Survive the Impacts of COVID-19 by Maintaining Digital Side of Your Business: Zebra Techies Solution

“We can complain rose bushes have thorns or rejoice because thorn bushes have roses.” Perspective matters.

With Covid-19 engulfing one territory after another across the globe, it’s quite natural to feel discouraged, but being hopeful and optimistic is a choice.

We’d like to request you all to “keep calm and carry on.” There are new opportunities to emerge for new work if you dare to have strength in uncertainty and look hard at it.

CHALLENGE THE CHALLENGES:

The unprecedented, almost-total disappearance of all channels related to live seminars and events, and the increasing barriers on face-to-face business in the form of “lockdown,” present a big challenge. The key to face it is to have resilience and find out ways to act against the loss.

THINK LONG-TERM:

B2B companies participate in annual circuits of trade shows, exhibitions, etc. and they barely hope to clinch a business deal right there on the spot. Those are for PR – to network and build customer relations. In the face of this adversity, taking the digital route to connect with the new relations and stay connected with the existing customers would be a great service and yield dividends till long future.

ENGAGE YOUR AUDIENCE DIGITALLY:

Physical establishments may be closed these days to stop the spread of COVID-19, but you can continue engaging your audience on social media. You may share worthy alternatives to fill the void, such as online learning programs, mouth-watering recipe videos, various physical exercise tips, etc. You may also share news about growth or top-trends within the industry.

INCLUDE DIGITAL MARKETING IN YOUR CRISIS MANAGEMENT PLAN

We do believe that the COVID-19 crisis is going to subside anytime soon, if not too long! In between, we must not also want our business go out of sight, when we can get it afloat online, digitally, with having a crisis communication plan. How is that, right? If your business doesn’t have it already, you may soon include a digital marketing plan, having a free consultation with an expert who can help you adapt with digital marketing space. With expert guidance, you can reconfigure your communication plan and remain relevant in the face of this crisis.

PAUSE MESSAGE AUTOMATION:

Digital connection is now the only choice while we are maintaining social distance (better say “physical distancing”). In this scaring pandemic period, we need to think in the line of contribution, not in the line of conversion. We need to continue offering value to our audience and remain connected with them, empathetically. Automated messages that don’t make any sense today should be pressed on their pause button for now.

GROW YOUR PRESENCE THROUGH OWNED MEDIA:

COVID-19 has negatively impacted the majority of businesses. Saving and surviving this impact is a real challenge for them. Maybe, they have already stopped ad-spending to save cost and are struggling to stay afloat at the same time, keeping in mind that this spectre of COVID-19 is not going to browbeat them all along. As an alternative, businesses may consider refocusing most of their efforts on their owned media, such as blogs, emails, and organic SEO. People now are at home and connected to the world online. Deliver engaging content to them through email campaigns. If you don’t already have one, now is a great opportunity to create a robust content marketing plan.

RUN PAID ADVERTISING WITH RESTRAINT

Businesses are still moving and customers are still looking for services. Instead of putting the brakes on everything, look at your most effective campaigns and shift your budget into those. Try to find out a way in the crisis that can give you an opportunity. For that, you need to get creative and ask yourself: “Is there a way that your brand can be relevant and helpful through this VUCA (volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous) period?” You may take inspiration from instances of many restaurants and eCommerce retailers offering discounted delivery.  

Final Word:

While it’s a challenging time for many, we believe that challenges do always come with opportunities. One can navigate to them with relevant triggers for rebuilding relations and communications with values.

Be Safe, Be Healthy.