Year ends are a great time to reflect, review, and learn.
Even with a cautious reopening of the economy this year, there were hurdles to clear, including prolonged lockdown, supply chain delays, and pandemic safety measures.
As we approach the new year, we decided to take stock of key tactics that helped ALLign Marketing’s SME clients thrive and grow through the pandemic and beyond.
Be Consistent with Your Online Presence
When the health authorities announced renewed lockdown measures to stunt the spread of the delta variant, it threatened to put a Michigan-based, family-owned senior home care business operations on hold for an indefinite time. It was a period of uncertainty and anxiety for most businesses worldwide.
Instead of buckling to cost-cutting and waiting for the storm to pass, this senior home care business used its downtime tactically to keep its online presence active. The team pitched in with seasonal and situational content to keep their existing and potential clients well-informed and engaged. From effective safety measures for seniors to finding perfect respite care for your loved one – the team implemented a potent mix of blog posts, social media content, and email marketing to keep their brand game strong.
The approach paid off with the business reopening to an appreciative existing client base and a large pool of new clients and recruiting additional team members to service the growing demand.
Make Use of Time Bound Email Campaigns
The supply chain disruption due to covid-19 has had lasting implications for many businesses. The inability to source goods and raw materials from suppliers or manufacturers at a specific price due to lockdown meant low stock and passing down the price increase to the customers.
A client of Allign Marketing specializes in sourcing and supplying tactile warning surfaces to construction projects – an industry sensitive to the supply and cost aspect of procuring materials. They adopted a customer-first approach when they could no longer stem a moderate price increase from their long-standing manufacturing partners. The plan included a workaround promotional campaign targeting their existing audience.
They decided to execute a short-term nurture email campaign to target their customer base who are already in a buying mood or are researching for an upcoming project. The campaign involved hitting them with more emails over a shorter period for top-of-mind awareness during the decision-making process. Few tactics that got them inquiry calls included a transparent messaging on the price increase, offering a time-bound workaround to the price increase, and reemphasizing their authority over an uninterrupted supply of tactile warning products.
Strike While the Iron is Hot
In-person events may seem like a thing of the past during this pandemic. But when the opportunity showed up with a relaxed social restriction this fall, a mental healthcare client wasted no time.
The long-haul lockdown from the last two years has left a considerable population without social support and an unfavorable spike in mental health breakdown. Armed with this knowledge, the client set out to better the isolation and mental health issues with a 2-day in-person event collaborating with the local farmer’s market.
The 2-day event included a community get-together over food and drinks, social activities for kids and families, promoted social, mental, and wellness sessions. The event had a successful conclusion with a strong turnout and offered an incredible platform for the client to establish itself as a leading voice for community mental health.
What’s Next?
The past few years brought to the forefront the inadequacies and the inefficiency of businesses to adapt to large-scale crises. From the above three examples, we have learned that some of the best ways to respond to a problem while building a thriving business are being online, flexible, and embracing change.