Pulling aAhead of The Competition
Many studies have demonstrated that businesses that reallocate their spending during times of crisis, rather than making deep budget cuts across the board, reemerge in a stronger position. One such study from the Harvard Business Review found that “firms that cut costs faster and deeper than rivals don’t necessarily flourish. They have the lowest profitability (21 percent) of pulling ahead of the competition when times get better.”
It is critical that you remain steadfast in pursuing a marketing plan, that means staying the course on a current marketing plan that is still relevant, or reorienting to follow a new one better suited for our new “Stay at Home” reality. Simply slashing marketing efforts, or waiting for the panic to subside so that you can resume your old marketing plan, will leave your business in a compromised position way behind your competitors. Think of this as a really weird period of pre-season training. Will your team be healthy and prepared when the regular season kicks back into gear?
Having a goal to focus on during this period will allow you to remain even-keeled and will help you and your staff direct efforts efficiently. Perhaps there are in-house tasks simmering on the back burner that you now have the time to address? Below are a handful of areas to consider while in this period of flux:
Organic SEO
SEO, especially, local SEO is more relevant than ever now that everyone is required to remain at home. It is imperative to optimize for “near me” searches so that those in your area turn to you first. This is also a good time to rewrite older content and blog posts for answer engine optimization, using updated keywords that will help your content and business turn up higher in new searches.
Web Content
Does your current content contain the right information and appropriate calls to action? Are there new areas of your business, or aspects that have been updated, that would be more accurately represented with new content? Use free time to make sure that your marketing message is still relevant and effective.
Community Outreach
Without being too “salesy,” are there opportunities for you to help out in your community? Making moves now for the greater good and taking socially responsible action will help establish your business as a steadfast community leader.
Website Design
How’s your website looking? Are all facets of your business accurately represented and communicated? Is the site easy to use? Is it linked to your social channels? If you have some budget leftover from canceled functions, putting it to work on an updated website could be a valuable move.
PR Material
Are your employee bios up to speed? How about your company’s mission statement? Could your staff use new and improved headshots? Like the above point about website design, it is a good time to reconsider your overall web presence and make necessary improvements.
Revamp Social Strategy
Pandemic or otherwise, social media moves quickly and trends and strategies are ever-changing. Is your social strategy still relevant? Are there adjustments to be made that would make your social spend more efficient? Perhaps there is an opportunity for your business to better connect with your customer base during these tough times? These are questions you need to be asking yourself and your staff.
As Adweek notes, “The bottom line is to invest time and resources in high-level strategic PR and marketing activities” Such an approach will give you a leg up over businesses who are slow to react.
Recap
Remember – This is NOT the time to stop any Digital Marketing or SEO. Organic SEO and inbound marketing are long-term games. The steps you take today will not only help you push through this difficult time but will set you up for greater success as we move into the second half of 2020 and beyond.
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