Why your business will probably miss out on the opportunity COVID 19 presents!

The Morrison Government have potentially averted an economic downturn possibly with the enormity of the great depression with their announcement to subsidize wages.

Whilst the extent of the crisis is hard to estimate at this point, Morrison’s economic plan does have the potential to restore a great deal of confidence in the market despite the fact that many of us are stuck at home and being forced to keep our social distance.

It may also be the case as this situation drags on, assuming people are at least not in desperate financial hardship – we may see the economy start to breathe again sooner rather than later. But it will be a different market place, with continued social distancing measures likely to mean online businesses have the potential to really flourish.

Whilst hard to imagine given all the uncertainty – now may well be the time to invest in upping your online game; be it marketing, sales or customer service. Being “online ready” with systems and platforms to service your customers effectively and remotely will be vital. And not just for the short term based on the level of change we are experiencing, this virus is likely to have a long lasting impact on the way our society interacts.

Doubling down on your digital foot print cost prohibitive or even counter intuitive given the uncertainty, but NOW is the moment to build the systems to best service your customers and reach out to them.

Here are some reasons why?

PERCEPTION

In a world gripped by fear and uncertainty – the continuation of communication (marketing & promotion) even if you are not trading NOW will showcase that you are a strong reliable brand even if just perception There is that old saying “perception is everything”, lets face it no suspects the guys in the sharp suit of being a petty thief “they must be successful, right?” – Those that are continuing to advertise create a similar perception “they must be good they can afford to keep advertising”. Obviously don’t send yourself broke doing this but there are cost effective mediums (social media being one) that are great to keep your brand visible and in-market

DECREASED COMPETITION.

Now is an Ideal time to improve what we call “share of voice” – how often you are seen in the market place compared to your competition. The reason for this two fold.

1.    Your competitors will either contract their marketing budget OR

2.    Sadly many won’t survive.

LESS NOISE

Kind of a follow on from the last point, but when you consider your business – no matter what business you are in generally the consumer is being bombarded by messages for competing products. With so many businesses pulling back on marketing you have a chance to be heard possibly over some larger more established competitors.

PAUSING NOT STOPPING

Remember the Government is putting huge amounts of money into a troubled economy, they are effectively trying to pause it and more or less guarantee it doesn’t stop. Certain industries may be more brutally impacted by ongoing restrictions (international tourism being one) but generally the billions of dollars being pumped into the system are there to keep it moving (even if slowly) – whilst not a sure bet – that investment means there will be money swirling around the economy so if you want it coming your way, remind consumers you are there.

WHAT TO DO?

The answer to that is really very dependent on your business and your ability to spend or should I say invest in reaching your audience, however something that I have said many times (during better times) is for many businesses the easiest opportunity sits right under their noses.

As an example we proposed that a property management client we work with, go to their database this week and offer them the opportunity to receive upto date information and insights into this ever evolving situation as it unfolds. They also offered them a value added service offering related to crisis to HELP their clients better navigate a challenging market.

Not one customer elected not to receive the updates and their staff have been inundated with calls wanting to take up the offer.

If you don’t have a good quality easy to navigate online presence now or you do not have a solid engagement/retention strategy in place for your customers, this could be the moment – don’t miss it. Remember also your website is your shop front so what do you want peopl eto think and feel when they walk through the door. And, for the most part your EDM’s and social media are both channels where your customers or potential customers have subscribed to follow your brand, actively agreeing to be engaged by you, don’t waste the invitation.