Learn the most effective ways to shepherd your brand through the current crisis with these three tips!

Welcome back to another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car. We hope this video finds you well.

As the nation weathers the pandemic, and the likely economic downturn to follow, it’s difficult to know what to do with your business.

Today, we’re going to talk about some of the ways you can continue to support your brand through these troubled times.

• Don’t cut your marketing budget

You’re probably going to be looking for a few places to cut costs. Don’t start with marketing.

You’re probably thinking, why not? Sales are going to drop off anyway and you can coast a bit on the money you already spent.

A 2008 study on digital marketing found that while cutting your marketing budget will save in the short term, you’ll be doing long term damage to your brand. Businesses who continued to spend money on marketing were able to bounce back far more quickly than those who didn’t in past downturns. On top of that, the value spent building brand and staying front of mind during that time pays dividends when it comes to profit. This is especially true when looked through a long-term return on marketing investment lens.

Source: https://effworks.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/MEDIA_IN_FOCUS_FINAL_PDF_909.pdf

Look at it this way: lots of businesses are cutting their marketing budgets. So if you don’t, you’ll be getting a larger share of the attention without having to spend a fortune. And when we start coming back, your dealership is at the top of everyone’s list.

• Pay attention to the language you use

In times like these, something as simple as word choice can be incredibly important. For example, no one wants to hear about anything going “viral,” even if it is a fun video about an adorable owl that thinks it’s a tiger.

Even if you’re not directly discussing the pandemic, be aware of the kinds of words you use. Words that convey success and hope are good: challenge, contribute, respond. Words that imply a sense of profiteering should be avoided: capitalize, advantage, profit.

While it’s tough to know where specific cases fall, do your best to be as kind and sensitive as possible. No one needs another source of stress right now.

• Web traffic is increasing

With everyone stuck at home, it’s no surprise that more people are online. Whether they’re browsing the web or streaming Netflix, the internet is helping to maintain our connections, our businesses, and our sanity.

This means two things. One: now is not the time to cut back there. Two: the increased traffic puts more strain on connections. If your site takes a long time to load, it’s taking even longer now. If you’re going to redesign the site, now might be the time to streamline it.

That’s all the time we have for today’s workshop. As always, if you have any questions or comments, leave them below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can. Thanks for watching.

We’ll see you next week for another Wednesday Workshop from Happy Hao Car.

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