Navigating the pandemic has been quite the challenge for many, particularly businesses. Once the virus has run its course, it’ll be time to reopen and get back to business, but it helps to have some idea of what to do to help prepare for that day. Here’s a list of ideas to rebuild your business and help your business get back on its feet.
1. Coordinate with your customers
The current crisis has impacted everyone, and that includes your customers. As a business owner, it’s crucial you take some time to think about how your customer’s needs have changed and how you can continue to meet them. Another thing to consider is maintaining communication, even as early as now. Keeping in close communication is key to maintaining long-term loyalty, which helps make your customers more likely to come back when the virus runs its course. Above all, remember to let your customers know what’s changed for you to help them know that you’re still there for them.
2. Develop a time limit for rebuilding
There’s likely to be plenty of work to do to get your business up and running like before. However, it’s important to do some triage to find out which parts of the business need the most work. Develop a timeline to help guide how you approach the question of rebuilding. If your business needs funding before anything else, focus on securing that first before moving on to other tasks like rehiring or restocking. As you start, track your progress to find out which activities are working best toward helping you get back on your feet. Start with weekly reviews, then move on to monthly as things start to stabilize.
3. Consider whether you’ll need funding to recover
A great many businesses may need a helping hand to kick start the post-pandemic recovery. The first order of business is determining if yours needs some aid to help you get back on your feet. There are some loan options to consider that can help you find the funding you need to rebuild. One thing that can help you be more competitive regarding loans is checking your business and personal credit scores, as well as your business and personal financials.
4. Create new sales channels
One lesson many businesses have learned from the pandemic is the importance of having multiple sales channels. Many businesses are limited to a single business channel (brick and mortar locations are a notable example), which has led to difficulty serving customers. Think about new sales channels, like marketing your business online or creating an e-store, to allow customers to do business from home. As you adapt, it’s also important to let your clients know so they can give you business again.
5. Think about the paradigm shifts
The pandemic will have consequences beyond what we’re experiencing now, and it’s vital you be ready for them. Trends like remote working and online conferencing are here to stay, so take them into consideration when making your post-pandemic plans.
Some changes are inevitable after everything that’s happened, and your business needs to be ready for the changes. Keep the new trends in mind as you use these tips to help prepare your business for the new normal, whatever that may look like.
In response to the current health crisis, many businesses have turned to letting employees work remotely. It’s a great way to keep employees productive, but it has its challenges, particularly with employees more used to working from an office and working with coworkers in person. Most business will have to make a few changes to cope with these changes and maintain productivity on the job. Here are a few tips that can keep employees engaged and morale high as we adjust to the new normal together.
1. Establish clear policy
Thanks to the pandemic, many businesses have had to update their policies to adapt to all the new changes. Clear direction is key to helping employees make the most of their time and maintain professionalism on the clock. Provide guidelines on proper use of company equipment and outline your expectations for employee responsiveness. Last of all, make sure these policies are easily accessible for employees so they can look up policy when necessary.
2. Offer flexibility
The pandemic has changed life for everyone, and that often extends to personal circumstances. Many employees currently have to look after children at home thanks to schools being closed, or have to deal with sick relatives. Be sensitive and keep these circumstances in mind when they interrupt employees’ ability to work. Offer more flexible hours to help employees attain a more stable work-life balance and improve the quality of their work. This approach helps employees find a more “optimal” time to work, and avoid distractions when other obligations need their attention.
3. Improve communications
Maintaining communication between teams is more important than ever, so consider setting specific times for employees to be available for calls and meetings. Virtual team meetings and chats are a great way to help your workers feel like part of a team. It’s crucial you check in with workers regularly, both to check up on their progress, and to make them feel valuable. Isolation can often affect employee engagement, so take the opportunity to set clear goals and targets where applicable.
4. Focus on using video
Calls are a great way to stay in contact, but prioritize using video when discussing vital matters. Video calls are a more effective resource for maintaining the human element in conversation and fighting feelings of isolation. A great degree of communication is nonverbal, and a video call is a great way to capture that element when speaking with employees. Look into video chatting solutions to find a convenient method for keeping in touch with your colleagues.
