While it’s fair to say that full economic recovery from the current Covid-19 crisis could take several years, the good news is that for some businesses, there may be some glimmer of hope of some resurgence in the economy as lockdown is lifted.
At Awesome Creative, we speak to many different business owners every day. In our view, we’re starting to get the vibe that maybe – just maybe – people are starting to think about starting to spend again – if they are in the position to do so.
Furloughed and full-pay workers been cooped up inside for many weeks, with little to spend their money on, and we are sensing people have an itch to scratch…that purchase to make. Are you geared up to catch the coming market?
What should businesses be doing right now?
It’s really quite simple. Businesses need to be prepared – and get ready for a comeback.
There’s no denying that for many, the face of marketing has changed dramatically over the past few months – and in the very worst cases, ground to a halt.
According to Marketing Week…
only 14% of marketing strategies have been implemented as originally planned with 86% of UK marketers completely reviewing their plans.
However, that’s not to say that activity isn’t happening in the background. Many business owners will have had some much-needed down time, affording them the opportunity to focus on the “to do list” jobs that have taken a back burner.This group are using their time to plan a back to work schedule so that they are ready to hit the ground running when restrictions are lifted. And with the real hope of a resurgence in the economy, it’s absolutely the right thing to do.
There are several areas that we, at Awesome Creative, have been assisting our customers in to ensure that it’s business as usual as quickly as possible – and we’d suggest all organisations look the following areas for their own marketing.
Analyse Your
Website Performance
How well does your website really perform?
Lockdown has given many marketers the opportunity to take stock of their current website and question its functionality. Areas that businesses have let slide have suddenly become glaringly obvious.
You may find that some of your content is out of date or simply irrelevant now – and so an entirely new content-strategy could be on the cards.
Plan Your
Bounce-back Content
We know, you know, Content is STILL King – and over the coming weeks, it’s essential that business owners plan out their post-lockdown content. This could include sketching out future campaigns, creating content and writing scripts for videos. Bulk prepare as much as you can – once the flood gates open, you won’t get this downtime back.
Now is the time
to go e-commerce
Many businesses have had launching as eCommerce on their radar for some time. For some, lockdown has meant that they have had to launch an eCommerce site far earlier than planned. Ahead of a return to normality, this will need to be tweaked, functionality improved and performance measured. We predict a huge increase in website spend across all sectors.
Update Your
Visual Comms
Most of us will have noticed an increase in the pictures of hand-washing, distance-keeping advice everywhere we look. Post lockdown this isn’t likely to change for the foreseeable future. Businesses will need their imagery to be relevant and as such are likely to need to invest in both photography and illustration to depict a new way of living.
Re-think Brand
Interaction Points
Many businesses devote a large part of their marketing budget to trade shows, exhibitions, and events. With many of these events cancelled until the end of 2020 or 2021, people are looking for new ways to interact.
Online meetings and webinars have become quickly engrained into everyday life – and we expect many businesses to continue their new-found confidence in this. Virtual online meetings will no longer be the domain of tech businesses and so many SMEs will need to get up to speed on this new way interacting.
