CINCINNATI, Ohio, April 8, 2020 / I’ve owned my digital marketing agency for 20 years. I’ve not been thru anything like this. Taking time to write briefly here about recent activity, where I see some marketing and business positioning to change, as well as some thoughts and encouragements along the way. I think we’re finally finished getting the necessary COVID-19 Responses on clients’ websites in multiple market sectors. I’ve been turning our attention to the strategies to help clients come out of this, and I’ve been calling it COVID-19 Recovery Marketing.
This pandemic and its effect (health/economics) is revealing itself more each day. Change is leveraged on us measured in 1/2 day increments with announcements from various entities, governmental and medical. But I believe coming out of this should be measured in Months and Weeks. But we will come out of this. And we will recover. This is not WWIII, or the Bubonic Plague of 1347 that took Europe 200 years to recover from. Among reasons, there’s a working treatment regimen we’ve seen and is coming thru clinical trials, medical manufacturing has been ramped up in many ways, to even provide more ventilators so people that need that can give their bodies a fighting chance to develop the antibodies needed to fight the virus.
Infographic on pandemics I thought was interesting
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/history-of-pandemics-deadliest/
We’ve been helping a lot of clients and new clients improve their digital channels. E-commerce is critical, but also critical is a good online customer experience.
Our planning is taking into account that
– Our world will be different
– People’s interaction habits will be (and already are) different
– Consumer spending habits will change
– Economically this will be a tough recovery
– Certain businesses may not survive
– New products and services will be needed
– Old products and services will not be needed as much
– Different goods and service will be prioritized
– Good Customer Experience and Communication is critical
– I envision a new Chief Safety Officer position being needed, physical/health safety for customers and team members
– The public deserves to know more validated truth than ever before
– The public deserves to question the crisis management strategies of public health agencies
We’re assessing not only the way markets were before this pandemic, but how markets in certain industries will be changing as a result.
I expect open bid marketplaces such as Google Ads to be quite competitive as the market begins to recover. Looking at competition may also need to involve looking at competition’s cash runway as well as your own. We need to consider the cost of marketing against competition in certain digital channels to know if we can win.
Companies in a strong cash position are going to do better than those that are not in a strong cash position. Get the cash you need to survive and operating capital you need to gain market share.
The importance of a strong digital presence is critical now more than ever. Leading in digital channels is paramount to not just surviving but thriving as we all return to a new normal.
In closing, let’s rejuvenate the “American Spirit” in the best way possible, let’s be considerate of those at most risk, let’s question what we need to question, let’s not be selfish, let’s care for others and check in on them, let’s keep an eye on our civil liberties, and our rights to “life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness” and let’s help the business community position to help this world recover.
Stay safe.
Sincerely,
Adam Smith, Owner/Founder