5. Build a good rapport
When you’re in an office, it’s much easier to find a few moments to chat with coworkers and build a rapport. It’s much harder to do so with remote employees, but there are ways to make it work. Spend a little more time on one-on-one chats to build a connection with your employees and get to know them as more than workers. Ask about their hobbies, aspirations, and interests to get to know thema little better and forge a deeper relationship. Something as simple as asking about an employee’s weekend can do much to make them more comfortable around you and get them more engaged with work.
Thanks to the pandemic, many businesses have had to make some changes to the way they do business. Remote working is a good solution to many of those problems, but a few changes are needed to make the most of it. Keep these tips in mind to help keep employee engagement and morale high as you move forward.
The coronavirus pandemic has completely disrupted the economic landscape and changed customers’ behaviour. Non-essential stores have temporarily closed and unpreceded number of customers are purchasing online. The pandemic does not seem to be improving any time soon, many business owners are forced to act and respond quickly to survive and stay afloat
However, amidst all the chaos brought about by the pandemic, technology has turned out to be a solution for many entrepreneurs, allowing them to reach out and serve customers during these critical times. If you are looking to invest in a new venture, we have outlined a few business ideas that will surely thrive amidst the COVID-19 crisis.
Cleaning Services – The exponential transmission of the coronavirus has instilled fear to millions of people around the world. It should not come as a surprise that professional cleaning services are in high demand during the pandemic. Many establishments, such as grocery stores, offices, restaurants, and homes, need to be sanitized to prevent transmission within the establishment.
Food Delivery – After the government has enforced lockdown, many non-essential businesses, such as restaurants, had to stop their operation. Waiting for the situation to return to normal may not seem a good option as restaurant businesses can lose thousands in sales. Offering online delivery can help survive your business, as more customers choose to order online to avoid the transmission of coronavirus. Simply launch a food delivery app so that customers will only have to place their orders online and have their food delivered to their homes.
Online Education App – Many educational institutions have closed and shifted to online learning programs. Due to the pandemic and closure of educational institutions, online education app downloads have increased nearly by 300% since March 2020.
Liquor and Wine Stores – Although some bars are back in business, many people are still afraid of going out and prefer to stay at home and stock up liquor and wine. Ever since the outbreak, the sales in local liquor and wine shops have dramatically increased. Some people do not only purchase liquor for consumption but also to make hand sanitizers.
Fitness Equipment and Program – People need to take care of their health and stay fit, especially during the coronavirus outbreak. With the strict enforcement of social distancing and stay-at-home order mandated in almost every country, gyms have to temporarily shut their doors while people are stuck at home. However, the pandemic is not an excuse to slack off. Many people can purchase basic training equipment, such as dumbbells, jump ropes, and mats, to train at home. In addition to selling fitness training equipment and products, fitness programs also sell like hotcakes:
→ Training video courses
→ Online workout programs
→ Coaching services
→ Nutrition and diet programs
Healthcare Consultation – Providing remote health care during the quarantine period helps control the impact of the outbreak. During the pandemic, online health care can be considered as a legacy that helps fight COVID-19. It enables healthcare professionals to provide remote care and treatment to patients in need of medical help, without stepping outside their homes. Using your branded online healthcare app, you can reach patients and offer them the best possible solutions digitally.
To increase brand awareness of your business, you need to promote your business through different marketing mediums. Standing out in the construction industry can be a real challenge. That is why you should be equipped with strong and effective marketing ideas that will take your business to a higher level. Developing a marketing strategy to drive brand awareness may take some time and effort, but ultimately, it will help you reap a steady flow of customer acquisition to grow your business. Read more
Having a steady stream of new patients and retaining old ones helps grow your practice. However, competing with other dentists in your local area may seem challenging, especially if you are new in the dental industry. This makes marketing an essential tool to make your practice thrive.
Dental patient marketing is an important part of all dental practice as it attracts new patients and builds a stronger relationship with existing patients. Surely, there are a number of dental marketing strategies out there, but how do you choose the right ones that yield positive results? Read more
The online marketplace continues to rise in recent years. Competing with other local businesses can be tough. That is why as an arborist running his own tree care business, taking a 360-degree view on how to successfully grow and differentiate your business. At the end of the day, it is all about ensuring a positive and memorable customer service in the world of fierce business competition.
