As social distancing continues and more people are displaced by the COVID-19 epidemic, it can be difficult to remain positive. It may feel like the world is ending around you, but fear not, we can get through this.
One of the best ways to cope with hardships, no matter what they bring, is to find a positive in the situation. From childhood, we learn that one of the best ways to learn is through failure and hardship. This statement is especially true when it comes to the current situation we are facing.
Finding a way that you can bring some positivity to your surroundings during a crisis will help ease your stress and anxiety that you may have been experiencing when thinking about the future.
Depending on the industry that your business is in, finding ways to move forward during this current crisis could be troublesome. Each industry has been impacted in different ways by the virus. This guide will be taking a deep look into how COVID-19 has hit the financial services industry, and what it means moving forward.
Take Time to Reflect
The financial sector, like most others, is operating in a limited capacity. While most sub-industries of the financial industry are deemed essential, it does not mean that they will be busy. With this lull in business, right now is the perfect time to take a deep look into your business and how it was operating before the COVID-19 situation arose.
As the first quarter of the new year just finished up, there is no better time to evaluate your company’s goals, key performance indicators (KPIs), customer retention, marketing efforts and more. Ask yourself some specific questions about how your business has been operating.
When reflecting on how your business has been doing, be sure to ask others around the organization as well. To get a better understanding of where your business stands, seek out the opinions of all your employees. The more opinions you can get, the better. To ensure that you get the true thoughts and opinions of your coworkers, try creating an anonymous survey.
As you construct your employee feedback survey, be sure to focus on every area of your business. After you gather all the answers from this questionnaire, take the time to study it. Comb over each and every answer so you can address exactly what your employees are suggesting.
Improve Your Brand’s Online Presence
It may seem odd, but right now is a great time to invest in your marketing efforts. As mentioned in another of our articles, experts estimate that internet use is up as much as 50% since the start of COVID-19. Justly put, people are home and they are consuming content.
With the world hyper-focused on the financial sector, your company should be able to take advantage of this added visibility. Seize the day.
Make sure your company makes an increased effort to improve brand image, marketing content and communication. Improving your online presence will not only improve your company’s visibility during COVID-19, but it will also help continue your business’s momentum after the crisis is over.
When improving your digital marketing efforts, be sure to address all phases of the marketing process. From strategy to execution and even in data collection, your team should not be taking any shortcuts.
[Related: Do’s & Don’ts for Marketing During the Coronavirus Crisis]
You may have to invest in new equipment or software, or you might even have to sign on a marketing agency to help conduct your marketing efforts. However, your company may not be ready to fund a whole new marketing campaign. A small business loan can help offset some of the added costs of marketing. These added funds will allow your company to improve its marketing efforts without cutting corners.
Strive to Keep Learning
As you can tell, we think right now is the perfect time to learn. Learn as much as you can about your business, your customers, your coworkers, your industry and anything else that you can. Knowledge is key, and while you have the time, take the time to add to your knowledge.
Take the time to learn from various marketing tools you use. This could be a great time to become Google Analytics certified, or to take learning tracks offered by programs like Salesforce, Pardot or Facebook Blueprint.
Besides just learning from classes, be sure to learn from your direct community as well. Poll your customers to see what they think about your business. Your customers could provide valuable insight into things you may be doing wrong, or right. After all, your customers are the most important part of the business.
Be a Shoulder to Lean On
Being in the financial industry, your business will need to be a beacon of hope for the community around you. Whether you are a community bank, CPA or financial advisor, you will be on the front lines making sure that people remain calm and optimistic for the future.
Communicate to your customers that your business is truly invested in the community that it serves. Be the shoulder that your community can lean on during this time of need.
Try to offer your current clients some sort of break on their current payments. If you can, push back their payment date, or even offer a discounted rate until they can make their payments again. Anything you can do to show that you care can help.
While you will not want to sensationalize the work you are doing in the community, try to convey all that you are doing to help through your social media channels. If you have a local success story, share it! Recent research has shown that emotional advertising is the most effective form of advertising. When establishing an emotional advertising effort, remember that you want to convey the story, not sensationalize the story.
At the end of the day, we are all in this together. As marketers, your main focus at work should be centered on providing true value to your customers. Keep your head up and keep moving forward.
