Chart your course: whether it is digital marketing, coronavirus messaging, or how to have a safe in-person meeting, we are focused on getting it right for now. In Part 4 of our FREE webinar series, we have prepared a whole new session for you. We are bringing in a guest presenter, Jane Meagher, President of Success Strategies. She will discuss how to keep your existing customers moving forward in the process and even utilize the design center innovations as selling tools for now.

If you missed this webinar, you can watch it here!

Our topics this week are:

• What should you be tracking from all your digital marketing efforts, your online appointment conversion, and your sales team’s efforts right now
• Email marketing: does it still work in this selling environment?
• What are some of the ways that marketers and communicators can add value right now?
• If leads are slower (they aren’t everywhere), what should your OSC and Sales Team be doing right now?
• Safety First: You can still conduct important meetings, such as your design center session, and start new prospects and sales relationships, but you have to approach it differently.
• Expanded open forum for you to ASK THE EXPERTS! Come prepared with your questions and challenges. Let’s solve this TOGETHER!

Panelists:

Carol Morgan, Founder, and President of Denim Marketing
Leah Kaiz Fellows, Founder and Online Sales Counselor Trainer of Blue Gypsy, Inc.
Kimberly Mackey, Founder, and Sales & Marketing Management Consultant of New Homes Solutions Consulting
MODERATOR: Kelly Ann Zuccarelli, SVP, National Builder, Renovation & Condo Program Manager with Wells Fargo Home Mortgage
Special Guest: Jane Meagher, Success Strategies

Consumer behavior is changing daily, and marketers want to know how can they best help. Well luckily for us, Google has data that gives us very high-level insight into what people are concerned about based on their Google searches. For a deeper dive, read Consumer Insights’ Coronavirus Needs.

1. Consumers want to know how to get the things they need. This includes information on what is open, when it is open, best times to go to the grocery store, what items you can freeze, home delivery and even mortgage forgiveness. As a brand, you can update your website, blog, social media (including your Google My Business page) to keep folks informed.
2. People are discovering new connections and nurturing relationships. This can be virtually or in person within their household. There has been a rise in “with me” videos on YouTube for instance. People creating this content are asking others to “cook with me” or “study with me” or “shop with me.” Your kids may be connecting with others over multiplayer video games. And, I have personally participated in several virtual birthday parties and happy hours. Search for “virtual happy hour” is on the upswing! Your company can look for ways to connect with customers and find ways to enhance their shared experiences.
3. Changing routines because of social distancing means that some people are socially isolated. Google search for “do it yourself” is peaking midday on the weekend. And, workout enthusiasts are searching for equipment online or virtual classes. People are enjoying content made on the fly, meaning production value has taken a back seat. Popular shows like Tiger King and Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert’s homemade late night shows are trending. Businesses can adjust to people’s lack of a routine. This is something we are doing well in the homebuilding industry by providing links to virtual tours, videos and other content that can be consumed 24/7. Continue publishing content as consumers want a break from nonstop COVID-19 coverage and are interested in infotainment and content that promotes wellness.
4. Praise and thank everyday heroes. All you have to do is look on Facebook to see the growing appreciation for the heroes working hard to keep us healthy and fed. Take time to thank your family, team members and those in the community who are making the world a better place. You can do this as a company, too.

And, for this week’s webinar questions! Here are a few.

Q. What should you be tracking?

A. Everything, literally all of your digital marketing. Track everything. In a previous blog post, Marketing ROI for the C-Suite, I cover this in depth. Below are some ideas of what you should be tracking in your marketing program:

• Leads & Qualified Leads
• Website
  • Traffic – organic, social, paid, etc.
  • Time on site – overall, individual pages, where do they spend the most time? Has this changed?
  • Top landing pages
  • Top content
  • Top blog posts
  • Top products
  • Completed contact forms – last month, this month, how many abandoned, etc.
  • Downloads – home plans, brochures, driving directions – maybe not so much now unless you have NterNow or another unassisted access way to enter the homes.
  • UX, heat map, etc
  • And more, depending on what your key performance indicators are or depending on where you are spending money and your goals.
• Email Marketing
  • Click rate, open rate, click through, unsubscribe, complaint, bounce, forward/share, etc.
• Advertising
  • Results, leads, clicks, goals
• Social Media
  • On the native site, on any app or scheduler AND in Google Analytics – what is it doing onsite and what is it doing on your website.
• Other things to measure – events, promotions and SEO

Q. What are some ways that marketers and communicators can add value during this crisis?

A: There are lots of was to add value. Here are a few:

• Be available – traditional office hours do not apply,
• Give advice – proactively help others. This positions you well for the future when ‘normal’ returns. I feel compelled to add that the only normal in my life is on an appliance, and only one appliance at that. My Bosch dishwasher actually has a normal setting!
• Continue to communicate via social, blogging and public relations. Everyone wants to read good news.
• Ensure that strategic communications run smoothly.

Q. What can we do to plan for the future?

A: Just starting to think about what happens next is a positive step. Envision the end of the crisis and start to put plans in place.

• Continue to prepare for that next promotion or campaign. Have it ready to run when the time is right.
• Update the crisis communications plan, or create one if you don’t have one.
• Create an industry-wide rescheduling document of events – parades of homes, conferences, etc., and share it.
• Review, Revise and Implement – determine what you need to continue to communicate to key stakeholders and audiences and what (if anything) you can pause.
• Look at new technology – if you don’t have virtual plans, now is the time to add them or budget for them. They are going to be the norm, not the exception when we go back to “normal.”

As you chart your course, remember that we are all in this together. Please feel free to comment on what you’d like us to cover in our next webinar. Also, share your success stories in the comments, I’d love to hear them and share them with others.

Finally, if I can help your business or organization with crisis marketing or digital marketing, give me a call at 770-383-3360, ext. 20 or contact me through this website.