On Friday, May 15th, MSG’s very own Nick Suino hosted a digital seminar on marketing in one of the toughest times in our lives.

The seminar was aimed at helping small and medium sized businesses in Ann Arbor, Michigan adapt their strategies for online marketing to an unprecedented situation.

There are times to serve and times to sell, and being able to tell the difference is hugely important to us as marketers. As things get back to normal, however, this distinction gets a little blurry. If you’re wondering how to survive and thrive during tough times, while still responsively serving your community, this presentation is for you!

The presentation sparked some great conversation and we’re providing a recording of the event on YouTube for everyone to check out!

However, if you don’t have the time to watch the whole thing, we’ve got you covered! Here are the highlights from “Marketing with Your Heart and Mind in the COVID Era!”

Recognizing Pain

Everyone is suffering in some way right now. Whether it’s emotional struggles, loss of jobs, or loss of purpose, the unfortunate reality is that most of this comes back to money. Recognizing this is the key to effective service and sales right now!

This means that as marketers, this is not the time to sit by! It might be tempting to bury your head in the sand, but you’ll be missing both opportunities to serve and sell!

However, serving and selling have to be done in the right way. This is a sensitive moment, and you don’t want to send out the wrong messaging!

The Opportunities

Right now, businesses owners and marketers need to recognize what opportunities there are.

As we see it, there are four major opportunities: sharing, serving, scaling, and yes—selling! Remember: these opportunities always exist, but during times like these, timing and execution are more important than ever in recognizing and acting on them!

• Sharing: Do you have useful information or data? Positive messages? You probably have more to share than you realize—get it out there!
• Serving: Just look around you and see what your community needs at this moment. Consider volunteering or charity donations. These bring you closer to the people you’re trying to reach!
• Scaling: As things ramp back up, are your competitors falling away? Look for opportunities to grow, improve, and innovate!
• Selling: Of course, selling is what we’re here for at the end of the day, but we believe in selling after you’ve looked for other opportunities as well! People value authenticity and trust, but there’s nothing wrong with identifying a real need, or offering your product where it truly helps!

The Dream

So, what’s the actual way forward? No one knows for certain what the world is going to look like in a month, but there are some principles you should keep in mind as you think about the future.

• Don’t rush your customer! Nothing turns a customer off of you or your brand more than tone-deafness. Be understanding right now, and focus on building authentic relationships that last beyond the transaction. A little kindness and recognition can turn into a much longer, and mutually beneficial, relationship!
• Describe benefit extension. Your audience may need a little extra convincing these days. Make sure to educate them of the potential benefits of dealing with you. Remember: be honest! No one is going to believe that you’ll single handedly revolutionize their life, but if there are realistic benefits to emphasize, then by all means, do it!
• Have consequences for inaction. You should provide your customers with carrots—lots of them—but you also need a stick! Tell the story of similar customers who missed out, their regrets, and what they could have done differently in order to benefit from your service!

These are only a couple—for more, check out the full video of our seminar, or download our free resource we’re providing!

After the event, there was a great Q&A sessions as well, with business owners from all over SE Michigan sharing their stories and questions.

Michigan SEO Group is your go-to for online marketing in Ann Arbor, Michigan. For more information, check out our recent article on tips for zoom meetings, or this article on the importance of social media for your business!