MARKETING IN THE AGE OF CORONAVIRUS
Many companies have stalled during the Coronavirus outbreak. Others are going from strength to strength.
OK, some of them happened to be in the right place with the right product at the right time.
But many companies are actually engineering their COVID19 success.
And when we look at how they’ve achieved their success, the results are remarkably consistent.
CHANGE YOUR PRODUCT MIX
Some have looked at what people are buying, and have changed their product mix accordingly.
One of our clients who manufactures skin care products has begun making hand sanitiser, and advertising it to bring volumes of new customers to their website to buy it alongside and bundled with their regular skin-care products.
So you can ask yourself ‘if they’re not buying what I sell, what can I sell that they are buying? And how can I use that to sell my regular products?’
CHANGE YOUR CHANNELS
A client who traditionally sold products through bricks and mortar stores is now selling direct to consumers online, using the recent massive growth in social media consumption to reach hundreds of thousands of customers, old and new, with video ads on Facebook, Youtube & Instagram to bring them direct to the website to buy.
Many businesses are surviving and thriving by adding home delivery to their products. Or adding ecommerce modules to their websites and outsourcing product despatch.
CUSTOMERS NOW HAVE TIME ON THEIR HANDS. USE IT
Consumers are mostly time-poor. Now, stuck at home, they have time aplenty. And they’re looking for things to do with it.
One of our clients sells a product which, before coronavirus, was trucked to customers part-assembled, and installed on site. Now they’re selling the product in flat-pack kit form, so customers can assemble it themselves.
Formerly the barrier to sales was price. Now, reduced manufacturing and shipping costs have lowered the price without affecting the margin. And a quality, general-purpose tool-kit supplied free with every purchase incentivises sales, and keeps customers happy.
LOOK OUT FOR ROCKETS
Some products have suddenly taken off. In March/April, predictably, rubber gloves sales jumped 670%. But sales of bread-making machines jumped 652%!
Kitchenware and recipe book sales are through the roof. Excercise machines are enjoying phenomenal growth. Bicycle sales are pumping.
There are plenty of websites where you can research and compare the effects of social distancing on product sales in various categories. Keep a close watch, and do some analysis so you can spot the next product rocket and ride it to the moon.
The good news here is that TV viewing has increased massively, along with social media usage. So now there’s a bigger-than-ever audience for TV and video ads selling your hot new products.
DELIVER ONLINE
We’re making ads for a customer who formerly delivered his services to his clients in hour-long face-to-face appointments. Now we’re helping him deliver his service to his clients via one-on-one video calls. He’s giving his clients a choice of platforms – WhatsApp, Messenger, Skype, Google Duo.
Tight geotargeting on TV and social media delivers his advertising to potential new clients in surrounding suburbs. So that if and when the pandemic eases, his new online clients will become face-to-face clients. But the online marketing and delivery tools give him the potential to scale up his business regionally, or even nationally.
THINGS WILL NEVER BE THE SAME
But many customers will never go back to the old ways. New habits will stick. The world was already moving online before COVID19. The pandemic has jumped that process ahead by three or four years.
So even if your business is thriving now, there’s not a ton of room for complacency. Success in the future depends on the same dynamics as success during the age of coronavirus:
- Do more of the sales pitch online.
- Provide more supporting information online.
- Do more of the close online.
- Process the transaction online.
- If possible, deliver an online product.
- Deliver more of the service and support online.
- Put your message where most of your potential customers spend the most time: social media and TV.
Talk to us. We can help you ride this train to success. It’s what we do.
RESPONSE 6X HIGHER THAN ANTICIPATED
“Response to the national TV campaign is over six times higher than we anticipated. We are experiencing a massive number of hits and our website is going into meltdown.” Steve Delnawaz, CEO, Stubby Strip Australia
“STUNNING RESULTS!” HARPER COLLINS
“Their creative ideas matched our brief beautifully and the results were stunning. Our author experienced a threefold sales increase.” Jim Demitriou, Chief Operating Officer, Harper Collins
“TV: LOWER COST PER SALE THAN EBAY!”
“The TV campaign generates all the sales I need, month after month. And the TV cost per sale is actually lower than our cost per sale on eBay!” Peter Rose, General Manager, Kayaks2Fish
“VISITOR NIGHTS UP 28%.” BMT LTD
A 12 week, non-prime-time TV campaign increased domestic visitors by 22.1% and nights stayed by 28.4%, while competitor regions experienced significant downturns. Rita Fisher, President, Blue Mountains Tourism Limited
CONTACT US
You should call us for a chat about ideas and costs for online video marketing, video ads, or a TV ad campaign to drive leads online. Call Billy on 0412 777 175 or send a message via our contact page.
- Aussie BronzeSacha Roberts,CEO, Aussie Bronze
The video looks and sounds fabulous! Thanks again to you and Shaun for all your hard work. Can't wait to share it ...
- Possibilities Management GroupJonathan Oastler,Managing Director, Possibilities Management Group
The TV commercial looks absolutely fantastic, couldn’t be happier. The Instructional video also looks fantastic. The voice was spot on. Thanks so much for all your effort.
- Community Colleges AustraliaDavid Hurley,Manager - Business Development, SG&S Community College
Wow! I found the video to be inspiring, the stories just blending so well together and picking up so many key decision-making triggers. Well done to you and your team.
- Stubby Strip AustraliaSteve Delnawaz,CEO, Stubby Strip Australia
Response to the national TV campaign is over 6 times higher than we anticipated. We are experiencing a massive number of hits and our website is going into meltdown. Thanks guys!
- Sterling Mining Co.Monique Hayes,Marketing Manager, Sterling Mining Co.
Love, love, love the film! I passed copies out generously when I was in Toronto last week for broker meetings and at the Chicago conference the week before and I've been getting a lot of very favorable feedback.
- YPB SystemsJohn Houston,Executive Chairman, YPB Systems
We are delighted with the product and your service, and your co-ordination of the Chinese translation for us. We've had a tremendously positive response to the video in London, Beijing and Australia.
- DematicPeter Trotter,General Manager Marketing, Dematic
Billy and the team have an amazing way of exceeding my expectations. They really understand consumer, direct, industrial and B2B marketing. It’s what I need in an agency.
- Goldsearch AustraliaJohn Percival,Chief Executive Officer, Goldsearch Australia
On the day Billy & Shaun's corporate film for Sterling Mining Co. was premiered at this year’s Silver Summit, the share price jumped from a previous base of $3.35 to over $4.20.
- Harper CollinsJim Demetriou,Chief Operating Officer, Harper Collins
Their creative ideas matched our brief beautifully and the results were stunning. Our author experienced a threefold sales increase and is now one of the top ten Australian fiction authors.