With most countries now starting to leave lockdown after the coronavirus pandemic, all organisations have faced unprecedented challenges. Face-to-face contact has been almost non-existent with several business sectors being forced to close to try and control the spread of the virus.
For some companies, this has been devastating, and their doors will be closed permanently while for others, it has presented new opportunities. What it has proved for all, however, is that having an online presence is essential.
For those looking to maximise the potential of their website, Phoenix Media, a digital marketing company in Bangkok, has some solutions that can help you even in times of adversity. We all appreciate that for small businesses, the objective is to get people through their doors, but when their doors are closed, they need to reach out to their clients in new and innovative ways. Here are just a few of the reasons why.
1. To keep your business in your clients’ mind
For any business, they must keep reminding customers that they are still open for business. Everyone talks about customer loyalty, but the world is becoming more cutthroat, and loyalty is in very short supply. Once your customers stop thinking about you, they will choose someone else and winning them back can be extremely tough. It is very true in times of adversity when everyone is fighting merely to survive.
On a more positive note, letting your customers know you are open even when your doors are physically closed may give them some reassurance and a reason to be positive. This alone can keep you in their minds not only now but into the future too. Being the organisation that they can trust and depend will reap infinite rewards, but your clients need to know that you are open, and this is where digital marketing comes into play.
2. To offer help and support
One thing that has been apparent has been the coming together of people and communities during the pandemic. On the one hand, this may be down to philanthropy, but it is also essential in business. By offering your regular business services, you can benefit as others may now require them aside from your regular customer base. By using digital marketing, it gives you the opportunity to reach out to more people, people who up until now may never have needed your help.
Offering your help and support not only benefits the community but can be hugely beneficial to your business, meaning that you not only survive in adversity but can thrive upon it.
3. Your customers are looking for their needs to be met online
In challenging times, your customers, or more to the point potential customers, are looking for their needs to be met now more than ever. While your existing customers may know some of your services, new customers are oblivious. Digital marketing is by far and away the best way to rapidly increase awareness of your brand. A reputable agency will be able to suggest innovative ways to reach out to a wider audience using a variety of techniques such as social media marketing.
Your potential customers are now spending more time on the internet and actively seeking the products and services that you offer; you now need to engage with them! Times of adversity can present the best opportunities for your business so you must seize the chance.
4. Your competitors are online
You must appreciate that in more testing times, competition is likely to be more ruthless, and you too will need to be active just for your business activities to remain steady. Your direct and indirect competitors, or some of them at least, will be increasing their marketing budget, aware of the chance that has been presented to them. They will be relishing the opportunity to acquire your customers. You not only need to keep hold of what you have, but fight fire with fire, and get new customers yourself.
Professional digital marketers can give you an indication of what your rivals are doing, where they are advertising and what is working for them. While this won’t define your marketing strategy, it will give you plenty of ideas regarding avenues that you can explore.
5. Regular business hours become irrelevant
Regular business hours, such as being open from 9am until 5pm are increasingly becoming a thing of the past. Even if you have a physical shop, a rising amount of business will be done online, and your customers can browse for or purchase items 24 hours a day. While any website, to a certain degree at least, allows this, you may need to be in a position to rapidly respond to customer requests via email or a chat system.
While responding to your requests is something that you will need to do yourself, it is wise to get a professional marketing agency to drive customers to your website so that you receive the enquiries! In the modern world, you can’t rely on passing trade or word of mouth; you need to be actively reaching out and grabbing people.
6. You know or should know your target audience
As an entrepreneur, you should know your target audience. With all the techniques and tools that are available online, reaching out to this target segment and perhaps even wider groups in society has never been easier. It is something that you must do in your everyday business to reach your potential, but in challenging times, it is even more critical. You need to put yourself in front of not just people, but the right people and digital marketing can help you achieve this via social media and other online channels.
7. You can keep trading
Finally, if, as we have just experienced, some business are forced to physically close their doors, having a well-known online presence will enable you to keep trading. While in many cases, it won’t be “business as usual”, at least you will be generating so revenue. As we keep touching upon, adversity can present opportunities and digital marketing will not only help you to survive but thrive long after the immediate challenges have passed.
More information
If you would like more information about how digital marketing can benefit your business, contact us.
