The economic meltdown accompanying the emergence of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) has left many businesses scrambling.
Although it has changed its mode of operations, the North Tampa Chamber of Commerce continues to serve its members through networking sessions and webinars.
Last month, it co-hosted a webinar with Entravision Communications, called “How Your Business Can Succeed in Difficult Times.”
The webinar focused on:
- Understanding the current business landscape
- How a short-term crisis can yield long-term opportunity
- Focusing on the positive to overcome negativity
- The importance of empathy and giving back to the community
- Strategies for driving sales and reaching consumers
- Understanding new consumer behaviors and media consumption
- Simple marketing strategies to help your business during uncertain times
Camilo Calderon, Jeanne McGuinness and Adriana Rosada, of Entravision, shared their expertise, taking the pulse of the virtual crowd, and focusing on the importance of maintaining brand awareness and reaching consumers.
McGuinness reminded those tuning in that “short-term crisis can yield long-term opportunity.
“As leaders of our companies and businesses, it’s important that we remain productive and we overcome negativity with positivity,” she said. “Negativity can just take on a life of its own.”
So, in the midst of this disaster, she said, “what can we do?”
“We can only focus on the things that we can control.
“Right now, it is time to invest in your business.”
Business owners need to ask themselves: “What are things that I can fix, that over the past couple of years I’ve said, ‘Oh, we need to make time to do that.’”
Maybe that means freshening up your social media, updating your contact lists, developing a new inventory system or spending time on training, she said.
“What are the top three things you need to take care of to be more successful?
“Those are the things you need to focus on now,” she said.
“If you’re a sales organization, does the playbook need updating?” she asked.
“A lot of our products go through a lot of changes and we don’t necessarily take the time to train on the best ways to express those benefits to our consumer,” said McGuinness, who is senior vice president of integrated marketing.
Businesses also need to ask how they can continue operating in this changed environment.
They may need to consider implementing online appointments, for example.
Often, she said, a company’s first response in a crisis is to cut marketing and advertising.
But, she said: “This might be the perfect time for you to take steps to do marketing and advertising.
“Because building and maintaining a brand that consumers recognize and trust is one of the best ways to reduce risks.
“We are in risk management right now,” she reminded the audience.
“What’s happening right now is that there is a lot of marketing opportunity available for you, probably extremely discounted. Marketers can help you with a reassuring tone in your message. Inform the community if there’s something that you’re doing out in the community.
“Talk about steps you are taking, in this new normal,” she said.
It’s also important to be sure to take care of existing relationships, the experts said.
Calderon, who also works in integrated marketing for the company, said “It is vital for business owners to stay active and to maintain their advertising and marketing efforts as close to normal, if not even more than they were doing before.”
“Now is not the time to cutback or change your marketing strategy in a negative way,” he said.
“Only six months of absence can nearly make you lose 40% of your whole brand awareness that you’ve created in the past few years,” he said.
“Thinking about cutting your marketing might sound good for your current business plan. It’s important to think of how this is going to affect you in the long-run.
“If you feel that you need to cut your expenses, advertising should not be your first option. At least that’s what we recommend,” he said. “You still need to bring customers, whether that’s through your website or by other measures.”
It’s better to reduce your ad spending, rather than cutting it all together.
It’s also important to reach consumers where they are spending the majority of their time, and during this pandemic there has been a substantial increase in television viewing and online media consumption — as people are stuck home all day, he said.
Rosado, who is Entravision’s digital manager, said: The question should not be should I advertise, but how do I continue to engage with my audience, my customers in these changing times?”
For instance, restaurants need to let consumers know they have home delivery or takeout options, she said. And, attorneys need to let clients know they can do virtual consultations.
As McGuinness put it: “Consumers are still purchasing. The purchasing process has changed.”
“Consumers are still there. How do you get yourself in front of them to keep your business going — is the question.”
Rosado added: “Knowing the behavior of your audience is truly key in unlocking the best way to cater to them and their needs in this time.”
It’s also important to be sure to take care of existing relationships, the experts said.
Succeeding in difficult times: Key takeaways:
- Remember, all crisis is temporary. There’s zero room for negativity, among leaders.
- Focus on creating a stronger relationship with your existing customers
- Understand your target audience, and new consumer behaviors
- Analyze and track all campaigns to yield best return on investment
- Don’t cancel or drastically cut your marketing budget because it could potentially affect you in the long-run
- It’s OK to test, tweak or change your message to yield stronger results
Source: Presentation by Entravision Communications
Published May 06, 2020
