COVID-19: Marketing Tips to Keep Small Businesses Afloat

Coronavirus has really flipped our world upside down. Small businesses have felt the impact of the virus more than anyone. From having employees work from home to not getting enough business due to the economy, most businesses are scrambling to stay afloat.

Like most small businesses you’ve probably noticed a huge dip in the effectiveness of your marketing. But don’t fret it, we have some tips that can help you improve your marketing strategy to keep your business afloat.

Invest in paid advertisements

We understand that you are not really interested in shelling out money at the moment. But due to Coronavirus, the competition for paid ads on search engines is a lot less competitive. Many businesses have either reduced or stopped investing in ads to save money. This has led to less competition meaning, you don’t have to spend as much to be on top of search engines.

This is also a great time to be on top of search engines as there is more traffic on the internet these days. With people staying at home and not getting a chance to get out, they rely on the internet to keep them entertained and provide them with the information they need. This includes businesses and individuals looking for services and products.

Improve conversion by offering a payment plan or free-trial

Almost every industry has seen a decline in conversion rate in the past month or so. Businesses and individuals are not willing to spend money because of the uncertainty of how long the virus will impact them. To boost your conversion, you will need to make it easier for them to pay for your solution. The best way to do that is to ease the burden of payment by offering payment plans. Depending on the cost of your services you can offer them monthly or quarterly plans to make payment so they don’t have to pay the whole lot all upfront which will reduce their cash spending.

You may also consider offering clients free-trials of your solution to get them to sign up and test it out. Your aim here is to get them to try your product and let the product hook them in. This approach may not be valid for all small businesses but utilize it if you can.

Take this time to connect with your audience on a personal level

This is the time you need to really amp up your social media presence. People now have more time to use social media platforms as for most that is how they are keeping in touch with their friends and family. You need to step up your social media marketing game. Look at the content you’ve created and reshaped those that you feel would be of interest to your audience. They are more likely to come across it now.

You also want to connect with your audience on a personal level so prepare content that introduces them to your team. Have content that shows them the human side of your business sort of the behind the scene look so they can engage with your business more personally. Use the stories function on Facebook and Instagram regularly along with the posts you create.

Be a useful resource for them

Now is a perfect time to attract an audience by being resourceful. Think of your customers and how the pandemic has impacted them to provide them with the information they need to get through it. This is your way of helping out. So for example, while restaurants can’t serve customers they can make tutorials of various meals for their customers to enjoy for them to make at home. Gym and yoga instructors can host live sessions and so on. You need to find that specific nugget you can offer your audience and share it.

In such difficult times, it is important that you as a small business take the proper measures to survive. It may be difficult but with a proper marketing plan, you can navigate through these times even with all the uncertainty that lies ahead. Understand that you are not alone and your business can survive.