Should you start a marketing campaign now or after the COVID-19 pandemic?

The pandemic has negatively impacted the marketing industry because companies are seeing a lower audience for their products. I work in a digital marketing company and we've had loads of clients calling up to either pause their current campaigns or to fully cancel them. The majority if clients are independent or small sized businesses and with little clients for them to sell their products/services too, they can't afford to continue a marketing campaign.

Before the pandemic, millions of companies were conducting marketing campaigns because they had their client base still creating revenue but now since the market has dried up, they've stopped marketing. A classic and poignant quote from Henry Ford "stopping advertising to save money is like stopping your watch to save time" sums up my opinion of whether companies should start/continue their marketing and advertising campaigns. The reason why i think this is because is because of many factors which i will explain down below:

Marketing Agency Discounts

As marketing agencies are experiencing low demand for their services, some may be adding incentives for clients. For example, my agency would offer 200'000 impressions for free for new/current clients to incentivise them to start a campaign. Others may reduce the price of their services which is perfect for a company who are low on funds but want to get into the marketing world.

Engagement

Since everyone is in lockdown, the majority of Britons are spending their days inside on the interent. This means that at this moment in time, the British public have never been more engaged and captive to marketing and advertising because laptops, phones and tablets have internet access which people are using to keep them entertained during the lockdown. Marketing campaigns will reach a larger amount of people because of their engagement online which indicates that it is very wise to conduct marketing and advertising now. Media value has never been better and is something that clients big or small should jump-on to improve the spread of their business.

Raising Awareness

Since people are worrying about their and their families health, people can forget about brands and what they offer. It's important that people still think about your brand so that when the lockdown is lifted, they consider your business. If you're focused on reminding people about your business, the cost will be low because you are not focusing on actions so you can reach a larger audience.

Considerations to your marketing campaign

Before rushing into a marketing campaign it's important that you focus on your message and any consequences of running the campaign. It's incredibly important that your message isn't too opportunistic because poeple will see straight through the message and become angry that you are using the pandemic, which is killing hundred's of thousand's of people to your economic gain. Perhaps focus on the positives your company has created or the postives that the pandemic has created. Eluded to in my last blog, a simple message/change in your businees could make a whole lot of difference in the reception of the public. It can help reinforce the public's perception of you.

Another factor for consideration is how your business and your industry is benefitting or suffering because of the pandemic/lockdown. If you're in the e-commerce industry then it's likely that you are benefitting becuase people are spending the majority of their time on the internet and looksing for products to buy since they can't go into stores. If you are in the e-commerce fitness industry, then perhaps you could create fitness videos for free for people to view and follow and subtlely introduce your products as a way of free marketing. People have a lot of free time and working on your fitness when free is a common practice and could help you solidify a loyal customer relationship. However, if your company is suffering then it might be important to adapt your business model and marketing campaign to fit a better narrative

If your product/service is not being impacted by the lockdown then there is no need fix something that isn't broken but if it is being impacted then it's especially important that you adapt to the current situation because if not, it could see you suffer tremendously. For example, if you own a small shop selling groceries and essential products, then consider changing how your customers recieve these products. Delivering your products to customers could be a way to cement yourself in the community by providing deliveries but also benefit from the high demand of people wanting deliveries to their home to avoid catching the virus.

Planning for recovery after the lockdown is crucial to the future success of your company because it can show you that if done successfully then you have great business knowledge and you are likely to succeed in the future as you would've combatted this pandemic which may the hardest challenge you'll face. Having a solid plan in place that's well thought of reduces your chance of failure because if something crops up out of the blue then you can consult your plan as you may have thought of how to overcome the issue.

To conclude, now is the best time to start a marketing campaign for your company because the price and incentives may be very beneficial but also the enagagement of potential customers will be at it's highest ever in the history of your business.