Preparing and Planning Your Marketing Strategy and Getting Ready to ‘Open for Business’
Getting Prepared
Bans are slowly being lifted, but with caveats as to what social interaction we can have, use this time wisely to ensure that your business is prepared to start trading again. So, what are the steps that small and mid-sized businesses can take now to best prepare for business after the coronavirus crisis?
As we enter a number of phases that will see us eventually returning to normal life, travellers and consumers are going to be more specific in choosing the brands they look to work with. Safety and social distancing measures will be high on the agenda and will play an important part in decision making.
Being able to communicate that message within your marketing strategy will reassure your audience that you are ‘Open for Business’
Review Your Assets
It is a good time to make an inventory of your marketing assets and find answers to questions such as, what video content and photography do you have, and what campaigns have you run before?
Assess what has worked for you previously across different platforms and analyse your message- you believe your business is the best in the world but is your message inspiring and appealing?
Does it connect with your audience? You may find that you need to invest in better creative, or create your vision differently, so it can be viewed from a customer perspective.
When the Ritz Carlton Hotel in Perth opened their doors in November 2019, they came to us to help them capture the rich and cultural design of the new flagship hotel. With a new property and no inventory, they wanted to use more than traditional media to present their hotel to the world.
Being Clever with Your Marketing Budget
Many experts around the world will tell you not to stop spending on your marketing. This is easier said than done with reduced or very little budget. So, make that budget go further. Think carefully about what will give you the best option for the budget you have available – what do you spend it on? The key is to know who your customers are at this moment in time. The masses will come back gradually but crucial is to know how to target the few that are ready to do business now.
It cannot be stressed enough that it is important to keep your brand in the spotlight. If you have stopped all marketing, it is going to be very difficult to re-connect with your customers again and your competitors may have already done so.
Using the Downtime to Sell Your Business
Video content is a powerful tool in showcasing your brand. It allows access to your property, your business, and your products that will enable interaction with a targeted audience. If your business is getting ready to re-open use this time to produce your video whilst there is no disruption to your customers or staff.
Video allows potential customers into your business that are unable to visit personally. In the current climate, audiences are keen to explore new opportunities for when business resumes and inviting them in via exciting and engaging content can make a big difference.
See how the Mulia and Shangri-La hotels were able to showcase their property by highlighting the areas and facilities that cannot be seen in just images alone.
Consider using influencers to promote your business. Having authoritative figures talk about your business lends credibility to your products and your brand and do not underestimate the influence you can play.
If you are a proud owner of a business, then do not be afraid to show it. Make yourself available to be interviewed and build empathy with your audience through your passion and belief. That one to one experience will help you connect and engage in areas such as customer service, benefits, and building loyalty. It will show you are being personal and approachable.
The Great Room and Common Ground realised the credibility a one to one interview brings by introducing their owners to their audience and through good rapport with the presenter you can really get that message across.
Maximising Your Video Content
This is an important area to consider and addresses how your video will get seen and what channels should be used for distribution. Again, this comes down to your ideal target audience. If you run a travel-related business, for instance, it is most likely that business travellers will be the first to start travelling again in any great numbers. The leisure traveller will travel as and when attractions and events will open to the masses and once social recreation is part of normal life again.
Business Travellers too, who for the last two months have been in lockdown and restricted to travelling are now preparing to update their schedules, their business trips, building their contacts up ready to do business again. They are researching places to stay, offices to work from, business meetings to host or attend, and events to start planning.
Senior Executives at Invest KL and Vodafone were keen to use video content to help them maximise the investment and business opportunities available to CEO’s domestically and internationally.
Your influencer marketing video can be used to reach that audience right now as well as serving as an internal marketing tool to reach out to your existing customer base. CEO’s and Senior Executives are constantly looking for new opportunities, so use your video content to reach them locally and regionally and as an introduction to your brand and services.
Remember though, that not everyone will be travelling again at the same time, so being audience-specific will cut down on wastage and help stay within your marketing budget. An influencer marketing video can be effective tool to both a domestic and international market without having to alter the message.
Bali Nusa Dua Convention Center and Mason’s Adventures were able to reach a global audience through Business Traveller Connect – www.businesstraveller.com/connect where they could showcase their amazing properties through influencer marketing video content
Opening for business again will not be like running the 100 Metres
Something to bear in mind is that there is not going to be a sprint to get business and society functioning properly again- it will be more like a marathon. It will take strategy, patience, clever marketing, impactful content and hard work. Video content can help you maximise all those areas as you start to reach out to your customers again.
Be smart, be proactive, be brave, take risks and most of all be prepared.
For more information on how our Influencer Marketing Videos can help you prepare for the lifting of the lockdown then contact us at [email protected] and check out our general information video below.
