
One of my clients, Scout, a dog walking and pet sitting software, came to me about a week into our new COVID-19 stay-at-home reality because they needed to shift a bit in their messaging to clients. Many of their clients have taken a huge hit as a result of the novel coronavirus, as dog walking and pet sitting services aren't needed when everyone is at home and no one is traveling.
As a B2B business, Scout's content strategy has always included providing their clients with actionable tips to help boost their business operations and marketing. After all, it's a platform that is meant to make business--and life--easier for dog walking and pet sitting establishments. And as many of Scout's clients are small businesses, it became Scout's highest priority to help them navigate this crazy time in our lives to keep their business afloat.
They asked me if I would provide their clients with marketing advice to help them weather this storm. It's bee a busy few weeks for me, as I've been helping many of my clients do the same, and I wanted to share the advice I put together for Scout with you in the hopes that it might also help you right now as well.
Recognize the Power in This Pause
“We are all so busy all the time, especially those who run small businesses. Because of that, we very rarely have the opportunity to slow down and actually think about what we need, what the business really needs, and what steps we have to take in order to meet those needs. So many of the clients I work with are on autopilot because they wear so many hats and are treading water for survival. But now we have no excuse; we have to slow down and re-evaluate everything.”
Take Stock of How COVID-19 Has Changed Your 2020 Goals
“Part of what you need to re-evaluate is the goals that you set for the year. January seems like a year ago already, but Q1 just ended! This is a great time to examine your goals and the actions you put in place to achieve them. Where do you need to pivot? What can you adjust? What can you tweak so that your expectations are more realistic given your non-corona-adjusted business schedule? Use this time to get more strategic about how you are approaching your marketing goals.”
Tackle Those Projects You Keep Putting Off
“I am also a small business owner, so I have a deep understanding of how hard it can be to do all the things you don’t get paid for but that are necessary to keeping your business alive. Now would be a great time to create a library of blog and email content that you can dip into when things get busy again, plan out some evergreen social media posts, work on business development (you can always schedule video “coffee” meetings!), or finally balance your books or set up that new software that you paid for and never actually used. There are so many things that we can put off during ‘normal’ times, and we just have no excuse right now to not do them.”
Rework Your Entire Strategy
I've been hard at work helping my clients rework their marketing and communications strategies in the wake of this crazy pandemic. If you need help figuring out where to go from here, what to focus on, or how to communicate new concepts and messaging to your audience, contact me for a free discovery call. I would love to help you!
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