Ok, we at Ignite Search know the last thing you want to read about is the pandemic. Take it from me, after spending over 262 days in lockdown, I am over it.
However, many businesses, after long stints in lockdown, were looking forward to the “get back to normal wave” tipped for 2022/2023. With the restrictions lifted and festivals and concerts returning to business as usual, most Australian businesses were looking forward to welcoming back many loyal customers and the resulting trade.
But sadly for some, that is not the case.
So what happened and what is the next step to getting your business marketing strategy back on track?
Understanding The Situation Better:
To be fair, the pandemic changed a lot of behaviours and caused some significant demographic changes. Habits of a lifetime such as simply going to morning exercise transformed into ‘Zoom Yoga’ and ‘Zoom Zumba’, where locals would dial in for fitness activities from home. As convenience goes, not many are seeing the need to return to pre-pandemic alternatives when there is a viable option to phone it in from home, or in this case, “join the Zoom meeting”.
Local traffic dependent businesses needed to adapt to the movement restrictions in each state as they applied, developing online service portals and home delivery services to maintain their bottom line. Some businesses were fortunately able to absorb this change of process into their overhead and later make it a permanent offering, while others, who were depending on their customers returning, had to get creative.
Such examples were local garden centres with showrooms full of plants. During lockdowns, savvy owners loaded their plants into their delivery vans and utilised Melbourne’s abundance of on street parking to set up mobile show rooms in front of customers homes, operating entirely via email and phone.
In other, more extreme cases, loyal customers, due to inevitable circumstances, moved away, leaving their retail routines and go-tos for both luxuries and essentials a thing of the past. So what can be done when your customers have changed their behaviour?
The Process Going Forward:
1. Confirm Your Current Target Audience:
Check your social media accounts and see what your customers are direct messaging you about. Are they asking if you have an account on the TikTok, Instagram or Etsy social media platforms? It’s time for experimentation; try channels not used before; maybe because of a change in behaviour, this might uncover value.
2. Look Into Website Tracking To Rebuild Your Brand Assets.
You can also review your current target audience via tracking software on your website. Online tools like ‘Google Analytics’ can identify the behaviours of your customers by adding a specific code to your website. Along with Google Analytics, if you haven’t already, you can set up a ‘Google Business Profile’ that can also look at website visitor trends.
If you do not have any brand assets, now is the time to do so. Strengthen your brand and ensure it has a strong identity.
3. Consider A Change In Point of Difference In Brand
If you are noticing that certain products are selling more frequently than your usual best sellers, it’s time to start looking for a pattern in your recent sales. See if there is a link between the products sold. Are they asking if you offer a specific service or are available via a distributor? Competition is fierce in certain circles so look to change up the way that you market while still staying aligned with your core brand.
4. Determine If Changing Deliverability Of Product Or Service Is Viable
Are you receiving any requests to offer delivery services like door to door? Like those savvy Melbourne Garden centres, you may need to think about going mobile and taking your products to them, exploring food trucks, mobile shops and shopping centre/market stall pop ups.
5. Seek Out A Marketing Expert
Changing your marketing strategy is a big step, we know and shouldn’t be undertaken alone. Seek out an expert to assess your desired changes, get their professional opinion and ensure you are doing this the right way.
Ask yourself, will it benefit your KPI and not affect your overheads or your bottom line?
Need Ignite Search’s Help?
If you have read this blog and realise you need a change in market strategy, we can help. We can review your current situation and provide actionable solutions to get you back on track.
Contact Us today for a consultation or view our blog for more insights on marketing trends and strategies.
