One might wonder: what does a marketing consultant do during a global pandemic? Businesses and non-profits of all sizes are taking a crash course in creatively adapting to our ‘new’ world. Surprises that threaten these entities are around every corner. So how does a consultant stay relevant in these challenging times? Here’s my approach.
1. Stay patient.
2. Take advantage of online resources to bolster your knowledge, especially in the ever-evolving digital sphere.
3. Expand experience by taking on small businesses and non-profits who need your help…gratis.
So now, five months into my COVID-19 endeavor, I thought I would share some take-aways.
First of all, what is true in this disrupted period applies to every day for small businesses. It’s all about Brand, Customers and Strategy. Taking time to define your brand, understand your current and potential customers, and strategizing how to engage those customers in a relevant way pays dividends. It doesn’t take too much time. Just some thoughtful consideration and planning.
Even during the ongoing lock-down, I soon learned that what seems like a straightforward assignment for small businesses in the process of reinvention turns out to be, well…not so easy.
Small businesses are generally overwhelmed by the challenge of marketing their service. Strapped for resources, these businesses are often stymied by not knowing where to start. Even with a consultant mapping the way, it’s hard not to fall back on old habits, and just do what you need to do at that very moment. My advice: Keep it simple. Try a few things…focus on what’s important.
I start with a few suggestions.
Focus on your brand and its tone and manner. It is helpful to have a clearly articulated brand style guide that does just that – guides your brand usage and clearly defines what sets your product/service apart. One way of fully establishing the brand lexicon is to apply the guiding principles to one channel.
One of my clients decided to razor focus on Instagram. Every post was created to resonate with the brand voice. From a previous hodgepodge of posts, for this client Instagram became its brand ‘board’. With focus -- doing one thing at a time -- the company leadership gained the confidence that they have nailed “the brand” expression. A keen understanding of one’s band and audience combined with an ample library of visually engaging images and crisp writing made the assignment achievable.
Second, think about your potential customers and where you can find them. Social media should be tapped, but keep what’s involved to a minimum, and achievable. If it’s a B2B brand, drill down on LinkedIn and make sure that the profile is updated, you have reached out to connections, and you blog and post every so often. For more consumer-facing brands where imagery is what rules -- such as a designer, restaurant, or cultural brand -- Instagram, first, should be the focus. Facebook, second. Add posts, some stories and maximize the effort with a well-conceived hashtag strategy and influencer outreach plan. Use Creator Studio so you can schedule and batch your posts. Plus, access some of the online tools that can help you master the art and science of Instagram.
A word of caution however: social media should not be the center of your marketing universe. At the end of the day, your marketing efforts should drive potential customers to your website to learn more about your brand. Every effort should be made to capture prospects’ email addresses. You want to ‘own’ the ‘warm’ prospective customers (and their email addresses) -- the ultimate asset for any business.
Finally, your website should reflect your brand. Worst case it can be simple, with a few pages. You may be surprised how a clear and clean vision of your product/service can make a website update possible -- without months of laborious work. I have resources that make the process relatively easy, and not at all costly.
Want to learn more? Feel free to reach out to me. I am home, doing well, and looking to keep busy.