How To Advertise During COVID-19 Coronavirus Crisis
Navigating The Cornonavirus Crisis
A number of my clients have asked How To Advertise During COVID-19 Coronavirus Crisis. I have written this blog post to focus only on marketing and advertising. I’ll leave others to focus on general business and accounting issues.
Take A Realistic Review of Your Advertising.
While this sounds like a “no-brainer,” many businesses — large and small –have not addressed this issue.
As of the writing of this blog post, Sandles Resorts is still running advertising showing beautiful people on a beach in their swimsuits drinking and having a good time. I don’t know what their bookings are, but I can’t imagine people are flocking to be with other people on a beach.
You need to also freshen up your commercials and other advertising to reflect what is going on today.
Most restaurants have closed their dining room, yet national and regional restaurants are still running television commerciaLS showing people dining out and enjoying themselves.
Car companies re showing people in television commercials on vacation, traveling, or otherwise with lots of people in close contact with one another.
I know sometimes it takes some time to produce a new commercial – especially for larger businesses that have a bureaucracy to deal with.
Red Lobster was one of the first national chains to start featuring take-out only.
In addition to reviewing what your advertising is communicating, you need to look at where and when you are advertising. I know of one local advertiser in a small town that bought a commercial just before Paul Harvey News. Paul Harvey died in 2009, and after an attempt to find a replacement, much of ABC news changed. Not only is the reason the business bought the commercial changed, but the business has not even changed the copy in years. Review everything you have and determine if it meets your needs today. If not, get read of it.
How To Advertise During COVID-19 Coronavirus Crisis
Decide If You Need To Advertise
That’s something I thought I would never say. I have been in advertising for over 50 years and feel like advertising is the backbone of most businesses. However, if you have a business that is basically “out of business,” you may need to pull your advertising. If you own a spa, gym, or other company that is closed, running ads promoting your business doesn’t make sense.
Be Honest With Your Prospects And Customers
That’s the first rule of Crisis Management. If you don’t know when you will open, or when you have a product or can perform a service, say so. Update your store hours or other information.
Figure Out Where Your Customers Are — Today
Everyone is trying to figure out How To Advertise During COVID-19 Coronavirus Crisis. Not just you. The sharp marketers will look at where their customers are right now and follow them with targeted advertising, Many people are working from home. That means they are on their personal computers and the Internet. Focusing your advertising on social media may be a way to reach people. Also, television viewership is way up. While some businesses may be pulling their ads, you may be able to get discounted commercials.
Social Media And The Internet Will Be Key To Most Businesses Success
If you haven’t figured out the Internet yet, you better get started now. Social Media is going to be the new normal for all of us.
Do you know what your presence is on the Internet? Get a free Report of where your business ranks on the Internet here. Use this time to improve your ranking and consider hiring a professional to help you reach your goals.
Update your Google My Business Listing to reflect your new hours or services. If you haven’t updated that, or don’t know what it is, contact me for more information.
Update your website with store hours and other information your customers and prospects need. Also, make sure your website is responsive. That means, how does it look on a smartphone or tablet. Half of your business could be coming from these smaller devices. If your website looks terrible customers will not take you seriously.
It Is Ok To “Toot Your Own Horn”
If your business is doing something helpful during this time, tell people. The media is looking for those stories of “good news” right now. Even if your business is closed, if you are delivering meals to senior citizens or if you are giving away your product to those that need it — Tell people. Post it on social media and call your local radio station, television station, or newspaper. This public relation may pay you back dividends later.