How are you holding up these days?
I feel you. In this time of crisis which feels like the apocalypse, I want to share with you my crisis family story that has a lesson that we can apply today.
April 30, 1975. Vietnam War. The day before the fall of Saigon. My army father was at the US Embassy trying to get news of what is going on, while artillery shelling had shut down the streets and he had no way back home to my mother and sister. As the shelling was getting closer than ever, US helicopters were lifting crowds of people from the embassy roof and it was the ONLY way out. The shelling scared people, it sounded like it was feet away and many people froze in place.
My father had field experience and by sound, he instinctively knew how far danger actually was. While everyone ducked and froze, he RAN towards the helicopter and boarded. He was one of the last groups of people lifted from the Embassy. His brave, take-action approach was the first step to our family story reuniting in the US.
March 2020. Social distancing is suddenly the Law of the Land. When things change, you will not survive if you panic and become stagnant.
You need to hyper focus, access the landscape, and get your action plan together to best position your expertise in the Digital Economy.
As a full service marketing agency and an IT professional that has run online global teams for 22 years, I am more dedicated than ever to providing tools and resources to help your digital business thrive.
To make sure you get off to a productive start, here are a few pointers to keep you competitive and evolving along with the digital era:
1. Figure Out Your Financial Impact.
From the current news in California, we are told that this can be a 3 month shutdown. Carve out some time and figure out what 3 months looks like for your business and personal expenses. Then you need to think about how you are going to cover these expenses… (leading us into point 2)
2. What market problem are you solving?
Define your customer’s main problem and how you solve their problem, then think of new ways to deliver a solution to your customers. (Listen to this Storybrand podcast to help you flush this out)
Companies that have previously been successful with in-person for example, can instead offer (free or premium) education for DIY or online consults (Zoom video calls). My daughter’s taekwondo school is able to maintain subscriptions by running Zoom meetings with live workouts for all of the same classes that were traditionally on the schedule. Win-win because I have a virtual babysitter, she is getting attendance credit towards her black belt, and her TKD school can keep the lights on!
Should you feel lost and lack inspiration, it may be helpful to research marketing tactics of other players in your industry. My business partner, Natalie Jill, started an awesome thread on how to transition what you do while working from home.
3. Focus on Increasing your Audience over Revenue Right Now.
In a moment when the whole world was forced to migrate online, you have an unparalleled opportunity to expand your audience and build meaningful connections for later sales.
A beautiful example of this is Funk DJ and instagram star @dnice, who had all his tour events cancelled due to COVID-19. Missing the audience rush, he resorted to IG Lives to bump rocking sets (up to 9h in length!), and went from 290K to 1.5m followers in less than a week. During a moment of darkness, he collectively lifted the internet’s spirits and had people dancing from their homes, with 150K people tuning in at any time to the virtual dance party.
While we all can’t be @dnice, take a note from his playbook of just giving value, interacting with your audience, and building relationships. Check in with your clients and talk via video. Make people laugh, post helpful, and free content. Even post content that has nothing to do with COVID, just to loosen up the anxiety that everyone has.
Keep in mind, goodwill is most remembered in times of great need!
4. Re-evaluate your Online Presence
“Most people (and businesses) will stagnate or regress in this time. The opportunity is to be correctly positioned in the market for when this is over, and the economy floods with activity again.” – Don Miller, StoryBrand CEO
Realistically, the people who are going to win during this time are those who have a Sales Funnel in place. Sales funnels are the fastest, leanest way to pull your business out of a recession, and with all other marketing channels cut, it’s the most important remaining tool to get back and stay on your feet.
It’s pretty magical: Sales funnels can deliver incredible free value (give and build trust), immediately follow up with your offers, and automatically shoot out ongoing email communication to nurture your new connections.
A sales funnel is a strategic way to lead potential customers to a specific goal, by maintaining their interest all the way from an attractive point of entry to the ultimate sale. One such entry point can be a Facebook ad directing people to your website, followed by an enticing freebie offer or 10% product discount in return for the visitor’s email. Once you have them in the sales funnel, you can follow up with strategic messages to maintain interest and ultimately drive them to a sale.
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We hope you found these tips valuable, and in the spirit of kinship encourage you to share the inspiration with a fellow entrepreneur who needs it going forward.
If you need help to grow your impact with a Clear Message, reshape your online image, and craft a powerful sales marketing strategy, book a free consult call and let’s connect.
