You have heard the stories and seen the data. Recovery is in the air. Pent up consumer interest is driving traffic and warranting renewed investment to harness growing demand. At the same time, businesses are under more pressure than ever to prioritize profitability. Many are still not fully operational, with supply chain challenges or unable to deliver products to all regions they once served.
How do you balance these priorities? Thanks to our clients and their trust, we developed 7 strategies to help you profitably get back in the game and drive efficient growth.
Together, this recipe for success did not only achieve efficiency improvements with better Cost/ Transaction, Transaction Rate, CTR and CPC. It was possible to rebound exceeding pre-crisis levels, with June Transactions topping February levels by 8%
Rethink your device strategy, with greater emphasis on Desktop
Mobile has long been the favored channel not only for research but also in many cases for transactions. From retail to banking to travel, pre-COVID 19, users have been actively using mobile devices for their digital needs.
However, Desktop is having a comeback with lifestyles and consumer behavior changing during the pandemic. Milestone quickly capitalized on this shift, reducing reliance on Mobile for traffic acquisition and conversion.
Looking at June vs Feb, for a sample of top 5 advertisers, Mobile’s click share fell -18% and transaction share dropped -14%.
Pursue local feeder markets, not national campaigns
While nationwide demand has died, local demand is up with everyone restricted to doing business locally. Actively monitoring trends, allowed Milestone to identify the strongest area of local demand and maximize coverage in those areas.
From targeted campaign settings and geo-bid modifiers, locally tailored ad messaging to customized location-specific promotions, Milestone is working closely with clients to develop powerful geo-targeted solutions that incorporate on-the-ground intelligence.
Adjust to changing consumer behavior
Your highest potential customer profile likely changed. And if it has not, that same customer is not engaging the same way as pre-COVID 19. With more people working from home and daily routines changing, new consumption patterns are emerging.
We are actively monitoring demographic trends, usage by time and day of the week to adjust campaign targeting.
Refine Paid Search keywords
Paid Search is an important proxy for user behavior changes, as over 90% of visits starting on a search engine. People are now looking for information in new ways. For example, queries for open hotels have skyrocketed. To capitalize on sources of new user interest as it happens, Milestone is continuously monitoring keywords trends and incorporating them into our campaigns. From local attractions to seasonal activities, new keywords are emerging every week.
Update messaging to reassure, inform and motivate
Especially in hardest hit industries – travel, dining and entertainment – it is key to use messaging the builds confidence. Taking hygiene and safety measures is not enough. It is critical to highlight it across your digital media assets.
Reassure potential customers that you are ready to welcome them with hygiene and safety measures in place. Then, remind them of your unique value proposition (e.g. convenient location). Lastly, have a compelling offer to set yourself apart from rising competition.
Value-add promotions, with urgency and bottom line in mind
As much as discounting is attractive, it is costly and delays your financial recovery. By leveraging our cross-industry expertise, we found several concepts to work well. Below is a sample of promotions Milestone has successfully tested that have limited profitability impact while still being very attractive to consumers.
- Gift cards towards future purchases
- Volume discounts with vouchers to be applied to a repeat purchase
- Flash sales with a discount extended to first few participants
To maximize the likelihood of transaction, create urgency with a custom landing page combines a countdown, compelling offer language and directs users right into the shopping cart path.
Milestone is here for you to help any way we can. With over 20 years of experience and learnings from past economic downturns, we are happy to share ideas on digital media best practices. Please contact us to discuss your challenges and arrange a consultation.
