There is a marketing term for things outside of your control that affect marketing such as weather and the economy. It’s called the Marketing Environment. The current pandemic is part of the marketing environment. Most of the time, the marketing environment changes very slowly and companies have time to adapt. The speed of change with this pandemic has taken many by surprise.
Having navigated my agency through other swift marketing environment changes such as 9/11 and the great recession, I feel confident that if home-based businesses stay calm they will get through this pandemic just fine.
First of all, the cycle of this marketing environment shift is going to be short lived. Whether your business is hurt or helped, it’s going to be a quick spike up or down. If you are fortunate enough to offer a product or service that is benefiting, make hay while the sun shines but don’t get cocky. It won’t last long so make sure you don’t increase your expenses in ways you wish you hadn’t three months from now.
What’s more important to talk about are the home businesses that are going to suffer a downturn in sales. Some of the most important things you can do are preserve cash and cut expenses fast. By fast, think of it this way: When you cut a dog’s tail short, don’t do it inch by inch. It’s painful so get it over all at once with one quick cut. Looking back, even though I knew this, I should have cut expenses faster than I did.
Also, communicate with your customers and employees twice as much as you have in the past. Customers need to feel your presence more than ever and employees will assume the worst if you are not talking to them.
As for marketing, face-to-face selling will need to be replaced temporarily. An easy way to consider how you will do this is by understanding another marketing term called the Promotional Mix. Almost all promotions will fit into one of the following five promotional mix channels: 1) personal selling 2) ads 3) media coverage 4) website 5) social media.
Each channel has pros and cons, including the length of time you have to deliver your message, your influence in delivering the message, how likely a consumer is to trust the information, how widely the message is delivered, and the expense in time and dollars to deliver the message.
So let’s take a look at the pros and cons of the four channels that can take up the slack caused by the temporary lack of personal selling.
Media coverage, also called publicity, can consist of both traditional media (print, TV and radio), as well as digital media (internet). Media is a powerful promotional tool as it provides ample time to explain the product, wide reach and it delivers a message that is generally trusted by the consumer. Although some control is given up, the return can be significant. Pricing for publicity is variable. You can call media outlets yourself for almost no cost or you can hire an agency like mine if you have the resources.
Websites give you complete control of the message and ample bandwidth needed to tell your product’s story. Of course, other promotions are needed to drive people to your website or even the best-designed website is ineffective. Consumer trust in websites is generally favorable but, unlike media coverage, there is no gatekeeper to help assure the information is accurate.
Social media is a good way to reach customers on a conversational level. Popular content can be passed along almost endlessly. However, posts of that caliber can be difficult to achieve. The messages are normally short and so there is not time to build rapport as a salesperson can do.
Advertising has been around a long time and appears in many forms. Today, because of the internet, ads can be both inexpensive and highly targeted. However, the message is often short and it’s easy to be skeptical of an ad. The really nice thing about ads is when you get one that works, it’s like a machine that spits out two dollars every time you put one dollar in.
Here’s another marketing tip. As I’ve illustrated by using 2 marketing terms in this article, when you need to change marketing strategies on the fly, it’s good to have the basic marketing concepts down pat so you can make intelligent marketing decisions. Many marketers ride the wave in good times without fully understanding what underpins good marketing. In my best-selling book, “The CEO’s Guide to Marketing; the book every marketer should read before their boss does,” I’m telling on the industry. Most CEOs would be shocked at how little their marketing teams actually know about marketing concepts and process. The book outlines a simple 6-step marketing process that includes 31 marketing concepts and how to use them.
Mentioning my book may sound self-promotional but I’m 64 and have achieved financial independence from the agency I started out of my laundry room over 30 years ago. I winter in Florida and skipped going out on my boat this morning to write this article because I remember the scary times when my business went through downturns. I believe my book is the most practical marketing book ever written and it’s worth reading. It’s not the panacea but high sales solve all problems and good business books are an entrepreneur’s best friends.
One last bit of advice. I’ve always said business owners need to be a little stupid. That’s because people smarter than us know when it’s time to quit. So, be tough and push through this challenging situation. All the good lessons of life are learned in the tough times.
