Reconnect With Your Customers

Reconnect With Your Customers

Operating a business in a post-COVID environment has been fraught with unprecedented challenges for business owners.  According to Alignable Rent, 35% of small businesses owners reported that they couldn’t make rent in December. And for minority-owned businesses, nearly half (49%) report that they unable to cover their rent.  

For those businesses fortunate enough not to be in this precarious position, keeping your brand top of mind has to be your top priority as new lockdowns are being imposed across the country. There is little doubt that the average American consumer is afraid—and there is plenty reason to be. U.S. jobless claims have surged to it’s highest in almost as a second surge of lockdowns have begun to spread across the country.(o)  We are already seeing buying patterns shift as cleaning supplies, paper towels and toilet paper demands are spiking, wiping out inventory despite retailers trying to impose limit purchases.  The media’s constant doom and gloom coverage over COVID-19 has taken its toll on the American psyche.

A Case Study In the Making

The reality of this post-COVID economy is causing marketers to scratch their collective heads.  Driven by a personal survival instinct not to be caught flat-footed again, consumers are breaking their normal purchasing routines and shopping methods.

So To Has Their Form Of Media

Consumers shifted their purchases to essential goods, the daily time spent consuming all forms of media has increased by more than 1 hour per day.  According to eMarketer, mobile usage among American adults has risen by 70% a day.

One Step Forward, One Step Back

Deloitte recently published a report that was measuring consumer anxiety about their shopping and dinning out experiences. Deloitte was seeing small positive signs but the gains but the road to recovery was going to be slow.  Consumers are facing a dual-front crisis on a personal and financial front.  Several weeks ago, Tulsi Gabbard, a senator from Hawaii and former Democratic presidential candidate released legislation that would redirect excess profits from multinational corporations that were allowed to remain open during the lockdowns to small businesses.  Known as the Pandemic Crisis Excess Profits Tax would ensure companies like Amazon, Facebook, Walmart are not profiting off economic shutdowns.  While we shouldn’t hold our collective breath to see this legislation pass, there is precedent.  During World War I and World War II corporations were taxed similarly so they wouldn’t profiteer during the wars.

“Small businesses are the backbone of our economy and have borne the brunt of this crisis,” Gabbard said. “We need to support our small businesses and make sure they are able to thrive and compete.”‍

One study found that 800 small businesses are closing a day. According to Yelp, roughly 163,735 businesses closed between April and September in 2020. Contrast this to the gains Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, who increased his own personal wealth by nearly $72.5 billion in 2020, while Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook increased his wealth by $26.3 billion.

COVID-19 Effect On Consumer Behavior

A survey by Numerator revealed that consumers are still hesitant to resume indoor social activities.  85% of consumers said their shopping behavior had been impacted by Coronavirus.  Are these results founded on science or the fear propagated by the news media?  The reality of this post-COVID economy has made online delivery and click-and-collect (curbside delivery) services a viable option for businesses to demonstrate that their customers safety is important to them.  The reality is, the economic impact of COVID-19 and the shelter-in-place heath mandates has changed the way consumers purchase.  

Interested In Learning More?

We understand the challenges small businesses are facing. If you would like to learn more about shifting your marketing strategies to grow your marketshare and bottom line, let’s have a conversation.  Stay informed to receive our Marketing Matters White Paper Series and Newsletter.

WUNDERWORX provides the power of real-time compliant programmatic advertising across all devices and media, leveraging sophisticated geo-spatial audience building technology from our easy-to-use platform.  Let us demonstrate how programmatic, paid search and SEO can reduce wasted ad spend and time to conversion.

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