As we know by now, the Corona Virus Pandemic (Covid-19) is disrupting businesses around the world. What started as an outbreak of a new disease in Wuhan China is now a global pandemic with thousands of people infected and many governments imposing lockdowns and shelter-in-place orders in a bid to flatten the curve.
Because of this, many businesses are closed, many workers out of jobs and employees are asked to work from home. This has caused a global economic recession due to a large drop in spending. The good news is that many businesses are focusing on online marketing and selling in order to survive this ordeal.
This recession can give your business a leg up. It takes a lot of effort to make money during an economic boom but it takes a lot of business savvy to achieve the same results during an economic slump. The key to successful marketing during a recession is understanding how the consumer changed and having the foresight to look ahead.
Reasons To do Digital Marketing During a Recession
Here are some reasons to market during a recession.
Decreased Competition Equals Affordable CPL
One of the ways businesses cope during recession is by lowering their expenses. This is usually done by reducing manpower or doing away with redundant marketing ideas. In the digital marketing world, this is good news because it means less competition especially when it comes to pay-per-click advertising.
Since businesses are slowing down, you can expect the bidding wars on search results to ease up a bit. This is because fewer businesses are investing in their SEO strategies so the cost of advertising space plummets.
You can say that recession is a good time for digital marketing because it results in a decreased cost per lead meaning that it is market share that is for sale at a discounted price.
Fewer Product Launches
During recession, businesses are more cautious of their spending. They want their money close and want to avoid unnecessary risk. Since they are picky on their investments, many of them will delay product launches because they don’t want to gamble launching a new product on a slow market. This is good news for you because it means less competition.
In times like this, it is better to strengthen your lead against competitors rather than rest on your laurels. Recession is a great time to increase your market share through advertising.
Consumers Change So Advertising Needs To Evolve
Many companies will be tempted to recycle their old content in order to save costs. Resist this urge because consumer behavior changes during a recession.
Take a look at the result of the current coronavirus pandemic. Many people are being ordered to stay at home and to practice social distancing. Many businesses like bars, restaurants and department stores are closed too in order to limit physical contact. Since many people are stuck at home, content needs to evolve in order to show empathy.
For example, many consumers will be shifting their buying power for essential supplies like food, disinfectants and home entertainment. This means that your content needs to evolve in such a way that it is useful during times of pandemic. Preparedness tips, health advice and coping with being cooped up are good examples of content that is relevant today. You can use this for email marketing, newsletters and blog content.
Always remember that people today are looking for reassurance as a way to manage the uncertainty of the impact of the disease. Bringing them factual content that is useful is a good way to reach out to potential customers.
Cutting Marketing Costs Can Have A Long-Term Effect
Businesses will always look for ways to cut cost during a pandemic and one of the expenses that always takes a hit is marketing. However, cutting off marketing can have a big impact on your business. Not spending on advertising can sabotage your business which can reduce your profit. This will result in the business trying to recover the loss when the economy improves. However, since profit is reduced, you will have even less money to spend during the recovery period.
It is easy to feel overwhelmed and pressured during a recession. The important thing to remember is that recessions are temporary. The world economy follows a cycle of recession and boom so things will naturally normalize in the future. Companies with good foresight can recover and see exponential returns when the economy starts to rebound.
Wrap Up
A good marketing strategy during a recession can help businesses cope with the economic slump. Performing well during a recession can make businesses recover quickly afterwards. Keep in mind that fluctuations can bring about opportunity and businesses should look at recessions as such.