Does Working From Home Mean Shopping From Home?
COVID-19 has put everyone on edge. Millions are hunkering down indoors to help do their part to flatten the curve and everywhere we look we’re seeing signs that the economy is suffering as a result. This rightfully has many business owners feeling nervous not only about their personal health but also about the long term health of their brands. This fear is not unfounded, but it’s not the whole picture - especially if your business in e-commerce.
Data is at the core of our business here at FieldTest. We follow our client’s campaign performance very closely and while we were more than prepared to see a drop in digital sales, we’ve actually seen a surprising uptick! It turns out that while the public is locked down they are spending more time online shopping not just for basic essentials but for comfort and impulse items as well.
This isn’t just our observation, either. Adobe analyzed consumer trends and have seen a 25% increase in digital sales activity in the recent weeks with E-Grocery orders rising as much a 2x from previous numbers. This is great news if you’re a digital marketer! This week we’ll go through a few trends and tips to not only help your brand survive but thrive in this new digital commerce landscape.
Keep your full funnel operating
As soon as the lockdown order occured one of the big questions we began to receive was “what ads should we keep running?” - the answer is all of them. We understand that now is a difficult time for many companies and their customers, but with people browsing more than ever you won’t want to miss this opportunity to bet eyes on your brand. We’ve covered the full funnel marketing approach in the past, so keep this in mind while making your advertising decisions. For example, now is a great time to up your awareness budget and create content that will help keep you top of mind while your customers are seeking a distraction from their new quarantine routines. This will lead them down to your consideration and action creatives and ultimately influence a final sale, bolstered by their already increased likelihood to purchase. Now is not the time to decrease your advertising budgets and retreat from your customers, it is among the best to go after them!
Customize new creatives
With your ad spend still continuing and your customers more active than ever, now is a great time to roll out some new creatives that speak to their concerns and needs. As much as we would like to just ignore the current situation and have it go away, we’ve seen the best results from clients who lean into an understanding that their customers are locked down and looking for some comfort. We already consider action phase sales creative to be part of our best practices, but now is the perfect time to cut your customers a break and offer them a slight discount on your products. Not only will they be more likely to purchase at greater volumes than in campaigns without discounts, they will remember your brand as one that cares about their concerns and will be more likely to become repeat customers. We also have seen brands perform well using language specific to these consumer needs. CBD brands have an especially easy time with this as we’ve seen several brands drive increasing conversions using language that centers feelings like ‘calm, focus, relaxation, and healing’. By using language that helps comfort and reassure your customers you’ll help build a lasting brand relationship that will lead to new repeat customers.
Don’t downplay placements
With the world changing as fast as it is people are following the news closer than ever. Independent research groups are reporting an over 60% increase for news sites while Verizon has reported a 20% increase in total web traffic overall. This is a huge opportunity for digital advertisers and is especially great for those using the FieldTest digital ad platform. We’ve built our platform on top of a network that ensures that your ads are published wherever your customers browse, including top news sites like NBC, CNN, Vox, Yahoo News, and more. Brands can rest easy knowing that when they begin a digital ad campaign with FieldTest their ads will be served on premium publishers, above the fold, and only to those intenders they have specifically chosen. With so many people online, now is the perfect time to begin your campaign.
Don’t give up, things look good for digital brands!
We are in the midst of a new frontier in e-commerce and while it won’t be permanent, it will resonate long after it’s over. Your customer will remember the product that reached out to them right as they needed them most and you will feel the security of knowing that your business can weather even the toughest storms. With the right marketing strategy and the right tools for the job we know you’ll succeed. The FieldTest digital ad platform was designed to help you make changes on the fly, adding and dropping ads as the needs of your brand and your customers develop and change. There’s never been a better time to sign up and start your digital ad campaign than right now.