Louise Abbey, Head of Customer Marketing at 9 Group
Our channel is in a unique position, as Partners play a key role in supporting businesses to adapt to home working. There are plenty of opportunities to support customers, but Partners are naturally cautious to run Marketing campaigns, due to the sensitive circumstances we find ourselves in.
Defining your Marketing strategy for the short term is key, as is keeping a watchful eye on how your business customers are likely to adapt once the crisis is over.
What are you trying to accomplish from your Marketing today? Are you simply letting your customers know that you’re still open for business, have you got an eye on customer retention, or are you positioning yourself to truly thrive in a post-pandemic economy? Being clear and realistic about what you’re trying to achieve focuses you to deliver real results – sounds simple, but it’s often overlooked.
Practical tips for Marketing in a crisis
Recycling old material is not an option, as communications that were created before the pandemic will likely clash with today’s reality. This applies to everything from product offers to copywriting and imagery.
Carefully tailor the tone of your messaging to the current climate. Reassuring and sensitive language is key and will help to make your campaign even more relevant to the audience. Positive and conversational language will work well, as will encouraging your customers to contribute to the discussion.
Audiences gravitate toward content that has meaning and relevance – focus on what’s important today. Rather than leading with a product, consider their reality; are their challenges predominantly around sales, or is customer service a focus – this will allow you to pitch something which really resonates.
Include imagery which reflects social distancing – think home workers and images of individuals rather than public places and big groups. It’s subtle but it matters. The main stock imagery sites have responded to the situation and you’ll find no shortage of options to choose from.
Take your events and meetings online. Hosting a live session on LinkedIn is a great way to stay connected. We have seen Partners run a live Q&A session about home working solutions. Some have even included a special guest who they have interviewed, and helped to teach their audience how to do something new.
What next?
The phrase ‘new normal’ is already becoming tired, but the fact remains that the world is unlikely to go back to how things were at the beginning of 2020. Purchasing trends are rapidly shifting as lockdown has changed all aspects of our daily lives. New trends are likely to stick around and evolve even further.
Employers who were obliged to offer home working to employees are suddenly alert to the benefits as they have seen productivity soar. Employees are thriving as their commute has disappeared and their work life balance is in a stronger place than ever. Preparing solutions and campaigns which resonate with this new landscape will put you in a position of strength, when the time comes.
Lean on your service provider
As part of our commitment to our Partners, we have introduced a range of initiatives which aim to support positive customer conversations. We support Partners by providing clear and concise communications which aim to comfort customers, while advising them of the solutions that can support their business. If you’d like to know more, get in touch – hello@9group.co.uk
