Yes – You Can Build a Digital Strategy To Help You Soar Through The Recession.
The coronavirus pandemic has created a fast, dramatic economic dip. While it remains to be seen whether or not we are in a long-term recession, planning is power.
Recessions tend to follow three stages: the drop, the climb out, and the ensuing growth. The latest thinking in the industry advises that marketers and business leaders remain strong and proactive. Equip yourself now to build a new path once the economy stabilizes. There is no script for how to handle this type of economic plunge – the 2008 recession was the first in digital marketing history. Still, there are some guiding points to help us navigate this crisis as an industry and to hold fast to what we’re good at – being strategic – rather than being reactive or succumbing to panic.
As I wrote about last month, now is not the time to stop marketing and ad spend altogether. Of course, slimmer budgets will tempt you to shore up resources and trim down your marketing output – however, in doing so you are damaging your long-term viability and relevance. Today’s market is a buyer’s market for advertisers. Take advantage of this moment to launch targeted search, paid social, and bid on programmatic campaigns. Plus, while not everyone is hitting “buy,” online activity has increased 70% since the pandemic hit the U.S. Visibility counts and helps to establish your brand as a strong lean-to.
Make tact paramount in how you show up online. People want to feel helped and well-served. Be a good actor and a helper – do not be exploitative. While considering how your audience will receive your marketing, think of your strategy as a path to resolution, resilience, and a reimagined future for your business and for your customers. These strategic imperatives are important both in how you respond to COVID-19 and in how you market goods and services. Perhaps that means looking for new ways to bring in revenue and price your offerings.
Another long-game play that I cannot reinforce enough is content marketing. Take steps now to elevate your brand to new heights. What timeless problems can you help people solve? How are you an agent of change that your customer can learn from? If you are seeking a long-term strategy that will keep your business relevant and desirable well beyond the current crisis, ASTRALCOM can help.
