The impact of COVID-19 on marketing
Content marketing platform Conductor has released an new analysis, examining the impact of COVID-19 on companies' marketing efforts. The analysis is based on responses from 317 marketers across a wide range of industries and segments, mainly in North America.
In the survey, the entire 65 % of all marketersthat their Marketing budget will be reduced as a result of COVID-19, while only 7 % expect their marketing budget to increases compared to the period before COVID-19:
Despite a large number of reduced marketing budgets, a whopping 36 % of respondents expect their Marketing goals will be increasedand 32 % that their marketing goals will remain at the same level as before COVID-19. This places high demands on companies' marketing efforts:
In the event of a global economic downturn, the 34 % of the respondents increase their investing in cheaper marketing channels like SEO and 29 % reduce investment in more expensive channels like paid advertising:
Respondents were also asked if they think COVID-19 will make it difficult to achieve their marketing goals. 47 % believe that their goals become significantly more difficult to reach, while 39 % believes that it will be a bit more difficult. Only 2 % of respondents expect that it will be much easier:
63 % of respondents believe that SEO will become more important as a result of COVID-19, while only 4 % of survey respondents believe that SEO will become less important:
The above-mentioned increased focus on SEO is not surprising, as 66 % of survey respondents also said that SEO (organic search) was one of their top performing marketing channels in 2019:
What does it mean to you?
This year's big dilemma is whether to give in to fear and scale back your marketing activities on channels like Google, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn, whether to stick with all initiatives or whether to reprioritize the mix of channels to account for new consumption patterns and perhaps new reduced marketing budgets.
Pausing your marketing activities and cutting your budget will help you reduce costs in the here and now. but can you really afford it? This can have a negative impact on your business in the long run. If you reduce your online presence, you not only make it difficult for customers to find you, you also make it much easier for your competitors to win your business. market shares - and these market shares can be difficult to win back afterwards.
That's why I want to conclude by encouraging you to carefully consider how to use your marketing budget most effectively during COVID-19. According to the research, many companies are choosing to invest more in SEO, but that doesn't mean it's right for your business. Use data as an important asset when assessing and prioritizing your marketing channels.
If you want an assessment of the profitability of an (increased) investment in SEO, you can qualify for a free SEO Business Case, showing to what extent SEO is a profitable investment for your business. Follow the aforementioned link and fill out the form on the page for an initial dialog with us.
