If you’re a business owner, you may have questions such as:

Can I market my business given what’s happening right now?
Is it insensitive to market my business right now?
Should I change my marketing strategy?

… and so many other similar questions.

To answer this question, let’s start at the root of why people buy anything.

Business Marketing Through a Recession

Why People Buy

People buy because of feelings. This is true whether they want to solve a deep pain or they want to experience a new joyful feeling.

Given that people buy based upon feelings, what are people feeling right now?

Fear.

Doing a recession, we’re surrounded by a variety of fears. A few of the fears we face stem from:

• The coronavirus itself – Whether you’re concerned for your own health and/or loved ones’ health, the concern of COVID-19 is a common fear amongst many of us.
• The media – Between the news and social media, we are flooded with information nonstop. While it’s important to stay informed, this doesn’t mean it’s healthy for anyone to be receiving updates every 3 minutes.
• Uncertainty – No one knows exactly the impacts COVID-19 will have, or how long its effects will ripple through both society and the economy collectively.

Every single one of the above fears is real and very valid, and if you are feeling one or all of them, I invite you to remember it’s okay to feel the emotions of these fears. Give yourself love and grace and use those feelings of fear to empathize with what your clients and customers are likely feeling too.

All of this talk about fear brings me to my next point.

With so much fear, people are not looking for freedom, vacations, or scaling; they’re looking to stay alive.

When selling a product or service, you focus on the value and the benefit of your product or service to your customer. To do so, you must know what the customer truly wants.

A few months ago, your services might have helped give your clients have the freedom to go on vacation or supported them with scaling their business. That’s great, but right now, people are looking to stay alive. People are craving a transformation that takes them from this state of fear and uncertainty to a solution that provides them security. People are seeking the comfort that they will still be alive in 3 months.

So what does this mean for you and your marketing?

Your Marketing Needs to Change

You have to update your marketing to be considerate of what’s happening now, the feelings people are experiencing, and the real problems people are facing. Otherwise, it’s going to fall flat.

This may mean that you:

1. Need a new offer (or set of offers).
If your current offer doesn’t ease your clients’ problems, it may be time come up with new offerings that do. This is not to say that your existing offerings won’t be relevant in the future; they just may not be relevant at the current moment.

2. Re-assess your clients or your niche.
Having a niche is popular these days, but it may be time to niche down even further or possibly even pivot. If you can’t serve your current niche or set of clients, then how is your business going to stay alive?

3. Adjust payment schedules.
Work with your clients to support them through this difficult time and consider offering payment plans and/or discounts.

4. Re-do all of your marketing materials.
I am sorry, but your sales funnels, landing pages, e-Books, guides, email series, content, and so forth is probably no longer relevant. This doesn’t mean you need to just delete it and throw it out like you did when you finished a school project, but you need to save it for a time when it is relevant again.

Marketing is Going to Require More Communication

People buy from those they know, like, and trust. This is nothing new.

With so much fear, I believe that people will require more trust prior to buying. What that means for you is that you will have to show up even more and make people so confident you can solve their problems prior to them opening their wallet.

Remember, people want safety right now. They want security. Consider how you can reach out individually to people more; be the one to start conversations with them.

When reaching out to people and starting conversations, remember the feelings your prospects are likely experiencing. Yes, they’re likely feeling fear, and they’re also likely experiencing feelings of one or all of the falling below:

1. Embarrassment or shame around their current situation.
2. Being stuck and unsure of what to do next.
3. A lot of self doubt and lack of self-worth.

If you aren’t the one to start that conversation of what IS possible for them, they may never reach out to you. Be the leader and the guiding light for them; show them the path.

If you want to be the leader of your industry, you can check this.

People Need Your Help

People still need your help. While your services may have changed or need to change as a result of what’s happening in the world, now is the time to serve more than ever.

Be the guiding light people are looking for.

Be the solution to their fears.

Be the person who, in a few years, you look back on and are proud of all you accomplished during this time and the amount of people you helped.

_____

Author Information:
Katie Thomas, CPA
Connect with Katie on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/katiethomascpa/
Business inquiries should be emailed to: katie@leaders-online.com