COVID-19's influence on marketing
Content marketing platform Conductor has released a new analysis, where they examine 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 is reduced as a result of COVID-19, while only 7 % expect their marketing budget increases compared to the period before COVID-19:
Despite a large number of reduced marketing budgets, a full 36 % of respondents expect their marketing objectives will be increased, and 32 % that their marketing objectives will remain at the same level as before COVID-19:
In the event of a global economic downturn 34 % of respondents increase their investment in cheaper marketing channels such as SEO and 29 % reduce investment in more expensive channels such as paid advertising:
Respondents were also asked whether they think COVID-19 will make it harder to achieve their marketing goals. 47 % believe that their goals become significantly more difficult to reach, while 39 % believes that it will be a little more difficult. Only 2 % of respondents expect it to 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 aforementioned increased focus on SEO is not surprising, as 66 % of survey respondents also answered that SEO (organic search) was one of their company's best performing marketing channels in 2019:
What does it mean to you?
The big dilemma this year 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 reprioritise the mix of channels to accommodate new consumption patterns and perhaps new reduced marketing budgets.
Putting your marketing activities on hold and turning down the budget will help you cut costs in the here and now - but can you really afford it? This can have a negative impact on your business in the long term. 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 market shares - and these market shares can be difficult to regain afterwards.
Therefore, in conclusion, I would encourage you to carefully consider how to use your marketing budget most effectively under COVID-19. According to the analysis, many companies choose to invest more in SEO, but this does not mean that it is also the right thing for your business. Use data as an important asset when assessing and prioritising your marketing channels.
If you want an assessment of the return on (increased) investment in SEO, you can qualify for a free SEO Business Casethat shows the extent to which SEO is a profitable investment for your business. Follow the link above and fill in the form on the page for an initial dialogue with us.