A strong online presence, building a stable team of trustworthy professionals, and fine-tuning your digital marketing are not new in online marketing strategies but just mere table stakes or minimum requirements for a business arrangement. Read more
Game of Thrones — a HBO TV series (not Neflix!) — is undoubtedly a phenomenal hit. It has changed the television landscape, and caught the Internet by storm. The American fantasy drama has recently kicked off its eighth season last April 15.
Are you set for the Long Night? If you haven’t already, it’s never too late to jump onto the Thrones bandwagon in time for season eight. Here’s all you need to know about the latest goings-on in Westeros and what you can expect moving forward as the series approaches its finale. Read more
Two weeks into its release, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Endgame made history when it cemented itself as the fifth film to rake in $2 billion in worldwide box office earnings. With this smashing feat, the latest of the five Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) films has zoomed past Titanic when it crossed the $2 billion mark in just 11 days.
The massive opening weekend for Avengers: Endgame accounted for 58 percent of its overall domestic earnings, making it the first film in history to ever earn $1 billion in ticket sales out of its debut. Read more
To someone who has limited experience, digital marketing can be overwhelming. Digital marketing campaigns generally consist of multiple strategies, and if you are not familiar with how these strategies work together, you may not know where to begin.
Successful digital marketing campaigns may
include strategies such as search engine optimization (SEO), content marketing,
pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, email marketing, and social media marketing that
work together to help achieve the desired marketing goals.
It is important to know how each of these
strategies can benefit your digital marketing campaign on their own, as well as
how they complement each other to increase your brand awareness and visibility
online, drive more traffic, and ultimately increase conversions.
With so many strategies that comprise a
successful internet marketing campaign, it is common for businesses to be
overwhelmed and confused about which strategies they should use and how these
different strategies complement each other.
In this guide, we will cover the main
strategies that make up a successful digital marketing campaign and explain how
these different strategies can work together to achieve your marketing goals.
Why
is Digital Marketing Important?
Digital marketing is extremely important
because much of the buyer’s journey takes place online. People begin searching for a product or
service on search engines and video sites like YouTube, and eventually move to
deeper research that includes reading blogs, reviews, and what people are
saying on social media.
The following graph from Vendasta
shows the steps of the customer journey as well as the actions that consumers
take online in each step:
This graph is an excellent representation
of how the different facets of your digital marketing program can work together
to increase leads and conversions. As
the potential buyer moves through the decision-making process, they will
encounter different aspects of your digital marketing presence.
In the early steps, a consumer may become
aware of your product or service through social media, email marketing, or YouTube
videos. As they become more interested, they
will search for the product or service and come across your paid ads, Google
listings, blogs, social media posts, and reviews.
If your business does not have a strong
online presence, then consumers are more likely to come across your competitors
on the buyer’s journey. A solid digital
marketing campaign will help ensure that consumers encounter your business
through each step of the decision-making process.
Digital
Marketing Strategies
It is important for businesses to
understand the following digital marketing strategies and how they work
together to drive traffic, leads, and conversions:
Search engine optimization
(SEO)
Content marketing
Online advertising (PPC)
Email marketing
Social media marketing
Search
Engine Optimization (SEO)
An effective digital marketing plan starts
with good search engine optimization. A study
by Forrester found that 71 percent of consumers start their customer
journey by searching for products and services on search engines like
Google.
This makes it very important to ensure that
your website is properly optimized to rank well in Google for the keywords
related to your products or services. SEO
itself consists of many facets to ensure your website is properly optimized,
including:
Title tags and meta
descriptions with relevant keywords
Alt text for images
Landing pages for each product
or service you offer
Quality content, including
product/ service pages and blogs
On site and off site links
Fast loading time and full
functionality for mobile users
All of these factors will help boost the
rankings of your website in the search engine results pages (SERPs) and establish
authority with Google. This will help
generate high quality organic leads through Google search.
Businesses that are not sure how to
properly optimize their website can work with a digital marketing agency that
provides SEO
services.
