All across the country, businesses have had to adjust to the new normal of the Covid-19 pandemic. Not only have they had to adopt new procedures in order to meet local and state health guidelines or in many cases, change their entire business model.
Restaurants have had to shift from dine-in to a reliance on take-out or home delivery. But restaurants aren’t the only ones effected by these “essential business” designations. Gyms, spas, nail and hair salons, airlines and hospitality industries have been particularly hit hard.
Many retailers, like Walmart or Target, or DIY home improvement stores like Home Depot and Lowes, or any of the big box stores like Sams, Costco and BJ’s have seen a huge uptick in business during the pandemic.
Conversely, many small boutiques have had to adopt an online eCommerce strategy or shudder their doors.
According to Yelp, 55% of businesses have shut down for good, due to COVID-19. According to Justin Norman, Vice President of Data Science at Yelp, When you look at those two top categories [retail and restaurants], we’re potentially never going to see some of these businesses again.”
COVID-19 has caused enormous disruptions to supply chains and negative impact to the economy. Now, more than ever, business owners face unprecedented challenges. The pandemic and its aftermath are going to continue to cause major disruptions for businesses across the country while changing consumer buying behavior.
Most local businesses which have traditionally been dependent on foot traffic, word-of-mouth and social media marketing to promote their small business. Because of the shelter-in-place orders, many of these businesses have seen a major drop in foot traffic and word-of-mouth recommendations.
Businesses today have or are going through three stages of response to these unprecedented market conditions. Those stages include stabilizing your company, reopening your workplace and finally, growing your business as they prepare for the “New Normal.”
With so many consumers sheltering-in-place and working from home, digital use has spiked higher than ever before.
Not only has Internet usage hit all-time highs so has online marketing. Businesses of all sizes have had to shift their marketing strategies to reach consumers at the right place and time. In order to reach home-bound consumers, traditional marketing such as a billboards, radio and word-of-mouth have transitioned to digital. Not only have we seen a tremendous growth in ad spend in OTT (Over-The-Top), paid search and programmatic we’ve also seen the ads themselves adapt to the “New Normal” showing consumers and employees wearing mandatory face coverings,
Amplify believes in a more human approach to advertising. Let us demonstrate how you can reduce wasted ad spend and time to conversion by implementing an omni-channel strategy that amplifies your SEO, Paid Search, Content and Programmatic strategies. If you would like to learn more about shifting your marketing strategies to grow your marketshare and bottom line, let’s have a conversation.
