Coronavirus or COVID-19 has turned our business and personal lives upside down. On top of the worry of feeding our families and trying to stay safe, sadly, many of us are also struggling to keep our businesses afloat. With one in four businesses closed during lockdown[1], are there even people out there still wanting to buy our products or services?
Personally, I’m finding that promoting my business in this time of crisis seems cold and crass. Yet, if we don’t actively maintain our business’ profile, when the lockdown is eventually lifted, we will have no business to come back to. Now that we’re unable to meet up in person, our business’ online presence is more important than ever before. If you have time, here are three things you can do to prepare for the day restrictions are lifted:
1. Rethink your marketing communications to sensitively reflect the current situation with the coronavirus pandemic. I’m sure you’ve already done this but you’d be surprised at the number of big companies (Gap, H&M, Aeropostale, I’m talking about you) that are still blindly pumping out tone-deaf emails. These exhort me to buy, buy, buy with no consideration given to the situation we all find ourselves in.
Poor communications could backfire
Businesses that show how they can help others during this crisis will boost their brand. Those that ignore the situation or, worse, appear to be cashing in will be seen as mercenary and out of touch. Such communications will inevitably be deleted – but not before they’ve done untold damage to your reputation.
2. Customer case studies are something you may find helpful in attracting new clients when life returns to something resembling normal. Direct and cost-effective, a well-written case study shows what your business is capable of. It’s that old mantra of ‘Show, don’t tell’: Nothing speaks louder than showing the results you’ve achieved for other companies.
Cost-effective sales tool
Whether your business is large or small, whatever sector you’re in, case studies are always a great sales tool and make good use of a limited budget. Start with the challenge you were asked to solve, explain how you did it and, finally, the tangible results you helped your customer achieve. Include some quotes from your happy customer about your smart solution to the problem, the great service they enjoyed and how much better their life is now. In all but the most complex cases, all this information will fit neatly onto two sides of A4.
3. Make your website and LinkedIn profiles the best they can be – As your shop window they need to work hard for you because you can’t be there in person yourself. Be honest with yourself – do they do you justice? Perhaps they were written a long time ago and no longer reflect who you are as a business. If that’s the case, identify the pages that need to be rewritten, pinpoint the key messages you want to get across and think about how you want to sound as a business. (What we copywriters call your ‘tone of voice’).
In all these cases, you can either do the heavy lifting yourself or call on the services of an experienced copywriting professional (like me). If you’d like a friendly chat to discuss how I can help you bring in new business when all this is over, please get in touch without any obligation. I’m happy to do whatever I can to help your business through the tough times ahead. Either message me here or give me a call on 07710 288618 if you prefer.
