The Corona Virus and Covid 19 looks set to stay around for a while. And it's made us think carefully about what's going on in the marketing and wider business community. We've heard a few people talk about 'the new normal', but we wonder if we really know what that terms means?
Let's try an experiment. Image life before the virus - the old normal. Are you also thinking about 'going back' to the way things were? Mass gatherings at events, no social distancing, no masks covering the faces of the people you see out and about, you get the picture.
In other words, are you 'paused'? Waiting for things to go back the way they were.
Or, have you accepted that things are different now? And they always will be in some shape or form. Will we take the threat of the next Covid wave more seriously now we have seen the damage this one has done? Will we take the threat of pandemics more seriously in general? We've been talking about the impact of a pandemic for some time, but it seems nothing had actually prepared us for what to expect when one actually hits us.
Will we take the existential threat of climate change more seriously, now these 'far away' bogey men like the pandemic was before it hit, seem closer than ever.
Do we want to keep living in the close proximity of cities that become infection hotspots? Working away for long hours in enclosed offices, when we know an awful lot of what we were doing can be done from home. Will we want to sit alone in cars in traffic jams, wasting hours of our lives and polluting the now clear city skies all over again?
Are you thinking we are 'paused', waiting for things to go back to the 'old normal'? Or are you preparing yourself and your business for this, the 'new normal'?
We are changed. It's already happened. Some of the things that have affected us over the last few months have changed some things for ever. Will doctors surgeries go back to welcoming sick people to come sit in an enclosed waiting room with other sick people? Will workplaces be able to put employees and customers at risk of mass infection?
Where are you now? Where is your business? What are your latest thoughts around your marketing? The latest statistics from our agency partner HubSpot are that:
Things are clearly different already. And the sooner we get to grips with that the better. Stop waiting, and start innovating. Think about who your customers are, where they are, and how you can help them.
And maybe more importantly think about how you reach them. We know people are spending even more time online, whats your plan to cut through the noise and connect? Once connected, how do we engage them and convert them into customers.
Content marketing has never been better placed than it is today to support your business objectives. Content is what people are online spending their time consuming.
And marketing automation as provided by HubSpot and others is an essential for you to take advantage of these opportunities.
Time to adjust? Time to take action?
Let us help.