In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, some companies are cutting back on marketing while others have come up with some really interesting ways of engaging their audience during these difficult times.

If you want to keep your business afloat, you need to be marketing, even if you can’t open your business right now as it’s important to keep consumers informed and engaged when things get tough. Long-term studies have shown that with the right approach during economic uncertainty is to increase and not decrease your marketing spend. Whether it’s purchasing custom flags to show your support or increasing your social media activity to inform your customers about what is going on, marketing has never been so important.

Consumers are mainly receptive to marketing at a time like this, and according to a recent study from the American Association of Advertising Agencies, 43% of consumers find it reassuring to hear from brands and 56% said they like learning how brands are helping their communities during the pandemic.

So, while it’s a good idea to keep your marketing going, it is even more important to get it right. As things have changed so rapidly over the past few months and weeks, it looks likely that they will continue to change. So, any data you have from 6 weeks ago, let alone six months ago, is already out of date. People’s behaviour has changed – it’s had to, and many people will continue certain habits as we enter the “new normal”.

It’s important to uncover the emotions underlying people’s shifting attitudes and behaviours.

Tell Relevant Stories and Help out the Community

Some brands have done a great job during the pandemic and produced some compelling campaigns. Dove shone a light on the courage of health care workers and other brands like Budweiser and Burger King, have focussed on social distancing and encouraging people to do their part by staying at home. Every organization can contribute in some way, so it’s important as a business that you ask yourself “what can I do to help?”

Be Agile for the New Normal

Some businesses and their marketing teams are holding off taking any action as they think that things will be back to “normal” in a few weeks. However, some scientists have predicted that there will be some form of social distancing until 2022, which is a long time to put marketing on hold.

We don’t know exactly what the changes will be, but we do know that there will be changes, so it’s important to be able to go with the flow and adapt to whatever is happening. We don’t know how long the crisis will actually last, but what we do know is that COVID-19 will forever change the way we live our lives. With that in mind, when it comes to your business, your messaging and even product strategy may need to significantly change too.