As the UK economy starts to return to ‘normal’ in the coming months, it is difficult to say how different businesses and industries will change. Although what is for sure is that preparing for life post-lockdown sooner rather than later is a necessity. 

People will be desperate to get out and shop, eat, and drink, and businesses will experience a resurgence in traffic, footfall, and sales. Now is the time to plan your marketing relaunch. Here is how to create a successful post lockdown marketing plan. 

E- Commerce

During the Coronavirus pandemic, there has been a significant shift in consumer behaviour. With the majority of people cooped up at home, buying online quickly grew to be even larger than it already was. The online retailers who experienced this sudden increase in demand often couldn’t keep up with orders leading to delays or temporary closures. 

This of course varied by industry, but what we learned is that devoting major resources to e-commerce was the best way to stay relevant, operational, and even to grow despite the unprecedented turmoil. 

Now that lockdown restrictions are lessening, this change in consumer behaviour is unlikely to dissipate. Anxiety around the coronavirus and social outings is expected to persist in the coming months. Many customers will still be hesitant to venture out into busy public spaces, and others may be advised not to due to being considered ‘at-risk’, which means e-commerce may continue to boom after brick and mortar businesses reopen. 

For this reason, e-commerce will remain to be the best course of action for B2C businesses. It is important to remember, however, that there will be increased competition with many businesses coming to realise that they can’t afford to not be online. Planning your online marketing now can help you stand out from the crowd, and Strive Digital’s creative marketing and design can help you make an impression in noisy competitive business environments. 

Communication

Your post-lockdown marketing plan should consider three things; 

• How you can meet changing customer demands
• What your specific goals are
• How you can measure your success

Using this, you can create a plan of how your business will operate once the lockdown ends, and the next step is to make sure this is clearly communicated with your customers. 

Making customers aware of what they can expect will prevent any negative feedback or future fallout from what they might perceive as disruption. Your plans may change according to Government guidelines, but planning for a few scenarios now will help you pick the right one if and when the time comes allowing for a smoother transition. 

Similarly, preparing a bank of replies to frequently asked questions that will help once your operations are back up and running as normal.

Content & Social Media

Everything isn’t going to go back to normal straight away, so your content shouldn’t either. Your website content and social media updates should remain reactive to any changes in guidelines or the general mood of the public.

Promoting your products or services is acceptable as long as it considers and fits the current situation. Inspiring, aspirational or ‘stay at home’ content is a great way to stay relevant while remaining sensitive to different circumstances right now, but that might change as the situation improves and staying at home permanently is no longer necessary. 

Timing and social listening is more important than ever, aim to stay responsible and current with your planned content – especially if you plan to start a paid advertisement campaign to expose your business and brand to new potential customers who might not be accustomed to you.

Update Your Website

With every business making their own decisions in regards to when and in what capacity they reopen, your customers can’t just assume everything is back to normal everywhere. Getting information to customers is vital, and your website is the first place people will go to have their questions answered. 

There are a few options to make sure make sure that all of this information is clearly laid out on your website. This might be on a banner, a pop-up, the FAQ, a blog post, an additional section in the homepage, or its own webpage entirely separate.

Every business will need a slightly different solution, so speak to our designers and developers today to find out what will work best for you. We’ll make sure everything is implemented quickly and properly so your customers are in no confusion as to what they can expect from your company.

Preparation is Key 

The last thing to note, is that you need to be prepared for a surge of customers when you reopen. People are desperate to get back to normality, and will be desperate to eat, shop, drink, and get services they need from your business. Making sure things run smoothly is vital to maintaining a good relationship with your customers.

This means that you need to have a clear system in place to respond to the new business environment we’ll all be working under in terms of health, safety, and hygiene. Plus, you need to make sure you have enough staff to handle re-opening safely and efficiently.

It’s also worth noting that if it is appropriate for your business, it’s a good idea to think of some offers or promotions to build a bit of hype for reopening – a reason why customers should pay special attention to you rather than the competition. 

However, this is another potential pit trap in terms of customer service, so you need to make sure the entire team is aware of the deal and that the specifics are communicated clearly.

Whether your sales have surged or depleted during lockdown, having a solid marketing plan can help you grow after it is lifted and we try and get back to our normal way of life. Now is the best time to invest in marketing – if you need help building and shaping your brand’s online presence in the coming months, get in touch today.