Out of darkness comes light - Or at least we hope so!

2020 has been quite a dumpster fire of a year but what does 2021 have in store for us? Civil War? Meteors? Zombie apocalypse? Things that used to sound like the plot of a science fiction movie now seem like just par for the course these days. So how do we hold on to what we've built?

Take a deep breath

Honestly, nothing resets the soul better than a good deep breath. This is everyone's first pandemic so cut yourself some slack! A crisis is bound to change behaviors. People are staying home more than ever before and cutting down on discretionary spending. In a normal quarter this is not good news but in pandemic times with an uncertain future, its time to accept your marketing campaigns will be affected. Multiplying marketing spends and/or making ad-hoc, panic-driven changes to your campaigns isn’t going to change that.

Plan

In everything we do as brands, context matters. Beyond the basic actions taken to protect employees and businesses during a crisis, brands can either help or hinder our collective experience. So when a cultural moment shifts as dramatically as it has in the face of COVID-19, it’s important that brands address the issue with tact, empathy, and mindful marketing. Building awareness is key to campaigns. It’s worthwhile revisiting your digital distribution and make the brand more discoverable. You may want to focus on Google search ads and optimize on keywords, as opposed to investing in awareness campaigns. For the moment, it’s better to spend money on being discovered by people who are looking for you, rather than educating people about your brand.

Optimize your community

It’s cheaper to retain a customer than acquire a new one. Customers are less likely to be experimental and prefer coming back to a brand they've connected with, especially in uncertain times. Design marketing campaigns and restructure loyalty programs to engage your community and loyal customers. Additionally, this also the best time to demonstrate your commitment to them!

Adjust

Planning and optimizing are great first steps but what is even more crucial during times of crisis is your ability to adapt! These aren't the infomercial "Set it and forget it!" times. Consider what to prioritize or pivot. The most important metric in your marketing arsenal during a pandemic is not ROI, MQL, LTV or any other TLA of the moment. The thing you need to continually evaluate is far more basic and more critical....

Does this still make sense for my business?