All businesses are scrambling to adjust their marketing plans in such uncertain times, so be assured you’re not alone. Not knowing what a post-lockdown world looks like causes us all to be in unfounded territory.

This is why we hosted the Search Marketing Post-Lockdown webinar alongside We Are Search: to help marketers face this new challenge together. If you missed it, check out the full hour-long video to get the whole conversation. Or you can read about the key points if you’re short on time.

Who was on the panel?

Sharing their own experiences and advice was:

• Richard Gregory, Founder of Digital NXD
• Thomas Byrne, EVP Agency Services EMEA at Merkle
• Will Haswell, Head of Digital Acquisition at Adzooma
• Steen Randeris, Senior Search Manager at Pandora
• Arianne Donoghue, Founder of Tempest Marketing

Poll results

When the webinar audience was asked what the biggest challenge has been during COVID-19, the top three responses were:

• Getting new business – 168
• Cash flow – 113
• Client retention – 94

With so many businesses now reprioritising, this doesn’t mean there aren’t new clients out there. As some turn away from new ventures, others are looking for ways of transforming their online presence and need an agency more than ever.

If you’re an agency looking for new business, Adzooma’s Marketplace is a great way to get yourself in front of those who are looking for help. It’s quick and easy to register and once you’re listed, users can easily get in contact with you directly.

Here’s the full webinar if you didn’t catch it the first time.

Key takeaways

• Businesses are accelerating their online plans and digital transformations. COVID-19 has highlighted the value of being online, even to big brands like Primark and M&S, who previously focused on in-store interactions.
• Analytics and measurement has become key as we all try to figure out what the future may hold.
• Businesses are looking forwards and investing in channels that are worthwhile but have less of a cost-burden attached, such as SEO and CRM.
• Main reservations have come from cash flow or fulfilment issues when facing the unknown.
• Businesses haven’t wanted to be seen to profit from COVID-19, as not all trends have been negative.

Agencies

• Paid media for service industries dried up almost immediately, but have begun to come back at a lower level. Agencies took longer to be affected.
• All agency clients have been impacted, but as things settle and people are understanding what they can afford to do, confidence and activity are returning.
• We’ve all adopted a ‘new norm’ of working, many businesses have had to quickly adopt working from home policies that didn’t previously exist. The impact of WFH on mental health is widely felt and empathised with.
• There’s a more tentative attitude to investing in tech – this was the motivation for making Adzooma free, so users could still benefit from the platform.
• Forecasting is no longer about reporting but risk, so agencies are looking to use known information to try and find insights into the unknown.
• But the demand for help is still there, so agencies can find new clients by listing their business on the Adzooma Marketplace.

Search

• Paid search offers huge flexibility, so those who drastically withdrew their PPC activity have started switching it back on.
• CPCs are very dependent on the industry, but there has been increased desktop usage across the board as more people browse whilst working.
• New opportunities as big companies like Amazon have stepped out of the SERPs. Now is a good time to find a way to benefit from search changes. You can find an agency to help you with our new Marketplace.
• Use CRM data as much as possible as audiences are key to any Search strategy. It’s still okay to strive to stand out, just control and measure it to ensure success.
• Audience, data and insights are key now and always.

Audiences

• Audiences are a great way to improve the value for money you get from your campaigns.
• Focus on your customer’s needs and how to insert yourself into their lives in a relevant way. If you offer a personalised service, additions such as a handwritten note can help to add that human element that people are missing so much.
• Make sure you’re measuring the right things. It’s not just about your CPA. Have you built a relationship? Look at more than the last-click attribution.

The Future

• Search is at the heart of understanding motivations and provides insights that will show business new opportunities.
• Using CRM data to understand the context of customer relationships is key.
• The notion of value is changing. It’s all about providing a seamless, universal customer journey. Consumers are asking “what can a brand do for me?”, so it’s no longer about brand agenda, reach and frequency, it’s being able to create relationships.
• The future is too uncertain to forecast with any confidence. It’s best to adopt a “test and learn” approach, start small and change things as you go.
• There’s a lot of uncertainty about whether brand awareness is still worthwhile at this time. It is – search doesn’t exist in a vacuum, so by keeping an element of it live will allow you to bounce back quicker.

Search continues to stand strong

Online advertising may have changed due to COVID-19, but it’s still a strong way to gain new customers.

If you’re worried about your ads performing differently, you could benefit from automation and ensure your bids are paused or adjusted depending on performance.

Another poll asking “Are you using AI/automation to manage your digital channels?” came back with a huge proportion saying no. Automation doesn’t have to be difficult or come with a huge learning curve. Software that’s built with machine-learning embedded is the easiest option, like the Adzooma platform.

Try Adzooma for free today and see.