Boost Your Business: Marketing during quarantine

Posted by Maria Novak Dugan on April 10, 2020

These are tough times and most, if not all, industries are being impacted in some way. The world is frightened and wary. There are many things that businesses must consider when it comes to the Coronavirus COVID-19 and somewhere near the top should be your marketing and sales efforts. While it’s understandable that this is not your top priority, if you choose this time to lose sight of marketing when the virus is over, it will be that much more difficult to recover.

It is important to remember in your marketing and sales process that everyone's first thought right now is about their health and their family. After that comes business. Always be sensitive and empathize with your prospects.

Let’s look at how your business can move forward and possibly grow during the virus.

Move everything online

The most obvious issue with COVID-19 is that we’re not out shaking hands and meeting people, and this may go on for a substantial amount of time. Because of that, local events are all canceled and conferences all around the world are being canceled. People are beginning to worry about business events all the way into the Fall. Companies that rely on in-person interactions to grow need to focus much more heavily on digital marketing and inbound marketing tactics.

That means developing a strategy and executing immediately. There is no time to delay here. Inbound marketing can take some time to start showing big results so the sooner you can start, the better.

Consider quick-win opportunities

As I mentioned, inbound marketing takes time, but there are some quick wins. Start looking into utilizing pay-per-click advertising through Google as well as social media networks like Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Paid advertising can produce some quick results while the other inbound marketing tactics are ramping up.

You may also want to consider targeted outreach on LinkedIn, especially if you're in the B2B sector. Do some research on your prospect businesses and then connect with the decision-makers or target persons at those companies. TIP: Don't approach your outreach strictly from a sales standpoint. Be helpful and share content that is important to them. If you educate, you can win.

Stay consistent online

Consistency is one of the hardest things to keep in times like this, but it's extremely important. Google has made it clear that consistency is a big factor in how they rank. That means that if you've been blogging every Tuesday, it's important to keep blogging every Tuesday.

When tough times hit, usually marketing is one of the first things to be evaluated and sales often immediately cut. By cutting your marketing budget, you may save some dollars today, but you'll be sacrificing more dollars later.

Consistency is key for ranking and if you give up consistency with inbound marketing, you're going to start losing all you’ve worked for. That can mean your website traffic, your authority, your search engine rankings, even your engagement within social media.

This may be your chance to find new and creative ways to reach your target audience. Think outside the box.

Take advantage of new opportunities

While most people are looking at the Coronavirus as a hardship, for some businesses it can be an opportunity. And regardless of how the opportunity arises, it's your responsibility as a business to capitalize.

If your business benefits from everyone being home, or keeps people healthy, or keeps kids entertained while they're out of school, or delivers products to people at home — USE THIS TIME! There is a huge opportunity here and people genuinely need your business. Now is the time to double your marketing and sales initiatives and reach more people.

I know this may sound thoughtless or maybe even irrelevant to your business, but I beg you to not make any drastic decisions that will still be affecting you after this virus is over. Keep moving forward and set yourself up now for a great finish to 2020.

If you have questions on how you can manage your online marketing, please contact me at Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or call 610-405-0633.

About Maria Novak Dugan

Maria L. Novak Dugan is president of Marketing Solutions & Business Development, a firm serving Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Maryland, offering creative marketing services and goal implementation for small businesses. She has more than 30 years’ experience in the Marketing & Sales Industry ... 13 of those as the sole sales representative for a Pennsylvania payroll company growing their client base by over 500%. Maria Novak Dugan is also the former Managing Director of the Delaware Chapter of eWomenNetwork. Creating, developing, and conducting this division of a national organization strengthened her knowledge of networking, event planning, fundraising, and small-business development. For more information, contact Maria at 610-405-0633 or Maria@Maria-L-Novak.com or visit www.Maria-L-Novak.com