COVID-19: Marketing Your Business In The New Normal

Back in April last year the world was being thrown into a set of circumstances few could have imagined. Here are three tips on how to thrive in the new normal.

In a modern context, nothing had plunged the world into such global uncertainty since the 2nd World War. Michael Menzies, Founder of Remember Creative – a company that helps clients achieve their sales objectives through powerful digital branding solutions – shares his three top tips on thriving in this new world.

COVID-19 Learnings

In his previous article ‘COVID-19: Why Your Business Needs To Focus on Social Media’, Michael Menzies described that moment in time as DAY 0. Fourteen months on, and Michael believes Australia now has a much clearer view of the impact and ramifications of this terrible virus and to some degree we’re starting to emerge if nothing else - leaner and perhaps wiser.  

As Michael shares in this article, there has been a shake-up of the economy and the businesses most likely to collapse have already done so, the influx of money into the economy by way of government stimulus has meant the pain that might have been inflicted has been prolonged. Michael also suggests that perhaps the only real risk now, is an elongated vaccine roll out driving ongoing rolling lock downs which may continue to put pressure on the economy generally, but otherwise the world is focussing on growth.

Michael said that whilst his company is thriving, they lost clients and had many projects paused which meant they have had to go out and find more work. They very much practiced what they preached and promoted themselves as much as they could, which was a challenge given their diminishing revenues. However, they were committed to emphasising their ability to help businesses and their general sentiment that marketing has never been more important for any business. 

From his experiences, Michael shares with us his three tips on how to thrive in the new normal.  

#1 Be Positive

We have a range of clients who are still taking a very cautious approach, and it is understandable – businesses are looking to preserve cash and marketing is a discretionary spend. Whilst, some industries are no doubt facing a long play in terms of their recovery – travel as an example – for many, COVID-19 is providing a tremendous opportunity to reframe their business narrative. 

Survival means their brand is stronger simply by being there, and whilst their competition holds back, those businesses prepared to double down on promoting themselves are emerging with an even greater share of the market, have an opportunity to tell a great story full of positivity. 

#2 Look Local 

By virtue of government regulation that is likely to be in place for some time, Australian’s are living more local than they have in probably the last 60 years. They are looking for local options across the board and they are looking to connect locally. Thus, social media should be a key component your strategy. 

Look to combine it with local engagement opportunities such as sponsorships for sporting clubs, or social (COVID friendly) activities to engage with your customers. Local has rarely had the ability to appeal so much as it does right now. 

#3 Understand The Challenges Of Your Customers 

No doubt your customers will have had challenges and may continue to do so. In a positive way, if you can showcase how you understand them – in context to your business offering – you will find a positive audience. Again, social media is a fantastic avenue to showcase this understanding because it provides a platform for a very personal approach and the production quality can be far simpler than other channels. 

As an example, at Remember Creative, we focussed heavily on businesses looking to reinvent themselves and we identified that there was a lot of businesses pivoting and merging. Where our traditional advertising business was weak, our audience resonated with our understanding their desire to reinvent their businesses and reach new audiences. 

As a result, branding and brand communications now makes up 80% of our business. That growth was driven by communicating our customer’s needs and challenges, NOT what we were offering!

Need Help In The New Normal?

If your business or market has changed at all over the last 12 months, or you just want to come out of these crazy times with a fresh image, Remember Creative can help you.

Contact Michael Menzies on 9213 5444 or email: info@remembercreative.com