Most of us are still living with stay-at-home orders in place and we’re waiting until things return to normal – the local gym opens back up, restaurants allow in-door dining, major sports leagues resume their seasons – but, what if things never return to normal?

The customer journey has completely shifted over these past few months. People are shopping more online and that’s expected to continue. People are worried. Many have lost their jobs or fear that they could be laid off any day. We’re also concerned about keeping our distance from others, and the possibility of getting a family member or close friend sick because of the long incubation period before the coronavirus shows itself.

While everyone is predicting what a new normal might look like at the outset of this pandemic, as a business owner, you can’t afford to ride out the storm on the sidelines. It’s a weird and uncertain time for sure, but there is still a place for your local business to market and advertise – showing potential and current customers that you are still there and able to help.

Advertising Trends for the Remainder of 2020

The latest findings from the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) show that large brands are planning to put a freeze on their ad spend for at least 6 months or more.

If you think cutting your ad spend is in the best nature of your business, you might want to think again.

According to a report published by Nielsen, businesses that “go dark” by cutting ad spend could face severe long-term negative effects. In fact, it could take up to 3 to 5 years to fully recover lost brand equity as a result of going dark for an extended period of time. Businesses that cut ad spend for the rest of 2020 can expect to see on average an 11% decrease in revenue in 2021.

Adapting Your Online Advertising

What does this mean for your business, in your local market?

Well for starters, as other businesses scale back their advertising, it opens to the door for your business to reach more potential customers if you “keep the lights on”. Nielsen’s report states that 41% of consumers are looking to purchase from businesses they would not have previously considered.
Your ad copy should touch on what your business is doing from a social responsibility standpoint and showcase how you are helping your local community.
Your business needs to be nimble and adapt ads quickly to reflect the pandemic’s impact in certain settings.
For local businesses in the home services and medical industries, the next few weeks might hit a 5-year high in search traffic so the time is now to resume your advertising in full force.

Surefire Local is in a unique position to help small businesses across the country because our platform is the most powerful and cost-effective way for small businesses to take back control of digital marketing and make sure they know what is working.

The Surefire Local Marketing Platform gives you an “operating system” that enables you to manage your business’s online presence in one place. Through an A.I.-powered platform, you’re able to see the effectiveness of all your activities in one place, and instantly know what’s working. Having this ability is crucial to not wasting money ever again.

As we leave you here, Chris Marentis, Surefire Local’s CEO, recently shared this message.

“The most powerful, cost-effective way for small businesses to grow their online presence in an uncertain world…is to take back control.”