Authenticity Marketing During COVID-19

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COVID-19 has rocked us all in one way or the other and has literally shifted the way that everyone does business. Luckily as online coaches, people still need what we are offering and they’re going to need it more and more as time goes on. In my new video I’m going to teach you how to adjust your messaging so that you can be truly authentic to yourself and your audience.

As a small business owner, I’ve been feeling all the emotions over the past few weeks, and maybe you can relate. I’ve been worried, motivated, sad, and happy. It honestly feels like a bit of an emotional roller coaster. I realized that you probably have a lot of questions and while it’s really easy to panic right now, you have to remember there’s still a lot we can control and there’s still a lot we can do to grow our business during this crazy & uncertain time.

I know there’s a lot of you who might be feeling, “Should I even be selling during a time like this?” And the answer is yes, you absolutely should. I’ve seen people shaming online entrepreneurs and business owners for selling during this time, but to be honest, this is your business. This is how you support yourself and your family. You have the right to do what you need to do to continue to be able to do that.

And what that means is we may have to switch things up a little bit in order to stay more authentic. And I have three ways to stay authentic in your business throughout a global economic crisis. 

1) Adjust your messaging and address coronavirus with your people. Even if you don’t want to, you are going to have to address it. You can’t just go on like it hasn’t happened and every single person on the planet is feeling the effects of it in some way, shape, or form. Now the cool thing about all of this is there’s very much a collective connection right now regardless of where people live in the world. Everyone is experiencing this. So we actually have the ability to relate with our fellow human beings in a way that we’ve actually never been able to before. So it’s really important that you meet your clients where they are at, ask them how they are doing and ask them what they actually need from you during this time. It’s important to be compassionate and empathetic during these times, and it’s also really important to be honest. It’s okay to share your struggles because by being authentic & vulnerable, you are going to be able to connect with your audience in this really deep way and you’re going to be able to relate to them maybe in a way that you’ve never been able to before.

2) Adjust your offerings. This is going to depend on your industry and your audience, but you definitely want to take a look at what you were offering and make sure that it is still relevant. You may need to update them or switch them up a little bit. Maybe there’s something else you can offer right now that’s really going to support them with what they are uniquely going through right now. What you want to look at is your pricing model – maybe you offer additional payment plans for your clients or allow them to pause their program until they get sorted. During this time, customer service is king. You really want to make sure that you are treating your clients in the best way you possibly can, that you are showing up for them and showing them that you care. Because when this is all said and done, they will remember that. And at a time where people are cutting non-essential spending, you want to be going above and beyond and make sure that they see that what you are offering is something that they really still want to keep.

3) Focus on nurturing your current audience.I don’t think anyone has the excuse of, “I’m too busy,” unless they have tons of kids at home and now they’re just managing kids. Obviously there’s an exception there, but a lot of people are at home. They’re online. So this is a great time to build relationships with your audience and show them how awesome you are, how awesome your brand is, and how you were there to nurture and support them and serve them during this time. This is a great time to not only build your social media following, but also your email list.

If you are noticing less sales during this time, remember that this is temporary and there is so much you can do by just showing up, being authentic and truly, deeply supporting your people during this time. This may be the perfect time to consider creating and launching an online group coaching program. And if you are interested in doing that, please download my Group Programs Checklist.