Lockdown was tough for many businesses, but it’s been a very different story for some – we’re sure it was a great boost to Laithwaite’s Wines when they experienced a 117% upsurge in new customers in March & April.
In the first of a two-part mini series, we’ll explore how businesses can thrive through their Google Ads advertising during the coming months.
Growing your business is exciting, rewarding and challenging in equal measure. At Climbing Trees, we’ve had a number of clients who have not only traded through the restrictive measures the government have put in place since March, but have actually experienced their best months of trading ever!
This is because they offered products which customers really needed at this time, they had the means to scale to meet increased demand, they were able to effectively communicate their offering to hordes of new customers, and changed strategy to seize the opportunities in a significantly altered marketplace.
But how can companies effectively market themselves to build on success as lockdown is eased? Here’s four steps to take:
Get Local With Bids and Messaging.
With eight out of ten people vowing to shop more locally from now on, now is the time to double down on location bid adjustment – you’ll want to reach out to those people closeby and remind existing customers you’re still here, and alert potential customers to your presence locally.
You’ll need to combine this with renewed messaging to highlight your business as a local retailer, producer or service provider – “Local Bristol Grocer” for example. And of course, letting people know you’re open and follow social distancing guidelines is going to be crucial as the pandemic continues during the winter months.
Re-Engage Patrons
Remarketing has always been a great way to retain customers, but with this thrust for local businesses, that’s even more the case now.
Try segmenting your audiences by how days since they last visited our site or made a purchase – 0-7, 8-30, and 31-90 day segments for example – to provide clarity in your bidding, offer, and messaging. Careful use of the promotion ad extension with discount codes could make all the difference.
Get On Trend
Everything seems to be changing so quickly, and that’s being reflected online – and not just in the explosion in ‘face covering’ searches. Check your search term report and see if the way and what customers are searching for is changing, you may find a niche to exploit or a gap in your keyword targeting. Use Google Trends to understand any local trends relevant to your organisation.
Revise Budgets
Many companies enjoyed a spike in demand during lockdown. While this has dropped off for most, there is likely to be increased demand in certain areas of your business which are part of long term change in buyer behaviour. You’ll need to allocate your budget accordingly.
Look at your search impression (lost) for each campaign and/or business area – you’ll want to close the gap as much as possible in those campaigns/areas which have been able to sustain increased demand.