2020 has been a doozy. At Aerospace Marketing Lab, we’ve had an amazingly successful workshop with Marcus Sheridan, world-renowned marketer and writer; we re-branded BDN Aerospace to accurately reflect our innovative services as the Aerospace Marketing Lab; and now we’re navigating our way through the chaos that is COVID-19.

We’ll be honest, with this initial wave of event cancellations and crisis communications, we’ve been pretty busy, but we know it won’t last forever. While we are all social distancing, now is a good time to invest in yourselves and in your business:

1. Learn more.

Because of the COVID-19, many organizations are discounting their courses or making them free, so take advantage of online resources, programs, and certifications. In the rapidly evolving world of digital marketing, COVID-19 has already altered how businesses communicate online. Here are some great places to enhance your knowledge:

• Knowledge Enthusiast rates the pros and cons of the fifteen top-rated marketing classes and certificates.
• Digital Marketer is an amazing resource for digital marketers with a comprehensive library of trainings, guides, and tools. And right now, it’s free to join through the end of March (at least).
• Udemy has thousands of courses and many of them related to public relations, digital marketing, branding, marketing and sales, email marketing, you name it!
• Quartz has kindly put together a list of 450 classes from Ivy League schools that are now free to take online - including a Marketing Analytics course.

Bonus: Scholastic Learn At Home has free online courses so your kids can keep learning too.

2. Review and update your marketing strategy.

Business is changing right now, your strategy could use some TLC. Revisit the items below and pivot as needed. Here is a simple blueprint for reviewing your strategy to ensure future success:

• What are your marketing objectives? Identify and clearly define specific marketing and/or sales goals to achieve your company’s strategic goals. Highlight the desired results, the small wins you’ve already achieved, and potential challenges anticipated with accomplishing your goals. This step creates accountability for successful results and helps drive confidence in what has already been done.
• Conduct a S.W.O.T. analysis identifying your current strengths (see small wins from the bullet point above), weaknesses in the plan, opportunities for growth (what can you achieve when you accomplish this goal?), and threats (What are your competitors doing?)

  Side Note: Make sure to take a peek at your competitor’s social media, website, and other communications to see how they are addressing COVID-19. Are you missing something in your communication strategy about the virus?

• Review your metrics. Continually measure and monitor performance, being nimble enough to adjust as needed to strengthen metrics. Keep detailed records and produce clear, succinct, regular reports on marketing plan performance.

3. Maintain a connection to your customers and prospects.

“Social distancing” does not mean social silence. With trade shows pushed to the unforeseen future, remember to set up a call/email/digital marketing rhythm to stay in front of your customers and prospects at all times.

Though ‘conducting business’ might look differently from here on out, now is not the time to lose marketing momentum!

As always, you can check out Aerospace Marketing Lab’s resources here. And if you have any questions, please contact us here.