Content
Marketing
Quality content has always been at the
heart of good online marketing and this is not going to change any time
soon. Every facet of digital marketing,
including SEO, email marketing, social media marketing, and online ads rely on
quality content to be successful.
Google algorithms have become sophisticated
enough to recognize quality content that provides value to your audience. The days of keyword stuffing are long gone,
you must create well-written content that is useful and original.
When creating content, you must consider what
type of information your audience values as well as which stage of the buyer’s
journey that your audience will encounter this content. The content in your
emails, social media posts, and blogs should look different to reflect the
stage of the buyer’s journey.
Online
Advertising: PPC and Social Media Ads
This may seem counterintuitive but paid
online advertising with pay-per-click (PPC) ads and ads on social media can complement
your SEO. SEO strategies, while
effective, take some time to start producing results. Online ads help speed up the process and give
you instant online presence.
PPC ads created through Google Ads appear
on top of all search results when users search for the targeted keywords. Usually
users encounter PPC ads early in the buyer’s journey and while they don’t often
result in a sale, they do drive traffic to your website.
This video from StrategyBeam contains a
more thorough explanation of how PPC ads can complement your SEO marketing
strategies.
Social media advertising is another form of
online advertising to consider. Your
social media ads may not result in an immediate sale, but they can help get
more followers who will then see your social media posts.
Social
Media Marketing
Social media marketing is an effective way
for businesses to increase their brand awareness online and attract more online
traffic and quality sales leads. Social
media also provides a platform in which your customers can interact with your
business directly.
There are many social media platforms that your
business can engage with including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, and
Pinterest. It helps to know which social
media platforms your audience prefers so you can find them and engage with
them.
Facebook is an important platform for
increasing your brand awareness as according to statistics from the Pew
Research Center, 68 percent of adults in the U.S. have Facebook
profiles. A good presence on Facebook
can help you reach a wider audience.
You can use social media platforms to
engage with your audience through posts and paid ads, and social media can also
be used to promote other aspects of your digital marketing campaign. Using social share buttons on your product web
pages, blogs, YouTube videos, and more helps visitors promote your content and
brings more traffic to your website.
Email
Marketing
Email marketing is an important aspect of
successful digital marketing campaigns because it allows you to send exclusive
offers and promotional content directly to your audience. However, you need to build a list of email
addresses for this tactic to be effective.
The previously discussed digital marketing
tactics play a major role in helping your business build a list of email
addresses. Effective SEO, content
marketing, PPC ads, and social media presence will bring more people to your
website who are likely to subscribe and provide you with their email addresses.
You can also upload your email list to
Facebook to build a custom audience and make Facebook ads specifically for this
group.
Email marketing will not generate new
leads, but rather help you retain the customers who are already interested in
your business. In March 2016, 80
percent of retail professionals surveyed
by eMarketer responded that email marketing is excellent for customer
retention.
According to Colin
Nederkoorn, the founder of Customer.io, “If you’re running a real business,
email is still the most effective way to universally reach people who have
expressed interest in your product or site.
For that, it really can’t be beaten.”
There are several types of marketing emails
you can send your email list to help retain customers and generate leads:
Welcome emails for new
subscribers
Newsletters to keep subscribers
updated on your business
Promotional content for new
products, services, sales, or discounts
Information about special
events
Promotion for social media
campaigns
Digital
Marketing: Putting it All Together
When forming a digital marketing campaign,
it helps to think of each strategy as a different component of the same
campaign instead of thinking of them as separate stand-alone strategies. There are many opportunities for the
different facets of a digital marketing campaign to work together and
complement each other.
The importance of a good digital marketing
campaign cannot be overstated. The
majority of consumers start their buyer’s journey with a Google search, and as they
continue this journey, they will encounter your blogs, social media posts,
videos, and paid ads.
If your company is not visible online in
the most crucial stages of the customer journey, you will lose quality leads to
your competitors.
Putting together an effective digital
marketing campaign can be difficult for some businesses to handle on their
own. If your business does not have the
resources or expertise to create and implement an online marketing campaign,
you can work with a digital
marketing agency.
