Marketing has always been an important part of any business. It is an effective way of engaging customers, helps with building and maintenance of a company’s reputation and provides an avenue for relationship building between your company and customer. Steady and effective marketing can boost sales and provide valuable data about your customer base. As we are all too painfully aware at this moment, traditional working practices and marketing strategies have had to adapt in line with the change in climate. One of the major pros to marketing, whether pre, current or post crisis, is that your business remains relevant, a point we will touch on a little later.
Some businesses may give less preference to marketing but, as a tried and tested method to increase profits, a budget should always be set aside for marketing activity where possible. The fundamental four P’s of marketing are relevant whether using traditional or digital marketing methods and consist of Product, Price, Promotion and Place. I won’t go into details on all four points here, as Product, Price and Place are self-explanatory. However, let’s take a closer look at Promotion while considering the current crisis.
Promotion and the Effect of the Crisis
Promotion includes advertising, PR and promotional strategy. It’s an important aspect, as promotion tells your customer why they need your product and why it’s worth the price you have set. Which promotional strategies are affected with the current climate? Billboard advertising, a huge thing in many countries, is mostly redundant at this moment in time. As people are urged to remain at home as much as possible and with some countries in enforced lockdown situations, that huge billboard advertisement is now a financial drain. Personal selling, another type of promotion, has also become more complicated now. Due to uncertainty, many companies will not be looking to invest in your product or service at this moment in time. The mode of selling may also be affected; from a face-to-face environment to a virtual one, selling strategy may have had to adapt.
A digital ad campaign on Facebook or LinkedIn may be just the ticket at this moment, as everyone is now at home working or with new-found free time to be exposed to your digital efforts. Take the time to create some interesting content, be original and remember who your audience is. Many industries and small businesses are struggling right now so now is not the time for a pushy promotional strategy. No matter the product or service, companies will be remembered for a campaign that is out of the box and has a wider value. Don’t believe me? Just check out the social distancing ads created by some big brands in the picture below.
Parking Network Virtual Conference 2020
On April 20th and 21st, we adapted our current working practices. As creators of niche networking events, we love the personal touches that allow our customers to connect with potential customers of their own. Why should the current climate stop us? Well, there wasn't an amazing dinner or amazing drinks this time round, but we were still able to offer our customers a chance to stay connected and use our expertise to offer a digital platform for their promotional purpose.
As mentioned earlier, we know that it is essential for every business to remain relevant at this moment in time. A forgotten business is much more difficult to revive later.
Our virtual conference also included a valuable discussion “Parking Talks: Combatting COVID-19” where tips and tricks on how to ensure your business keeps ticking over during this time were aplenty.
Due to popular demand of our first virtual conference, we are doing a second on May 26th and 27th. More information will be up very soon and we look forward to welcoming you as part of our community!
