Connecting with Clients In Crisis
There’s no doubt about it - these are confusing and difficult times for brands. While it might be tempting to cut costs and hibernate your way through this mess, it’s important to remember that a crisis can be an opportunity - but only for those who act. During the 2008 Financial Crisis, the brands that responded best didn’t just weather the storm, but recovered faster and reached new heights once on the other side.
Here at Blue Orchid, we’ve done our homework - we've put together some key tips on how brands can best connect with their clients in these tumultuous times.
Your customer’s behaviour has changed, or is still changing
This isn’t news - your day-to-day life most likely looks very different this week than it did four months ago, but it’s important to touch briefly on why this matters. As much as we all hate to admit it, most of us live and operate in deeply engrained patterns and purchasing habits - we drive the same routes, we stop at the same gas stations, visit the same dentist, and buy the same brand of phone year after year.
The vast majority of the world’s marketing can be broken down into two categories: reinforcing our customers’ existing purchasing patterns, or breaking them from their normal routine to sell them something new - and neither of these approaches make any sense when the routines themselves have been completely upended.
“People are adapting to their changing, unstable environments and making different decisions... How we navigate in a fluid time can no longer depend on automatic behaviours, as they may reflect a mastery of a past that no longer exists.”
If you are still wondering if you and your brand should respond to the coronavirus, stop. To stay relevant in this new reality, ask yourself how you and your brand can add value and maintain a useful presence in your customers’ new routines.
Digital Marketing has never been more important
Digital Marketing has never been more important, for the very simple reason that everyone is spending far more time online for school, work, and entertainment. Web traffic has mushroomed so much that major American cities like New York and San Jose, CA are seeing internet speeds slow by more than 24%. It's bumper-to-bumper rush hour on the information superhighway, and nothing but crickets outside on the streets.
Simply put, go where your customers are - if they are online, follow them. If you’ve been putting off learning about Google Ad placements, developing a social media strategy, or improving your site’s SEO, now more than ever is the time to fix that.
Messaging has to change as fast as the times.
Yes, digital marketing is now hyper important, but that doesn’t mean that you can simply use the same old messaging in an online format. Remember, your customers’ behaviour patterns are changing, and so must yours.
“Right now, the long-term relevance of the brand is more important than short-term sales. Read that again, please.”
That may be a bitter pill to swallow, but it’s critical to keep in mind. Unless you are in the fortunate position of providing essential products and services, you will have to change your messaging, even if it doesn’t feel relevant to your reeling business model. Which brings us to our next point...
Step Outside Your Brand’s Comfort Zone
It’s okay to create messaging outside of your brand’s core services. Phone companies can offer wellness tips and landscapers can start photo challenges - John Watlings, the local distiller of Bahamian rum, has begun producing hand sanitizer. In fact, wherever your brand’s mission intersects with the current needs of your customers, you have an opportunity to connect and maintain a presence in their ‘new normal.’ When determining your customers’ needs, it is always useful to pull out your Marketing 101 notes and refer back to Maslow’s famous hierarchy.
Which of your customers’ needs did your pre-COVID products and services satisfy? Ask yourself how their needs have changed or intensified in the past few weeks. In times like these, the lower down on the pyramid you can operate, the better. Far more people are concerned about paying the rent and their job security right now than realizing their full potential. What can you and your brand do to help? Succeeding here may not seem like a priority in the short term, but will win you clients and customers long after we’ve developed a coronavirus vaccine.
If you need some inspiration, you can read more about our Our Top 10 Favourite Ads Since COVID-19 on the Blue Orchid blog.
There’s a lot to digest here. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you and your brand are struggling to adjust to this new reality - at Blue Orchid we are here to help.
For a limited time, we are offering FREE 30 minute consultations with our team of marketing experts. Contact us today and we can devise a plan together.