Digital marketing experts will take the
time to understand your business, as well as your marketing goals, and form an
online marketing plan that will help increase traffic, brand awareness, and
quality leads.
Technology is constantly evolving and you need to keep up with the latest trends in order to be successful in digital marketing. Innovation opens up new opportunities. Your plan should evolve and grow with technology in order to stay a step ahead of your competition.
New digital marketing strategy are constantly evolving in this current era of technology and internet. Businesses need to adopt these techniques for them to flourish. What might have worked last year is not necessarily going to work this year.
Read below are the top 10 digital marketing strategies for 2019:
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the impersonation of human intelligence by machines, especially computers. AI is slowly taking over the world. AI has become helpful by simplifying data-based experiences and improving user experience.
KLM Royal Dutch Airlines is one good example of a company utilizing AI. They have been able to optimize their services by using the messenger app. They have created a plug-in with the app that has bookings, check-in and flight status updates. Customers can access travel data from anywhere. The airline provides them with the information they need without complications.
Incorporating AI can save your business money and speed up growth.
2. Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR)
Businesses are taking advantage of mobile cameras to enhance the experience of their clientele. VR and AR enable you to enhance brand consultation and influence purchase decisions by bringing your products to life. By engaging customers in immersive adventure, they are more likely to find what they want and also enjoy themselves while doing so.
For example, Amazon set up VR booths around their annual Prime Day, enabling their customers to experience different products as they would in real life. This allowed buyers to picture themselves owning their desired products and greatly refined the customer experience.
If getting your clients to a given location is not possible, Augmented Reality has provided to be an amazing alternative by offering reach through integration with mobile apps.
3. Vertical Video.
Every man, woman and child has a mobile device these days. They are more than personal computers and TVs. This explains why mobile video ads are so popular. Shrewd digital marketing strategy are utilizing videos to engage their customers, especially on social media. The recent introduction of Instagram’s IGTV has validated the shift to more vertical videos. The success of IGTV indicates the transition to vertical videos online.
4. Social Messaging Apps.
Social messaging apps are increasingly being used for business purposes and not just for sending emoji’s. You may find this hard to believe but look at these statistics:
Facebook Messenger has 1.3 billion monthly users
Billions of messages are sent between people on Facebook Messenger
Whats-App has 1.3 billion monthly users
55 billion messages are sent on Whats-App every day
Since most people are using these social messaging apps, it makes a lot of sense to market your company where the so many people are spending their time.
5. Visual Search
This is where a user uploads an image in order to conduct a specific search for it. Pinterest is one good example. They have a platform whereby their clients are able to take a photo of an item they want, find where to buy them online and also search for related items. Savvy marketers have integrated their businesses with platforms such as Pinterest to reach more customers.
6. Influence Marketing
This is a type of word-of-mouth marketing. They utilize influential people on social media, with large followings, to market their brand. These influencers are paid to drive your brand message to their large following. This is very effective because people trust consumer opinions. Businesses that hire influencers to market their products with are great reach and reward.
7. Video Marketing
Using videos in your digital marketing strategy is very important. Videos are not only eye catching, but also engaging.
Videos improve conversion rate by roughly 70%
It gives customers more confidence in online purchase decisions.
Consumers also share these brand videos
8. Voice Search
Use of voice search has become increasingly popular and smart companies are incorporating it in their digital marketing strategy. Marketers should come up with content that takes advantage of conversational platforms like Alexa and Siri.
9. Micro-Moments.
People spend hours on their smartphones every day. There is almost too much information to absorb online. Micro-moments involve delivering your marketing message to your consumers within a very small span of time before losing them. Companies can improve their chances of a conversion by coming up with short and interesting ads for their brands.
10. Personalization.
Personalized marketing mean you personalize content, products, emails etc. Thanks to technology we can understand so much about a customer, like purchase history, consumer behavior and links clicked. Coca cola did something simple with personalization. They created packaging that was personalized with the common names for people in a given region/country. It was a simple way to encourage purchasing.
This year stay ahead of the competition by improving your customer’s experience by incorporating the strategies outlined above to improve your conversion rate.
