The Role of Digital Marketing in Supporting SME Business Continuity During the COVID-19 Crisis

The pandemic has threatened and affected the course of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) nationally and internationally, creating an uneven business work culture for SMEs to operate in. The role of Digital Technologies in improving productivity and performance in Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) is noted and much appreciated during this time. Through digital marketing initiatives, many companies proved to be resilient by being able to navigate the crisis. As digital marketing proved to be an efficient tool to manage business thus supporting business continuity, there also raised many possibilities with it. Despite a reduction in marketing budgets, digital marketing channels are expected to still dominate. Even if your company does not sell its products online, digital marketing still presents a viable, scalable growth opportunity.

 
Right Digital Marketing enables you to maintain your business running smoothly, but it takes skilled hands, patience and smart work to experience rewards. It takes time to apply marketing ideas, work hard to deploy digital marketing methods, and establish a client network. Digital marketing’s ability to aid business continuity is proven promising in recent years. A digital marketing strategy’s goal is to drive visitors to your website or social media pages, engage your target audience, and convert leads and sales. You can trace all your steps, optimise them, streamline processes, and effect key performance indicators using metrics, which are numerous in the digital age (KPIs.) Meanwhile, with so many more online users for longer periods, the chances of seeing advertisements on social media or interacting with content marketing blogs are higher.

Because direct channel possibilities were constrained or unavailable owing to the COVID-19 epidemic, the firms used digital marketing based on analytics to reach out to the target customer. Customers are also being targeted through augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence (AI). Corporations are increasingly using digital marketing to target customers, particularly for high-involvement products such as real estate, autos, and servers. In addition, the companies needed to deploy innovation in more agile ways to have an effect during the pandemic.

 Utilizing analytics and digital marketing, the organizations reached out to their target audience as direct channel options have reduced or sometimes were not functional/ accessible due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of augmented reality, virtual reality, and artificial intelligence (AI) is also being used to target customers. Multi-fold increases were observed in the use of WhatsApp, Zoom, and Google Meet during the COVID-19 crisis. Therefore, digital marketing has become a major way for organizations to market their high-cost products, such as real estate, automobiles, and servers, to target customers. Also, the brands required creativity to be used in more agile ways to create a timely impact during the pandemic.

Why is a Business Continuity Plan important?

The relevance and impact of a business continuity strategy should be made known to all companies, large and small (BCP). Consumer preferences should be shifted through consumer analytics, with digital marketing having a critical role in the BCP scenario planning. The worst-case scenario is that the company’s products and services become obsolete as technology and customer preferences change. The updated BCP should include a contingency plan for a speedy recovery in such a circumstance. In a circumstance like the current coronavirus epidemic, the BCP exercise should examine how to sustain the brand reputation and sales. The BCP should ensure that a plan for rapid recovery from the crisis is in place, as well as the implementation of a pre-determined strategy at the time of the crisis.

For SMEs, the COVID-19 pandemic has posed significant and multiple challenges. While SMEs have always been vulnerable to financial and non-financial difficulties, the epidemic has added to the uncertainty about how to keep operations running. Also, for managing better business continuity, there is business continuity planning software that can cultivate a resilient, prepared organizational culture. 

Taking a short-term approach to Covid 19: What should digital marketers do to ensure business continuity?

There are certain goals digital marketers can focus on, mainly through social media marketing. Digital marketing will become even more crucial for small companies who have seen traditional marketing bring ever weaker returns on investment during the Covid 19 crisis and afterwards. The world is going digital, and so will marketing. Marketers must come up with updated strategies and buyer personas that fit a different, post-pandemic world.

The chances of business continuation increase if one does not fall behind the current trend and applies digital marketing strategies. One can generate more revenue than imagined by using digital marketing strategies. A digital marketing company can turn into a real, yielding business since it is a vast field in terms of concept, and generating money will take some time at first, but in 2 to 4 years, you will see a trend that keeps the business going.

Through digital marketing, businesses can maintain consistency through a variety of online methods. The strategies can be applied simultaneously by those who understand digital marketing, or they can be used individually at a time, achieving desired results without any difficulty.  To preserve business continuity and build enterprise resilience, global companies must be proactive and anticipatory in their decision-making.