Since early spring, we’ve seen drastic changes happening in the economy worldwide. Heck, a few months ago it almost felt as though life was put on pause.  And now it has only very slowly begun again. 

Tensions are high, fear and confusion are running rampant. It’s kind of a scary time, especially for small business owners. 

Let’s just face it- most of us don’t know what the state of the economy will look like for our businesses nearing the end of 2020. While video conferencing and telemedicine make working remotely more convenient for some, it sure doesn’t make things easy by any means and many businesses are still struggling to stay afloat. 

Even with businesses re-opening, operation looks quite different from the world we used to know. New guidelines, mandates and rules add more hoops for business owners and customers alike. 

Not to mention, more hurdles have been added to getting from point A to point B in a business transaction. So, how has this impacted the way that we market ourselves and our businesses?

Has marketing changed given worldwide current events?

The obvious answer is, yes. Marketing has definitely changed for many businesses given current events. 

With budget cuts due to shutdowns and less traffic, many businesses are finding it difficult to allot the appropriate budgets to marketing and advertising. Not to mention, consumers are not spending money like they used to. 

Businesses are forced to focus their efforts more on digital. 

How has consumer behavior changed given current events?

Consumer behaviors are settling into a “new normal” as people learn how to cope with the reality of Coronavirus impacting our daily lives and the possibility that things aren’t “going back to normal” as soon as we all would prefer. 

Although the pandemic’s impact has varied across the globe, five new consumer themes have become very evident around the world. According to recent consumer sentiment surveys conducted across 45 countries, Mckinsey found these common themes amongst consumers:

1. Shift to value and essentials
2. Flight to digital and omnichannel
3. Shock to loyalty
4. Health and “caring” economy
5. Homebody economy

How can businesses adapt in 2020 to these changes?

Compassion and Contribution Over Conversion

The first rule of content marketing proves to be more important now more than ever. Provide value to your customers and clients. 

We are all in the same boat and the best we can do is continue our efforts in providing value to others. So, what can you contribute to add value? 

Placing intentional focus and effort on brainstorming how you can help your community of past, present and future clients or customers is super important during this time. 

If you’ve been marketing your business via content marketing strategies, it is the perfect time to take a look at what you have coming up. How can you pivot the information that you share to offer something helpful to this new world we’re living in. Maybe you have knowledge in an area that can help a fearful world? Or maybe you’d rather contribute a form of distracting entertainment! 

For the time being, it may be best to pivot your focus to building a strong audience. By growing your warm audience base now, you can build upon your authority and trustworthiness within your industry and more easily be able to convert clients and customers down the road. 

Read More: 5 Easy Tips For Getting More Website Leads

Stay Up to Date

It may prove to be difficult, however, staying current with the issues going on in the world is very important when it comes to marketing your business. 

This is not to say that you should be commenting on the world’s news or political topics, rather, just be sure that you understand what’s going on in a broad sense. 

Staying up to date on current events of the world can help you formulate helpful content around buzzing topics. How can you provide helpful content to clients and customers if you don’t have any idea what they might need? Stay up to date! 

Focus on Building a Loyal Following

Value, availability, and quality products and services are going to be the main drivers to client/customer retention during these uncertain times. 

Consumers have been forced to change their shopping behavior during this crisis. Ensure that you have a solid method for customer/client satisfaction digitally as well as at your brick and mortar location. 

Don’t Give up

And last tip for today, but certainly not least – don’t give up! While it is an uncertain time right now, we urge you to keep trying. If you’re focused on creating high quality, helpful content, your time will not be wasted. 

While people may be less apt to start new ventures, any content you make now will be helpful to someone. Content is always able to be repurposed. 

As we navigate the road to normalcy, it’s important to keep up with putting all you have to offer out into the world! 

So –  We wanna know, what content has been helpful to you during the last few months?

If you have specific questions, please reach out!