Changing your marketing strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic might seem counterproductive to business owners struggling to make ends meet. However, there are benefits to driving awareness of your business and keeping your brand top-of-mind with local consumers – at least according to the experts at Roots Marketing.
“There’s a classic story about Kellogg’s and Post during the Depression,” said Fred Scheuer, founder of Roots Marketing. “Kellogg’s became the dominant cereal in the market coming out of the Depression, because they continued to advertise while Post reined in their expenses. With this in mind, now is the time for companies to stay top of mind. The companies that continue to market will get through and achieve success.”
Roots Marketing is an example of what can happen when a company takes an aggressive approach to a tough economy. The Guelph-based marketing company has recently rebranded its operation and expanded its capabilities, hiring new staff including sales representative David Leveille and growing its menu of marketing services to include things like a network of video marketing platforms, web site creation, and content development. At its core, however, Roots Marketing is a company that strives to help other businesses develop solid marketing strategies by developing customized solutions.
“What we do is listen to determine what their resources are and then identify what the gaps are in their marketing,” explained Scheuer. “Then we come up with the right solutions required to fill those gaps.”
For example, Scheuer and his team are currently working with a company that has been engaging in a variety of traditional marketing initiatives. They turned to Roots Marketing to help determine additional strategies that could help them grow.
“What we determined was they needed help with specific services, such as developing video and email marketing,” said Scheuer. “We’re all about flexible solutions and we were able to customize a plan that met their needs.”
The explosion of digital marketing platforms has opened up a world of opportunity for businesses looking to market and increase their brand awareness. However, not everyone is quick to embrace new technology, and Scheuer said that’s a problem for businesses that continue to hold on to antiquated marketing strategies.
“It still boggles my mind that some people have not embraced digital,” he said. “I’m meeting with a company this week that has never done a Google campaign. There are definitely laggards out there that are still old school. I have met with companies that have done nothing but coupon clippers for 25 years. Most people now are online shopping and researching. It’s one of the reason’s why video marketing is so important.”
The proliferation of inbound marketing choices can make it hard for business owners trying to take positive steps toward modernizing their marketing. It’s even more of a challenge during a pandemic, where cautious optimism means marketing budgets are growing at a snail’s pace if at all. However, Scheuer said he has one piece of advice for businesses trying to develop an effective marketing strategy to help get them through the COVID crisis.
“Identify who your best clients are, depending on your company size it could be a top five,” he said. “Every kind of marketing you do you should be engaging your top clients. Those are the ones that make you happy and excited to work with, and eventually will be the ones that refer your business due to quality services provided by your company. They’re the one that refer your business. Everything I build for my clients is built around their top clients.”
Companies looking to improve their marketing can connect with Roots Marketing online at Rootsmarketing.ca.