Leverage Digital Advertising & Location Listening for a Comprehensive Growth Strategy
Americans are ready to get rolling and for many states the wheels are already starting to move. Consumers AND business owners are ready for the economy to move forward again. However, just because states are opening back up, that doesn’t mean it’s business as usual. The world has changed and as advertisers we need to make sure we’re being strategic about the approach in order to reopen business and position ourselves for growth.
If you’re reopening a business, or already in the process, consider these strategic moves to help position your company for success in a post-quarantine season:
- Be patient. Realize that many people are itching to get out and get back to normal activities. Many are not concerned about the current situation and just want to eat out, test-drive a car, go furniture shopping, and more. However, there are many people who are still very wary to go out. They will still be doing food pickups instead of sit-down meals. They will be shopping online and looking for contact-free ways to pay for services. And, of course, there are people in the middle of the two extremes. This means that you may not see a huge influx of people now that you’re open and it may take a while to get them in the door. Your advertising strategy should be based on recognizing that you have weeks and months to maximize on this opportunity as people become more and more comfortable. Don’t think of your digital advertising and overall marketing strategy as something that has to be rushed and happen only at the reopening date.
- Over-communicate: Sharing news once, does not mean that every person in your audience or community was alerted to the announcement. People are busy, and between algorithms and just plain differing schedules, there are a lot of people who weren’t exposed to the digital ad campaign announcing your new hours. The proclamation that you’re open, or your new policies to keep the public safe, needs to cross-target between established and new potential customers. This means that your advertising strategy should focus on multiple email campaigns, multi-channel strategies, and both simultaneously. You want to make sure you take buyers through a sales journey so they’re aware you’re still in business; interest in what you have to offer them in this season of life and lead them to converting – make it easy for them to buy!
- Go mobile. By utilizing Location Listening, we can leverage mobile activity to target specific types of ads and strategic messaging. Location Listening feeds of mobile device data puts powerful and very recently gathered data at your fingertips. Run campaigns based on who had visited your location in the past (before shutdowns), OR run them for people who have come in recently now that you’re open. Continue to reward people with mobile-based incentives and get them coming back time and time again to you instead of the competition. And use MAIDs in the social media space to engage specific audience segments based on the insights gleaned from Location Listening; different messaging for return customers, and different messaging for new potential customers.
- Find new customers. Now is a GREAT time to find new people to market to. Because of this shakeup, many consumers are rethinking their purchasing decisions. This means there is an opportunity for them to consider you when in the past they may not have been interested. Consider using data to filter and find your target audience and get some NEW people in the door. We have a whole host of options to use data for reaching new customers!
- Focus on digital. Your digital presence is your lifeline. Even though people are getting out they are still highly reliant on their digital interactions. Consumer behavior has shifted to less meandering and a more direct path of travel when they are out in the community. This means that many of the decisions on what stores to shop at, what car dealerships to visit, what groceries to buy, and more, are made at home before they step into a car. Your digital ads strategy is more important than ever. Banner ads, display ads, social media ads, and especially mobile ads with location listening, are all vital to help you reach consumers in their digital environment.
The world is still figuring out what it is going to be now that quarantines are lifting. We still have lots to learn about consumer behavior and what buying habits will look like. One thing we do know is that digital advertising is one of the best ways you can position your company now and in the future. We’d love to help you with that!