Radiography Of Online Promotion In Times Of Crisis And The Transition To Normal

W e are facing an exceptional period from which everyone has something to learn, especially in the business environment. The crisis generated by COVID is an important milestone of 2020 which has generated a number of surprising changes.

Some entrepreneurs anticipated the trend and saw the crisis as an opportunity. User behavior has changed and new needs have arisen, especially to buy commodities online.

Fear, needs, and pleasures are some of the most important factors that influence the buying process. This time, fear was a leitmotif that caused sales of staple products to explode.

What trends have I noticed?

1. Some brands have stopped all forms of activity, even communication.

Many businesses that could no longer carry out their activity pulled the shutters, stopped the activity and any form of communication. They minimized their costs and hoped for a return to normalcy as soon as possible. After things settled down, they saw how other brands adapted to the crisis by transposing services online, by the adapted communication strategy, by the awareness they continued to make.

Some entrepreneurs have understood that silence is not the solution and the actions and measures they take in times of crisis will influence the process of transition to normalcy.

It is important to stay in the customer’s mind and, even if he does not buy now, the chances of buying in the future increase.

2. Some businesses have been waiting for a return to normalcy.

There were also cases where stocks were the biggest problem. When businesses depended on orders for hundreds/thousands of products that began to be 1–2–3 months late, solutions were limited. Some put the activity on hold, and others continued to sell, but with the warning of customers about the long delivery time.

In the transition to normality, the communication strategy of most of these businesses was based on informing customers, increasing visibility, and reconnecting with old followers. They conveyed confidence, both in terms of the terms and conditions of deliveries, but also of the protection and hygiene measures they take.

3. New businesses were born in response to the crisis.

If we were to think about the positive aspects of the crisis, creating opportunities for new businesses is at the top. There were many entrepreneurs who anticipated a change in the behavior of buyers, new needs, and acted. They adapted and started their own business.

For example, the new online grocery stores where people could order the necessary food. They attracted attention through immediate solutions, adapted to growing demands. They are also the ones who recorded record sales for business at the beginning of the road. And if we have to learn anything from this example, that is how important it is to anticipate the trend and act quickly.

4. Some brands have noticed the trend, learned, and adapted as they go.

The crisis has certainly been a challenge for brands. No one has ever been through such a situation and no one could make recommendations from experience. Brands learned together how to adapt. Either by internal brainstorming with the marketing team, with agencies, or using other brands as a source of inspiration. Some have adapted their services, expanded their area of activity, or completed their product offer with new, interesting ones.

Among the first things observed were the new messages, strongly adapted to the crisis. Messages of encouragement, optimism, information, and assurance that the whole process of processing and delivery of packages is done in conditions of maximum safety. Highlight the products needed during this period, encourage payment by card, and secure transport directly to the address.

People are starting to spend more time on social media for information and news. And this helped to exploit communication opportunities: informative and educational blog articles, “how-to” type live shows, or tutorials with tips and tricks.

What does the process of returning to normalcy look like?

Just as no one could make recommendations from experience at the beginning of the crisis, the state of transition to normalcy is a process of learning and adaptation.

The crisis has helped to develop the trend of online purchases, and for e-commerce, it was a real plus. People have realized that it is safe, easy, and does not take too long to order from the internet.

Businesses that have suffered have begun to recover, but the process is not fast. The results after the resumption of promotion are not the same as many times before the crisis. It takes time and patience and a well thought out rebuilding strategy.

Opportunities in promotion campaigns

While some marketing budgets were removed from the promotion scheme at the beginning of the crisis, there were businesses that not only maintained their budgets but also increased them.

Reasons: they had the products/services they were interested in and were starting to see results, even better than in a normal period.

There was also performed during the crisis. How did we adapt?

An effective strategy through paid promotion in times of crisis also required an evaluation of the campaigns and products promoted. On some of them, there was a change among the best seller products/categories.

Some were triggered by-products that were not normally of great interest, eg masks, disinfectant, manicure kits, home spa, etc. Changing user behavior also meant defining new needs.

Budgets have also been adapted to the new reality. Product feeds for Facebook, Instagram, and Google Ads campaigns have been updated and Google has needed to adapt its bidding methods. Being an atypical period, in some situations, there is a risk that the Google algorithms used in the automatic bidding methods will be overturned.

YouTube has also been an opportunity through tutorials on how people can develop new passions or skills using certain products on the site.

SEO is an opportunity, with or without a crisis!

More users have started searching Google for products they used to buy offline. Being niches that were not competitive in online, the opportunity to quickly attract traffic from SEO was quite high.

Another good practice on the site was to modify the Meta Tags (Meta Title and Meta Description) to improve the CTR.

And the development of additional content on the product page helped in the purchase process. Articles adapted to this period with tips and solutions generated qualified traffic on the site.

Local SEO has proven to be very useful, especially for new businesses that make deliveries with their own fleet nearby (vegetables, fruits, restaurants, etc.) to create/optimize their presence on Google Maps. For restaurants, Google offered the opportunity to add words such as delivery, takeaway, etc. on behalf of the business.

The crisis has certainly been a challenge for business. Everything evolved very quickly, and brands had to learn on the go, adapt, and find solutions, stay afloat, and find opportunities. Some businesses have suffered or grown, and others have emerged in response to the needs of the crisis.

The transition to normal is not easy or fast and many changes will take place along the way. However, we can look at the transition as an inverted process, somewhat more relaxed, with more patience, caution and which gives us time to analyze.