Want to know how to pivot your advertising & offers to work during the coronavirus?

Right now, the majority of people are working from home and staying inside. As a business owner, you must tweak and adjust to meet these new consumer demands. No, this is not easy, but it is essential. Right now the way consumers conduct business has drastically changed.

Understanding Your Audience & Their Needs

Audience Building

When we build PPC campaigns for clients, we spend a lot of time understanding the audience and the competitive landscape before constructing an offer.

Understanding your audience is EVERYTHING!

It will determine how you speak to them, the content you create, the copy you write, the design you make, the types of offers, the price points…. everything!

pivot your advertisingThese are questions that you should be asking yourself as well:

  • Who is your ideal customer?
  • What do they care about?
  • What is their current situation?
  • How has there situtation changed?
  • How is there new situtation effecting them?
  • What solutions can you offer to them for the new problems they are facing?
  • What is the motivating event that happens before they come to you?

Truly understanding your audience is the first step.

Understand What People Want Right Now

The same old messages just aren’t going to work right now, because the situation is totally different. Everyone is at home, on lockdown, being told not to travel and being told to only shop when its for essential itmes.

Therefore the wording on your cmapaigns and messaging should change to meet those needs.

  • Safety – How can you ensure that your products are safe?
  • Security – How can you give people security?
  • Free or Low-Cost Alternatives – How can you help people save money or eliminate costs?
  • Diversity – Can you help your customers diversify?
  • Education – People are at home and want to learn, can you give them free or paid training?
  • Do-it-yourself or at home – How can people re-create what you do at home?
  • Delivery – Can you send things to their houses vs having them come in?
  • Distraction – Can you give them something entertaining to distract them from this?

How can you incorporate & emphasize these themes in your offers and advertising?

Remember, you have to communicate these things!

If you’re open – People need to know that
If you’re delivering – People need to know that
If you’re focusing on cleaning & safety – People need to SEE that

Let’s talk about tweaking our offers to fit these current circumstances

How To Pivot Your Advertising Offers For Your Audience

In this next section, I put together a list of typical offers and how you can get creative with them during a time like now.

Industry Typical Scenario Creative Solutions 
Coaching/Consulting Coaching is done in person Go virtual.

Don’t focus on “business as usual” – clients will cancel if you’re seen as an extra expense.

Develop a PLAN on what they should change / adapt.
Marketing Services Meetings in person or remote Help clients find ways to survive in this time and tweak their offerings.

Launch low-cost alternatives.

Help people for free now to develop relationships.
Home Services Free Inspections or Estimates Have the home owner take a photo, video, or facetime of the problem area.

Once you’re there to fix the problem, have a plan in place to keep social distance.

Advertise your safety precautions.
Restaurant Dining In Offer takeout or delivery.

Offer frozen meals that people can stuff in their freezer.

Offer recipes that clients can make at home.

Sell ingredients & unused supplies.
Beauty/Salon In-person Offer mobile haircuts in client’s homes.

Offer to walk your clients step-by-step cutting their hair virtually via skype.

Double down on your cleanliness & promote it.

Create videos on cutting your own hair that clients can buy.
Fitness In A Gym Go virtual

Create plans that clients can do at their home.

Offer virtual training or sessions.

Offer recipes that they can make at home to stay on track of nutrition.

Focus on “immune system boosting” nutrition & exercise.

Post at-home workouts or have a paid membership to do 1 on 1 training.

Let paying clients take home gym equipment like dumbells / kettlebells etc.
Real Estate In-person house showing Offer virtual showings over facetime, Google hangouts, Zoom, etc.

Focus on showing clients opportunities to save in a down economy

Focus on low interest rates and why now is the time to buy.
Health Services In person Go mobile and go to individuals homes.

Offer virtual consults over Facetime.
Transportation Driving someone from one location to another Make sure you’re cleaning your vehicles often and marketing that to your clients.
Automotive/Vehicle Repair At a shop Go mobile with your services – repair cars in the owner’s home.

Offer to pick up your customer’s cars for them.
Bars In The Bar Create to-go cocktails packs.

Sell mix-at-home packs.
E-commerce Online Make sure people know what’s in stock, delivery times, and if it’s made in the USA promote that!

These examples only touch a tiny fraction of the market, but hopefully gives some examples to get your creative juices flowing. There is always a way to be creative for your particular business.

Alternative: Using This Time To Help

Right now there is also a massive opportunity to simply HELP people. This is a great time to pivot your advertising and gain a lot of good PR.

Everyone is online right now looking for help and opportunities – so now is a great time to shift to this if you are in a position to. Companies are offering free services that were once paid. Grants where there were once loans. Advise that was once kept secret. And maybe most importantly Community and outreach where there was once none.

Focus on giving away things for free. Create tons of content. Open up what used to cost money, and use this time to build an audience that loves you, even if they aren’t buying… (yet!).

The market will come back and people will remember what you did.