Never Stop Marketing
By: Brian Finn | Marketing Advisor, Unique Venues
As Winston Churchill once said, “Never let a good crisis go to waste.” During our last blog, we made the case for the importance of maintaining your marketing presence during these turbulent times. This week we dive a bit deeper discussing the various ways you can accomplish this task and set yourself up for success.
1. Messaging Matters
The easiest thing to do would be to shrink and lean back on the marketing and messaging you were doing pre-pandemic. The “set it and forget it” model is dead. Even if you aren’t currently open, keeping customers aware of your timeline can be reassuring. Send out regular email updates on the changes you are implementing to make them feel safe upon their return. Reveal new seating diagrams and floorplans. At Unique Venues, our community message board has been active with members sharing different ideas on how they will serve customers.
2. Get Social
With much of the workforce confined to their home office, mobile usage is up across North America. This is your opportunity to reach your audience via social media. Turn up your presence on Facebook and Instagram utilizing the ‘Stories’ feature. Keep your messaging short and sweet, but don’t be afraid to post multiple times per day across all avenues. Use this opportunity to build brand loyalty and run promotions or contests to keep customers engaged. Finding ways to utilize and grow your social media audience is inexpensive and too often overlooked.
3. Clean Up the Home Page
In addition to turning up your social media presence, now is a great time to evaluate your website. When business is booming it’s usually one of the last things you have time for or want to worry about. Take this opportunity to spruce up your home page, evaluate your SEO and make sure your site is easy to navigate.
4. Pick Up the Phone
The simple act of calling your customers and asking about their situation can go a long way. Find ways to listen and be there for them while keeping them abreast of your timelines. Customers will remember those that were up front with them and showed honesty and flexibility.
5. Increase Your Exposure
Every dollar matters right now so finding the most cost effective ways to gain maximum exposure is critical. Our data continues to show planners are still searching for venues and making plans for later this fall and early 2021. Venues that have established or maintained their presence will have the upper hand as the crisis subsides and the demand for leads is unleashed.
COVID-19 has changed almost every business’ playbook. The companies that find ways to lean into and pivot their marketing efforts, while maintaining a thoughtful and effective online presence will be the ones well positioned for success as we navigate through the remainder of 2020 and look towards a brighter 2021.
To learn about how Unique Venues can assist in marketing your venue, click here.