Well it’s been a volatile, turbulent and busy six weeks. As the cost-of-living crisis continues, customers will change their spending habits. From cutting down on TV streaming services to foregoing a favourite coffee at their local café, people are expecting to significantly change their spending patterns when it comes to non-essential items over the next 12 months. Businesses similarly will be cutting down on non-essential services, the nice to haves but not necessary. We’ll be looking closer at what we spend and where we spend it across the board.
Value. Value. Value.
When I’m speaking to people the one word that comes up more often than any other is value, I just want value for money. We understand that costs and prices have risen across the board, everywhere. Even if you shop around in most cases you’ll find the prices are very similar because everyone's costs have gone up.
That’s why it’s critical that in your sales and marketing you clearly communicate and focus on the value you are offering. Whilst consumers will likely spend less, anything they do purchase will be given much more consideration. People are less likely to make spur-of-the-moment purchases, meaning they’ll be researching products online and searching for the best deals.Clearly communicate your offering, it’s value, the results and benefits it offers customers. If you make this difficult to find or difficult to understand you will lose customers.
5 Steps you can take to continue to win new customers
- Focus on the products and services you offer that are most likely to sell now. Those that will be needed even more now and those that your customers get the greatest value from.
- Increase your visibility. This is the time when customers are reviewing what they spend their money on and researching alternative options. Make sure they find you. Consistent, regular posts on social media is your first step, along with email marketing and then digital marketing.
- Don’t stop marketing - OK I would say that but it really will give you a competitive edge at a time when many other companies will stop or significantly reduce their marketing, especially online. During the pandemic we saw big opportunities for companies who continued their online marketing campaigns as there was far less competition. It is worth however, reviewing your current marketing strategy to focus your attention on optimising your marketing campaigns to cut unnecessary spend.
- Market to existing customers - an often overlooked strategy. Make sure your customers feel loved, share content and products that might compliment or enhance previous purchases. Are there upsells that would add value?
- Build credibility. This is the time to get customers reviews, create new case studies, and get customer video reviews. These credibility pieces make the difference between winning new customers and watching your leads drop off.
