Creative ways businesses are adapting to a rapidly changing world

Even large companies are finding new ways to keep revenue flowing. For example, French luxury giant LVMH and mass brewer Anheuser Busch have shifted production away from perfume and beer to make hand sanitizer.

Many smaller businesses in the restaurant and fitness industries have created online video channels to give cooking classes and stream workouts to their customers.

We love getting inspiration from our MailerLite experts and customers, so we decided to ask them if they were doing anything new to deal with these challenging times. Take a look!

Stay positive and share your experience

MailerLite expert: Megan Schuett, The Savvy Marketing Co

A majority of my clients are photographers and creative entrepreneurs. Their job and livelihood revolve around providing services to clients in person, and right now that is not possible. 

While I am pivoting my business to help clients with what they can do to make income right now, in turn, I'm teaching my clients to do the same. How can they differentiate their income and stay afloat during this time of uncertainty?

Think about all of the business owners that need to continue making income but have no idea where to take their business. How can you support them through this time with your service or product offerings? Also, think of all the people who have been laid off from their jobs and are looking to start their own business and need the help your business offers! 

I want to encourage each of us to continue building our brand and posting content that delivers on a human-to-human level. 

Now, more than ever, you can relate to your audience on a personal level because we are all going through similar experiences. Sharing your experiences with your audience will only help build that trust factor.

Provide something that is needed

MailerLite expert: Vicky Shilling, The Wellness Entrepreneur Coach

Keep asking people what they need from you at this time and respond by providing those tips, services and offerings. Find ways to make it as easy as possible for people to give you feedback, such as using polls, quizzes and surveys. 

Knowing you’re providing something that is needed will give you the motivation to keep going. From a marketing standpoint, engage fully using different digital channels. Don’t just passively watch. It’s so easy in a situation like this to just consume instead of creating.

Even if you can’t figure out yet what to create, join other conversations. Leave comments, share other useful content and be fully present on social media.

Focus on help, value and brand awareness

MailerLite expert: Arpi T., API Studios

This is an opportunity to gain awareness, build up your client base and reach out to people. At API Studios, we choose to focus on email marketing because it is the most effective way to stay in touch with our clients and new prospects. The best marketing focuses on help, value and brand awareness. 

Transparency with our customers: Be transparent about what your business is going through. Customers can empathize with brands facing similar situations.

Shift strategy to online: Engage on social media, put your email list to good use or try video to reach new leads.

Show your website some love: Optimize your website. Make your site the lead magnet it needs to be. It’s an important asset during this time.

Using content to leverage your business: Create valuable content for your readers. A stream of reliable, authoritative, interesting content published on your blog or website can help prospects put their trust in your brand.

Augment your blogs articles with video

MailerLite expert: Bob Taylor, QeInbox

While we regularly publish blogs and infographics that educate our customers about branding through email marketing, we are trying different creative ideas for greater reach. We create visually attractive flashcards of our blog that lists out the key takeaways. Additionally, we are leveraging the effectiveness of informational videos to drive traffic.

As more people are opting to surf the digital world, people will be looking for resources to spend time. People may want to learn something new or train a new skill. Leverage the demand by creating informative and explainer videos. The more value addition you contribute, the more chances are your content to be referred amongst peers.

Remember that what you share on social media or any other digital channels can instigate a strong emotion. Be careful about what you share. Never use the crisis as a marketing ploy and do not create content around it unless people depend on it.

Engage people where they are

MailerLite expert: Jenni Bush, Business coach

I am supporting my clients as best I can through this. Now is a time to audience build and pivot! A lot of entrepreneurs have been thinking of ways they can grow their business online but haven't made a move to make it happen yet and now is the time to do so.

I am using email marketing and social media more, including going LIVE on social media to find out how my audience is so I can create better content. I also put out some podcasts to help them and use Zoom to host virtual meet-ups for those feeling isolated at this time.

Email marketing helps me direct my audience to all this new content.

Prepare your business to be better

MailerLite expert: Charmaine Lee, Sky Digital Agency 

This is the best time to prepare ourselves for digital disruption. Invest in yourself! Learn new skills. Many people tell us they do not have time, but now they do. 

For example, if you want to create videos for your business, now is the time to get better at filming, editing and curating videos.

Take this opportunity to work on projects you’ve put off. At our agency, we have been wanting to launch our online courses since 2016. Now we have time to do it. We need to prepare ourselves and position our businesses to be ready to move when the opportunity comes.

Give away something helpful

MailerLite customer: Roland and Galina Denzel, Eat. Move. Live. 52

Roland and Galina Denzel are health, nutrition and movement coaches. They specialize in helping people make small lifestyle changes that add up to big results. During the current health situation, they decided to dial back their sales messaging and give away their Unstress Your Body program to everyone who needs it. Galina is also a trauma therapist, so she decided to provide free mindfulness practices too. 

Provide offers that ease the current environment

MailerLite customer: Cat Johnson, Romance author

Cat Johnson and her community of other authors are spreading the word about their free reads or “free with subscription” reads so people can remain occupied and distracted reading for free. She acknowledges that paid sales are suffering, but hopefully, in the end, she wins some new fans who will become paying readers in the future. 

Start a new type of online business 

MailerLite customer: Slaven Jo Vujic, Marketing specialist

Slaven is a professional marketing blogger who mostly targets the publishing industry. He has taken the “free book” model to another level by creating a new site GainReads.com. This timely service hosts free and discounted books across all genres during this time of physical distancing.

Takeaways to help you adapt 

1. Even small changes help. Update your website, rethink your digital media and stay active on social media.

2. Meet people’s new needs. Priorities have changed. Find out what your subscribers need from your business and then deliver it to them the best you can.

3. Focus on your brand. If you can’t sell during this time, focus your energy on gaining more subscribers, building awareness and staying top-of-mind.

4. Share your experience. People are in similar situations. Your honest assessment of your situation will resonate with others. Be empathetic and sensitive to what you share.

5. Stay positive. There is already too much negativity on social media and in the news. Don’t use your marketing power to add to the crisis. Instead, stay positive and optimistic about the future.

Is your business adapting in new ways? We want to hear your stories!