By Neil Bell, Owner, New South Outdoor

Over the past week or so, I have been giving a lot of thought to how the Covid-19 and economic crisis will impact our business as well as each of our customers’ businesses. I know that we are all going to have to adapt in order to make it to the other side of this without too much damage.

I recently saw a promo that Horton Outdoor was running that helped me realize the attitude to take moving through these crazy times. It said “Shop Local. We’re all in this together.” I really liked that because it truly sums up how we should feel in the advertising business. Our success is tied to the success of our advertisers. We should act accordingly.

With this idea in mind, here are a few things we will be doing in our business in the coming months as well as some things we will be urging our local advertising customers to do as well.

As an outdoor company, we are going to:

1. Help add value for our customers – We plan on offering bonus space (where available) to our customers while all of this is going on. Getting them more bang for their buck during this time is imperative with less traffic on the roads and less foot traffic in their stores.
2. Offer more flexible payment terms – I would rather work with a customer and accept payment later than have them cancel. Many companies will be in the middle of a cash flow crunch right now… but otherwise have solid businesses.
3. Continue to run ads on a space available nature for good customers who insist on canceling – In response to a hard request to cancel — I say let’s just pause the campaign. We will try to keep their ad running for them for a while until business comes back around and they can go back to finish their contract. Chances are that we are not going to be “lighting it up”- filling a ton of space in the next couple of months. Why not buy some goodwill over the next 8 weeks with that now empty space?

We will be urging our customers to:

1. Not pull back on their marketing efforts – Studies have repeatedly shown that businesses which continue spending ad dollars during a downturn fare far better in the long run compared to those who do not. They can also gain market share as competitors cut back on their ad spend.
2. Promote new options – With social distancing, advertisers must change the message to more relevant ideas —- advertise curbside pickup, delivery options, push gift cards, offer discounts and specials, or direct people to websites for online purchases. I believe much of the demand for food, services and products remain, but the issue is physically getting them.
3. Add value for their customers – What little extra can be done for their customers that their competitors can’t or won’t do? What sets them apart? What is their value proposition? Identify these things and promote them. When the economy comes back around (and people come out of isolation), consumers aware of what your customers can do better or “extra” will be their competitive advantage.

In the recession of 1990-91, someone asked Sam Walton of Walmart what he thought about the recession. He said, “I’ve thought about it, and decided not to participate.” Walmart continued providing value for their customers and did not curtail their marketing efforts. Within two years, their share price was up 200%.

I think all businesses can learn from what Walmart did when facing a recession – add value for your customers and keep your foot on the gas.

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