Inflation is on the rise and consumers are making more price conscious purchase decisions than before. We thought marketing during COVID-19 was the last time we would have to make big changes in our efforts for a while. Unfortunately, marketing during inflation proved that’s not the case.
Nonetheless, we’ve done it before and we can do it again! Here are a few tips on adapting to the changes brought by inflation:
Focus on brand awareness
It’s no secret that brand awareness is important, but it should be at the top of your marketing during inflation strategy. Consumers are making more price conscious purchasing decisions, so their journey through the buying funnel could take longer than usual.
Building familiarity and a connection through brand awareness can make your brand top of mind for consumers.
Monitor consumer behavior
Shift your strategy to focus on what your customers actually want instead of what you think they want. Finding out what this is easier than you’d think. Our consumer behavior insights platform, HUCKLE, tells you who your typical customer is in about 15 minutes.
As we said before, inflation changes the way consumers make purchasing decisions, therefore changing their behavior. Your marketing strategy has to change too, but if you don’t know who your typical customer has turned into, then it’s time to update your customer insights.
Optimize your Google Ads
There’s a lot that goes into creating digital ads. Optimizing them is always a good strategy, but it’s more important than ever. What you knew about your customer’s spending habits based on targeted ads has most likely changed in the past few months.
A good strategy is optimizing your Google Ads by bids. After your ads have been running awhile – about a week or so – you should evaluate what keywords your ads are getting clicks from, whether the user was using mobile or desktop and what location the clicks are coming from. Google Ads Help is a great source to start with if you’re not even sure where to begin!
Re-evaluate what you know about your audience’s needs
This ties back into consumer behavior but focuses on the drastic change of what your audience needs. For example, the higher gas prices cause many families to stay home for the summer instead of taking a vacation. This could shift their focus from luggage sets to yard games.
It’s important to be aware of the drastic change inflation causes. Some will avoid heavy spending on luxury things like vacations, and use that money to entertain themselves at home.
Maintain current customers while appealing to new
Brand loyalty takes companies far, so maintaining current customers is just as important as appealing to new ones. Most brands already make customer retention part of their overall business strategy since it can cost less than customer acquisition; five times less to be exact!
Customer retention is as simple as staying in touch with your customers and building a rapport with them. This can be through monthly emails featuring your latest deals or something more sporadic and personal. Either way, keeping a customer is just as important as gaining a new one.
Inflation is on the rise, so we must adapt. Making adjustments to reflect your customers’ wants and needs is the best way to thrive during this time. Give Futurtey Digital a call to help you build your marketing during inflation strategy.