THE EMPATHETIC MARKETING : NEW WAY TO MARKET ONLINE

 COVID-19 HAS CHANGED THE WAY WE FUNCTION

With limited activity out of home, Indians are highly involved in reading, contributing and influencing on social media. According to Nielsen, the total volume of Covid-19 related conversations reached 22.3 million on March 24 in the country.

“Nielsen -Market research firm said social media volume saw a whopping 50 times surge between January and March 20 in India in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic.“

A senior official of the firm noted that social media buzz picked up from 0.4 million in January and 1.6 million in February to a staggering 20.3 million till March 24.

This definitely calls for the right kind of online marketing – The Empathetic Marketing.

What is Empathetic Marketing?

Empathy-based marketing is about walking in your customer’s shoes to understand their experience and how we can better help them get what they want. You don’t want to think like the customer. You want to BE the CUSTOMER.

Move away from marketing-centric thinking —TO> customer-centric thinking

How to Do Empathetic Marketing during a Crisis?

At JAK Software,we follow the customer centric approach and make Empathetic marketing plans for our clients. Here are some useful tips for addressing your marketing concerns.

This can help every brand as a basic action plan in order to make right choices avoiding mistakes.

5 Ways to Do Smart & Responsible Empathetic Marketing during COVID-19

Whenever there is a drastic shift in a cultural movement, just like the one going on in the present COVID-19 it becomes very important and essential to address the issue with tact, empathy and mindful marketing.

At Jak Software (digital marketing agency) we care for our clients and their clients in turn and plan digital marketing Strategy accordingly.

1) Evaluate Your Visuals and Language

Visual communication is very powerful, and so are the words that we use, so it’s important to think about the messages that are being sent by you, digitally. 

• Avoid visuals of crowds or people touching each other in your Social Media. This mainly includes people working in offices or at social gatherings out of the house.
• Reframe marketing language that describes close interaction with others. Reconsider figurative language like “get in touch,” “we’re in this together,” “work hand in hand,” or “get closer to your customers.” Messages encouraging immediate interaction may be deeply scrutinized.
• Replace visuals, if needed. Push the timelines to later in the year, revising the imaginary that may be tricky for the current and upcoming campaign visuals.

Note: We are talking specifically about “push” content here—the content that is actively being put up in front of people during this time across channels (e.g., email subject lines, social posts, current campaign taglines, content, blogs, etc).

Visitors will likely have some forgiveness about pre-existing content as this quarantine period is expected to be temporary.

2) Be concerned about the Crisis

It applies to any tragedy or crisis.

• Keep people informed. In order to pertain your business you need to communicate in response to the crises For example, try and communicate about the proactive measures taken by you, store closures, or policy updates related to COVID-19. Such information add value to customer relationships as they are extremely informative and valuable even though it’s being memed on social media.
• Don’t be an alarmist. Be mindful of overly dramatic language, as well as any additional information you’re sharing. Don’t add to the panic.
• Avoid bragging. Remember that some people are genuinely worried as not many people are still working. As a default, for anything your brand says in the near future a spirit of humanity and empathy should be a filter.
• Mind your tone. No “Hot COVID-19 sales!” or other tactless messaging.

Note: Still be perceived as clueless even if communication isn’t offensive. Particularly on a social platform where messaging is expected to be more real-time make sure you’re referring to the present situation.

3) Adjust the Marketing Campaigns and also Schedule Content Timelines

For a specific moment some brands produce quick turn campaigns. For example, Ford swapped its vehicle ads for a coronavirus-response campaign. These are always impressive and help to seek people’s attention (and, to a marketer, enviable), but there are prohibitive risks involved that make this kind of war-room action kind of unrealistic

Therefore, the first step should be to audit what’s currently running or in the pipeline, especially the pre-scheduled content if anywhere launch is imminent.

• Organize marketing and sales campaign timeline. It is going to help track every sale and accompanying promotional campaign. This would also help in avoiding last minute planning or even forgetting about the sale entirely.
• Decide what should be paused immediately. If you’re not sure that the content is appropriate, push timelines back on major campaigns that will likely be eclipsed, or pause entirely. It doesn’t mean that we need to scrape it altogether just because a campaign has some elements that aren’t appropriate right now. It’s likely that things would be fine once the outbreak subsides.
• Consider what to prioritize or pivot. Move some things up in the interim, or look for ways to successfully pivot some messaging.

The good news being that once things resume as usual, this content break might give you an advantage.

Also, keep an eye on the quarantine advisements in your geographic business areas, every region is on a different timeline, this way you can be proactive in your communication once things get back to normal.

4) Highlight ways in which your Brand Can Help

Do remember that brands exist to provide value, and the products/services that are helpful during this time full of stress deserve the attention of those who can benefit from them. Tell the brand story that helps to enhance people’s lives while quarantined.

• Communicate benefits. In order to get people involved more and more share engaging information like, does your product give people things to do at home? Does it help people do their jobs without face-to-face interaction? Clarify your brand’s potential and unique value in this cultural moment.
• Create relevant and helpful content. Your brand can provide value to people,even if your product doesn’t directly help folks deal with the quarantine. How can you educate, entertain, or inspire people stuck at home all day?

 Your marketing does not have to stop as long as you keep the focus on helping people and not patting yourself on the back.

5) Be Positive and Not Ignorant

You don’t need to meet a grim cultural moment with a grim brand tone and instead be pleasant. Specially make sure you’re referring to the present situation.

• Look up to your Brand Heart for basic guidance. The brand strategy you’ve created during this time is incredibly valuable. Use your Brand Heart  to remind yourself what your brand stands for, and what that means in the context of COVID-19.
• Be personable. Be emotional. For instance, offering your well wishes or using imagery of people smiling would be good.. In fact, it can be refreshing for people to recall normal life, and to be hopeful for this quarantine to end soon.
• Think about your future message. Many brands pivot to campaigns that promote optimism, hope, and humanity. It helps in making people feel better about the present situation.
• Create more employee-generated content (EGC). This quarantine is an opportunity to spotlight your people and your culture. For instance, What are your employees doing in their spare time? How are people working together to keep things light? What are people doing to stay healthy and prepared? Remember, too, that people will crave more human interaction through social media, video conferencing, etc. Fill that need for both your employees and customers too.

Remember: Even if we are stuck inside, the more you show your human side, the more we all can feel connected. It might sound cliché, but it’s true: We’re all in this together and we need to be there for each other.

KEEP IN MIND : The Quarantine isn’t gonna Last

As one of the renowned Digital Marketing company in Delhi ,Jak Software is geared up to work empathetically for its clients and We won’t ponder too much about when the “end” of this period will come but we’re expecting to emerge from quarantine sometime soon in this year. We encourage you to be prepared for that transition thoughtfully and proactively.

Because of times like these we’re reminded that the stakes of marketing are not life or death. But we’re also reminded that feeling productive, and adding value to the world is very meaningful. We’re aware that many people relying on this feeling may have lost it suddenly, feeling unmoored by what’s going on , and our hearts are with them.

Wishing everyone best of health and safety during this challenging time.