here how to set up and manage Facebook Ads), be sure to not hesitate. As the economic crisis extends longer and longer several businesses immediately cut costs, first to go is marketing budget. Ads become less competitive, less bidders, therefore even more affordable than before and with better results. Using online media channels to advertise even with a small budget will help you distribute your content much faster and to a broader audience in a quicker time frame. The key is to make sure you are targeting the right audience, your actual potential buyer rather than just any and every fish in the pond. It may sound insane, especially considering the economic uncertainty, but you can read any book on the history of recession businesses that survive through the recession are those that continue to move forward adapting, evolving, and marketing.
Use all the digital platforms.
Because of Covid-19, people are getting accustomed to social distancing, self-isolation, and working remotely. Take advantage of the platforms you weren’t approaching before, know your audience, understand their behaviour, embrace the platforms they are using whether it be Tik Tok, Line, Whatsapp, Linkedin and Pinterest.
SEO optimize now, more than ever.
Making sure your website shows up in the first page for the keywords your business / product relates to will help you secure more customers. This is a step that is often forgotten, but during these now remote times, optimizing may provide you with that extra reach that can make the difference for your business. Research what your customers are looking for, what they search for, what words / phrases do they use to find your products or your competitors, information they constantly need. With this understanding you will be able to write articles that are seo optimised ensuring you pop up whenever your potential customers searches those terms.
Online Platforms and Online Payments.
Going Digital is the way forward and it is the only way! With banks all around the world starting to limit cash withdrawal during covid-19 cash payments becomes harder and harder to do. Make sure you have a platform that allows your customers to browse your products/services online and make a payment online should they decide to make a purchase. If you are a restaurant make sure to have an online ordering menu with payment gateway and delivery service. If you are a retail shop make sure your products are listed online with a shopping function. If you are a B2B make sure your website has the relevant information your clientele would most often ask. If you are a hotel well during these circumstances you will need to rethink your business models until the travel lifestyle is once again a possibility, long term planning will be required. For every business you WILL NEED to reassess, replan, and redeem, it won’t be easy but it is possible.
Every economic crisis has a solution and always comes to an end. While we may not like what Covid-19 has done to our countries and businesses, it doesn’t mean we have to just lay back, you need to adapt and evolve to a new Norm who knows you may just be the next person in the fortune 500. Cost control is as always a must which is why hiring several individuals with talents is no longer an option, make sure to outsource the services, no commitment of employment is needed and you will be able to hire the different talents it requires after all it is just 1 person that runs an engine, it takes several skills and team work.
If you need any advice or consultation on how to adapt your business, please feel free to contact us as we currently provide FREE consultation support and help to all businesses in Asia to be able to survive through these tough times.
We wish you all the best of luck,
Susan and Daniel Villota
CEO of E-Media Asia