How to win in business during a pandemic.

If you’re reading this in the future, the date is the 6th April 2020 and we are in the middle of a global pandemic. I’m really glad you survived.

Of all the sentences I never anticipated I’d have to write, that is surely one of them. Seriously, who could have predicted the madness we are living through right now?

And yet, for all the craziness and horrendous stories of businesses calling in the administrators (never mind the human loss), there are some real stories of triumph and - frankly - BONKERS success that we are seeing right now.

Now clearly if you have a brick and mortar store, this doesn’t apply - BUT if you can take your product online… read on.

In my agency SOUP. where we work exclusively with E-com, product businesses, we are seeing metric costs lower than I have seen for years. 

Clicks that would normally cost ￡1 are costing under 10p, CPMs of ￡20 are down to ￡5, and of course all of this has a direct impact on how much you are paying to acquire a customer into your business - in some cases we are seeing a 70% reduction in overall acquisition costs.

Which means one thing - more profit for you!

So that’s the agency side, but what about small businesses running their own ads? Well in The Ecom Growth Hub, we are seeing unbelievable pockets of results, with 20 - 30X ROAS (return on ad spend) for some and demand so high that others have had to reduce budget or switch ads off periodically.

So, how do we find success in business during a global pandemic:

1. The shops are closed, so people HAVE to shop online. This means you have a pretty captive audience, if you have what they want - and they know you sell it - they will buy. Which brings me on to my next point.,..
2. Have a useful, entertaining or practical product. There are a very specific set of needs that people are looking to fulfil right now, and they aren’t what they were a few weeks ago.
3. If you sell it, make sure they know you do! The best way to go about this is using paid social (Facebook ads) and email marketing. Stay in touch and stay front of mind.
4. Speak to your customer’s pain points. As with point number 2, their pain points have changed and unless you are addressing them directly, they will probably find somewhere else to shop.
5. Be open and transparent about how you are addressing the situation - tell them how you are remaining open while respecting social distancing and looking after the safety of your staff and customers.
6. Look after yourself. I am seeing business owners running themselves into the ground while muttering ‘make hay while the sun shines’. Remember that without you, there is no business, so prioritise yourself and remember why you’re in business in the first place.

In summary, there are huge wins to be had out there. Advertising real estate is plentiful as budgets are pulled which means that the costs have plummeted across the board. 

You can take advantage of that and providing you have a product that is relevant right now, will win - just make sure you don’t lose yourself in the process.