Managing marketing and communications during Coronavirus

The start of the new decade has been a wild ride so far and if there is one way to describe 2020 it’s “business unusual”.

We’re in the midst of an unprecedented health crisis right now with Coronavirus impacting many both personally and professionally. I know that even slight changes to the rhythm of business can have a big impact. So, I wanted to reach out with some ways to navigate business unusual — because we want to see our community of creatives, game changers, rule breakers, and innovators thrive.

Like most people, I’ve been consumed with an undercurrent of anxiety and an instinct of self-preservation. I’ve worried about what I can do to protect myself, my family, my business. 

But I’m also reminded just how much we all depend on each other. And what it would look like if we choose compassion over self-preservation?

In times like these, will you choose to be selfish? Or will you choose to be kind?

I’m reminded just how much we all depend on each other. And what would it look like if we choose compassion over self-preservation?

If people are isolated, will you check on them?

If someone relies on you for income, will you pay them?

If you’re unable to maintain commitments, will you ask to reschedule instead of a refund?

If someone is struggling with remote working, will you share your expertise?

If a business you love is losing revenue, will you buy from them?

If someone doesn’t have toilet paper, will you share a roll?

If people are fearful, will you help them feel calm?

If a small business owner is at risk, will you help them stay strong?

The road ahead may be uncertain, but innovation is rarely born out of the comfort zone.

As history has shown us, compassion, resilience, innovation, and creativity are what gets us through. Perhaps now is not the time to retreat (professionally), but to take massive action?

The road ahead may be uncertain, but innovation is rarely borne out of the comfort zone and I know that we’ll all find new creative ways to solve any challenges that may lay ahead. 

The Young Folks team are not health experts, but we do have marketing and communications expertise that have helped many brands weather the challenges of external and uncontrollable influences and go on to thrive. 

So, here are five things you can do right now to help your business survive (and even thrive) during this challenging time.

Now more than ever, it’s important to stay true to your mission, vision, and core company values.

 

Hold an innovation session

Got a team? Got some business buddies? Got some work mates? Book in a 90-minute innovation session with them and throw down your challenges, your customers’ challenges, and ways you can solve them and drive revenue. Once it’s all down on paper, prioritise and map it out into a rapid action plan. Need a template? Swipe our free 90-minute innovation session template here.

Make a short term marketing plan

Comprehensive marketing plans are great when we’re operating with a higher degree of certainty. But in uncertain times when the game changes daily, a detailed marketing plan might be the last thing you need. Instead, put together a short term marketing plan that balances proactive and reactive marketing. Need help? Download our free marketing planning template here.

Get your remote working house in order

If you’re able to work remotely, that could be one of the simplest acts of compassion that you make right now. If this is new territory for you, it’s a good idea to get your remote working systems in place. Try Slack for staying connected via instant messaging, ClickUp or Asana for mapping out business tasks and marketing activities, and Zoom, Loom or Hangouts for video conferencing.

Stay true to your mission (but be willing to adapt)

Now more than ever, it’s important to stay true to your mission, vision, and core company values. We don’t want to throw our brand DNA out the window, okay? But it’s also a time to be flexible — that might mean being a little creative with services or products that you offer, or rapidly bringing future offers to the fore.

Advance when others retreat

As callous as this may sound, when others are retreating it’s a massive opportunity to advance. Think about it: if brands are pulling their budgets from digital advertising like Facebook Ads or Google Ads that means less competition which in turn means lower cost-per-click prices. Or taking their focus off SEO which means less competition.

Equally, it’s a good time to “wring out the tea towel” so to speak. Meaning: get every drop of value out of activity that you have in place whether that’s optimising your website for conversions, or refining marketing activity to improve performance.

It might be hard to imagine the future right now, but like all things this will pass. And we’re going to be fine because we choose compassion over selfishness. The brands and individuals that have always been focussed on doing things in a better way will keep taking leaps and bounds towards betterness until things finally are better than they are now.