What are your thoughts on marketing your business during a crisis?

I keep hearing this question in the conversations I’m having with entrepreneurs online:

“Should I even be marketing my business right now??”

The last thing you want to do is seem tone-deaf to the realities of our world as it currently is. This is completely understandable, but I do not think the brakes should be put on when it comes to marketing your business for most businesses.

But how you choose to market for your business may be different than what you planned when you looked at your year pre crisis

You should 100% continue marketing your business during a crisis. You may opt to change up your messaging or how you are marketing to align better with the needs of your market.

And, let’s be honest, every market is different. So marketing your business during a crisis will look different for each business.

If you sell jewelry in an Etsy store, you may not want to be promoting an upcoming sale right now. Because, as people are worried about income and jobs, they are likely holding onto any “extra” funds and keeping them for the essentials.

But this doesn’t mean you stop marketing.

You can still get your name out there and help people where they are.

Create content that they can use at this time. And they will remember you being helpful when life returns to normal again.

For example, you can do a blog post on How to clean your jewelry. One of those things that stays on the “I should get it done” list for so many people… and now that they are stuck at home, they may now have that time.

You see, marketing your business doesn’t need to be about pushing for a sale. Right now you have the ability to pivot your messaging. Show up as a compassionate business owner and connect as a human. Share value instead of a drive for sales.

On the other hand, for some entrepreneurs, there is no better time to create a product or offer. Some can have offers that are going to help people now that people are home more than ever before.

For the fitness folks or the folks who help parents teach and connect with their kids, now is a time when their business is booming.

To know what you need to do, think about your ideal customer.

What today’s pain point is, is different than 60 days ago. How can you be a helping hand, or a guiding light to your customers today? So that they come to trust you, and want to work with you when life goes back to normal?

My top 3 suggestions for marketing your business during a crisis

1 – Create the content that you never had the time for before.

You’ve always filed content creation under the umbrella of “when I have time”? Then it’s time to sit down and create your content. Content in 2020 is still king. The value of content is that once you put it out there it’s can always be found in search engines.

Share answers to your client’s problems. Build your brand through helpful content, and you’ll be helping your marketing efforts for years in the future.

2 – Lead through empathy and adjust your messaging for where people are today

Now is the perfect time to look over your messaging and make sure you don’t sound tone-deaf.

Do you have any automated messages going out? Can you turn them off for now, and replace with messaging that aligns with today’s needs?

Start out the conversation with a “we will get through this together” tone. Doing that vs selling tone will gain more respect.

3- Pivot your Offers

It may be that you’ve run a full service-based business and rely on one to one interaction with your clients. Well, with the entire country on lockdown orders, now is the time to see how you can pivot or create a new offer.

Can you move your meetings to online-only via options like Zoom?
Can you offer an ebook that teaches people a version of how you can help them?

I recently created a Product Photography for Makers guide to help eCommerce shops learn how to create better images for their shops. The guide is only $27 and attainable for people right now. I would usually photograph these products, but now I am helping them DIY their photos.

There are ways you can pivot and help your people where they are while also bringing in some income. Because I know that is a stressor for many out there. Think about how you can pivot your offer in a way that helps them today. It may be at a lower price that may still bring in money for you.

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