Businesses have suffered a huge loss of sales due to the pandemic( covid 19) that took over the year 2019. Small businesses have been affected more in this pandemic all over the world by the following transitions :
- Changes in consumers buying behavior
- The use of digital platforms as the main tool to engage with customers
The above mentioned changes have brought a huge loss in sales and some big companies like well-known banks are being forced to reduce the number of their branches in order to survive thus far, leading to jobs loss for a number of employees.
The remaining employees are being then instructed to work remotely due to the covid 19 restrictions leading to businesses operating online.
The consumers buying behavior began to change, as consumers were now introduced to a very convenient solution to purchase goods or make any transactions of their choice using the internet, making E-commerce more relevant nowadays.
Consumers are now the regular users of online platforms to pay their monthly premiums and purchase goods anytime, at the comfort of their home without going physically to the store.
This has been identified as one of the strategies to reduce the spread of the virus and to avoid overcrowding public places as to maintain social distance as instructed by the government officials.
Many companies adopt the use of digital platforms as the main tool to engage with customers, this is to minimize the number of customers flowing into their branches or retail stores as they can easily affect each other once overcrowded.
Small businesses have been affected by these transitions, leading to them losing sales resulting to inability to maintain customer relationship due to the limited resources and the lack of digital marketing knowledge.
In order small businesses to survive this pandemic, and aid more sales as well as to beat their competitors, the following tactics should be applied:
- Build a very strong social media appearance
- Start utilizing video marketing
- Increase the website visibility
- Maintain customer relationship using digital platforms
- Create a blog for your business
BUILDING A VERY STRONG SOCIAL MEDIA APPEARANCE
A strong social media presence is the most powerful tool to create brand awareness as well as to generate leads. hence why small businesses have to spend more time in creating content.
People get to spend their time on social media more frequently since the pandemic has hit the world, making it easier for businesses to be able to reach out to them using these platforms.
START UTILIZING VIDEO MARKETING
The use of video marketing helps businesses to communicate with the target market in such a way not possible through other tools. Customers tend to possess longer attention spans for videos than text. This can help small businesses reach out to a large target audience.
IMPROVING ONLINE VISIBILITY
In order for a business to gain online visibility, website optimization needs to be taken into consideration. A number of small businesses do not realize the fact that you do not necessarily need a blog to incorporate search engine optimization(SEO) into the mix.
therefore anything that your business publishes online can be optimized including relevant keywords and phrases that your target audience is more likely to be searching for.
Put yourself in your consumer’s shoes and think about what keywords are being used by them. visibility does not necessarily mean that small business can be seen by every audience, everytime.
Instead, it is more about ensuring that your business is recognized by the right audience at the right time.
MAINTAIN CUSTOMER RELATIONSHIP USING DIGITAL PLATFORMS
The covid 19 has deeply impacted the business competitiveness because of the restrictions that limited relationships with existing and new customers worldwide, this has tested customer loyalty.
The pandemic has forced businesses to rely on digital platforms to redefine business processes as well as customer relationships and marketing tactics. Small businesses owners should adopt this strategy to engage with customers to ensure satisfaction all the time.
CREATE A BLOG FOR YOUR BUSINESS
Blogging is the most powerful tool for small businesses to drive traffic to their site, as well as to enhance inbound marketing efforts and to attract more prospective customers.
more tips on how to write a blog for your business click . this is higly recommended for small busness owners who are eager to take their business to the next level.
Creating and writing a blog for a business helps drive traffic to your website, making it easier for a target audience to recognize your brand, convert traffic into leads as well as driving long-term results.
CONCLUSION
small businesses must adopt the above mentioned tactics in order to survive the covid 19. by doing so they will be able to reach out to a large target audience and be able to stand out to their competitors.
About the author
Azola Mvandaba is a Digital marketing intern at the International Institute of Digital Marketing. An innovative marketing graduate who regards herself as a Go-getter and a technological savvy who likes learning new things. She holds a National Diploma in Marketing at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in South Africa.