Because of a good marketing strategy, when a potential customer is researching a specific service or product, your business is more likely to come to mind. Even when your customers are just browsing online or on social media, your marketing strategy can bear excellent fruit.

With the increase of online users during the pandemic, it is important to feed your existing and potential customers with what they need.

Why should you adapt your marketing strategy?

People's thoughts about the future changes every few hours. Your customers are worried about new things every day. You won't be able to continue with your marketing strategy as it was planned in your annual marketing meeting.

The world has changed, and you need to change your marketing strategy with it. Your audience hasn’t necessarily changed, but what they care about and what they focus on, surely did.

Like any other time, if your marketing is not relevant to your target market, it won't deliver results.

Go back to the drawing board. Identify opportunities and anticipate solutions to potential problems. Once you have figured out how to implement your marketing in uncertain times and adapted your marketing strategy, your performance will increase.

You need to stay on your toes and in your audience’s heads; what do they think, what do they need and what do they focus on?

Here is how some businesses and sectors have adapted their marketing strategies during these unpredictable times. They stepped into the moment as a person and not as a business. They anticipated what their customers’ needs may be:

Burger King

With fast food and take away shops closed during this time, Burger King knows how people crave convenience food during stressful times. It shared the ingredients to one of their best-selling burgers to allow individuals to make their own 'Quarantine Burger' at home and still enjoy the comfort.

Professional chefs

Restaurants are restricted to operate during this time; however, some of the professional chefs from top restaurants are sharing their expertise on social media instead.

One of them, Food Ink, even offers online pantry sessions, where individuals can share their pantry ingredients with the chef and they create a recipe for for their audiences.

Online entertainment

Families are together at home all the time now, spending time catching up on their favorite series or watching movies on Netflix.

Individuals have increased their searches for ways on how to entertain themselves at home and what they can do in and around the house. With travel restrictions all over the world, some tourism companies are providing an answer to this and are taking a different approach to accommodate their clients' desires.

WildEarth is broadcasting game drives every day on YouTube, morning drives as well as afternoon drives. They have more than 226 000 subscribers.

Individuals are taken on a virtual safari and search for the 'Big 5'; the professional guides explain everything that the viewer sees and even answers all the questions from the viewers as they drive. 

Online courses

With schools, universities and technikons closed, there are more searches for online courses. People want to upskill themselves and keep their families educated.

Pick n Pay is known for providing groceries but, instead of focusing on food, they are giving away free school education programmes. Microsoft is not focusing on selling software; it is now promoting online assistance on how teachers or lecturers can deliver online lessons and support remote learning.

Health and fitness

New Balance has shifted its focus immediately from manufacturing footwear to producing face masks for healthcare workers from materials that are available.

Going to the gym every day was part of many people's daily routine. Personal trainers are in constant contact with their clients, providing training programmes and online support.

Even those who aren't the 'going to the gym' type of person, is searching for ways to get a daily workout. Gym instructors are sharing daily live workouts that will keep individuals in shape, while at home.

Finance sectors

This is one of the toughest financial times that households will have to deal with. Not everyone knows how to calculate a monthly budget.

Accounting firms are not promoting their accounting services during this time; instead, they are sharing their knowledge on how to calculate your monthly living cost and tips on how to budget.

People need encouragement during difficult times. They need to have hope that things will be better soon. Don't ignore the current effects in the market but rather consider the needs and goals of your audience and rethink your strategy.

Sit back and look at what products or services you have to offer, how you can change your current product or service into something that can help everyone. Make it a bit easier or even just a bit more bearable.

People remember good advice or helpful hints offered during a time in their lives when they needed support; be the brand that they remember.