DOMS and Marketing

The world is reopening!

On Monday, the 14th of April 2021, the entire country was once again able to skip freely through town centres across the land. Primark queues snaked down the high street and pubs fortunate enough to have an outdoor area were inundated with dehydrated punters.

A friend of mine ran a poll on LinkedIn shortly before the nationwide lockdown began lifting. She wanted to ascertain where people intended on going first; 41% of responders said they were most excited about the local pub reopening – 39% (of which I am one) wanted the gym back.

Having qualified as a personal trainer in a past life, going to gym and keeping fit is relatively close to my heart. I was most excited about arriving at the gym on Monday morning and at 06:30am, after braving the abnormally snowy 3-minute drive from home doorstep to gym doorstep, I was back in my happy place.

It didn’t take me too long to realise that this gym session was not as enjoyable as I remembered!

You would think that being health and fitness certified and a relatively logical person, I would have considered the fact my body and muscles had become somewhat ‘de-conditioned’. As weights lifted and newly acquired gym trainers hit treadmills around me, I deepened my squat with as much grace and poise as a dizzy cat. The following morning, I all but crawled up and down my staircase like a newborn giraffe on ice.

Looking back, I should have hit the pub instead.

The point of this story is not to elicit sympathy for my delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) plaguing me days afterward. Instead, I want to illustrate the similarities between my assumptions that my weight training would be the same post-pandemic and the expectations of marketers that marketing will continue, business as usual.

This, in fact, is not true.

Not only did the pandemic decondition my body in the time I spent locked out of the gym but also changed the way customers find and consume content. This past year that we spent (for the most part) in lockdown has changed who we are as people – as individuals; as buyers; as consumers. Our wants, our needs, and even our capabilities have changed. So too must the Digital Marketing efforts of the organisations that we are buying from.

It simply isn’t enough to go back to the status quo of marketing circa 2019 the same way I should not have returned to the gym as gung-ho as I did, knowing full well that my muscle condition had changed. Businesses are having to evolve in ways they never thought would feature in their future goals and Digital Marketing is at the forefront of this evolution. Your brand must not only have a unique and top-quality offering but should also stand out from your competitors.

CUSTOMER LOYALTY IS OF THE UTMOST IMPORTANCE AT A TIME WHEN CONSUMERS ARE CRAVING HUMAN CONNECTION, MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS, AND SOCIAL VALIDATION.

Now is the time to optimise your digital offering – launch or update a Google ranking-worthy website; focus on engagement and not only becoming a recognisable brand but also an accessible one. Reach your customers – connect with them and inspire them to shout your business name from the rooftops so that their friends #SupportingSmallBusiness on Instagram feel confident enough to share and promote yours.

Echoing an email that we sent out in January 2021 by Matt, our Marketing Director, the power of positive thinking will be key in your business emerging from this lockdown cocoon. Taking the negative route is the easy path but being the optimist? That’s the path less travelled and the one that together with a positive attitude and a winning digital marketing strategy will ensure your business is best placed for post-pandemic re-emergence.

We would love to work with you and re-engage your audience in a positive and effective way. Whether it’s your website, your social media platforms, or your SEO, we would love to talk to you about your digital marketing.

Right, I am off to swap that protein shake for a pint.

Shevy

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