Selecta Systems Marketing Manager, Mark Walker, talks about how on-line interaction, sales and social media engagement have soared in recent months and the necessity to adapt marketing and communication strategies and plans to suit the current climate.

Over the last 12 months or so we have seen the way we live change considerably with almost every person having to adjust and become accustomed to the new living conditions. The same can also be said of how we have all had to do business and communicate. Those that have and do adapt are the ones who seem to have had the best chance of retaining and picking up new business in the future. Movement restrictions have seen a boom in on-line interaction, video and social media engagement and so, can any business afford not to have these form part of their current marketing strategy and plans?

With our industry experiencing a boom, some may proclaim to be ‘too busy’ to market their business, communicate and build their online and social media presence, but surely now is the ideal time to market yourselves and not sit back. Why not demonstrate your success via social media and grow your future potential audience and customer base? And improve your communication and support channels with your existing customer base? It’s certainly far tougher and more costly to market your business and brand, to generate new and maintain existing business, in bad times than it is in good times. Building your reputation and putting in solid foundations during those good times will prove vital when and if bad times hit.

For me, it’s very easy to fall into the trap, when business is good, to think you don’t need to invest in marketing, when in fact it’s the ideal time to invest for the future good of the business. Think of all those businesses over the last 12 months that have been extremely successful throughout the pandemic. Have the likes of Amazon and your large supermarket chains reduced their marketing presence and yet they have been seen as essential and used by millions on a daily basis. They’ve continued to communicate and have a marketing presence to their customer base.

At Selecta, we have worked tirelessly behind the scenes and adapted our sales, marketing and communication strategies and plans, to both existing and potential customers. Regular communication updates have been sent to existing customers regarding coronavirus restrictions, business updates and industry news to ensure that every customer is fully up to date with the latest information. These have been communicated through email, post and Connect, our on-line support centre, which has been an invaluable source of information. Social media platforms and our website have continued to be important routes of communicating with everyone outside of the business.

With our Business Development Managers and Technical Engineers working remotely for the majority of the last 12 months, extended support has come from the internal team to offer alternative support and service solutions. For me, nothing beats traditional face-to-face interaction, but the extended use of phone, video and email communication with existing and potential customers, have been the perfect solution to combat the enforced restrictions of which we have all faced. Taking advantage of the technology that we have at our fingertips has been essential and smartphones have been an invaluable piece of armoury during these times.

Continued support has been offered through our marketing team, to assist our customer base, with social media and website support, branding and promotions with our free to use graphic design service proving very popular. We have also introduced a brand-new Marketing Support brochure for our customers, which includes a guide on promoting your business on social media and a series of do’s and don’ts for social media management and how Selecta can assist those who are unsure where to start.

The new Marketing Support brochure also provides customers with a comprehensive insight into our range of marketing support materials and services, from brochures and point of sale materials to our free to use graphic design service.

Increased market presence and communication have certainly been very important to both ourselves and our customers in this period of crisis, albeit abnormally a successful crisis. Our marketing and communication strategies, over the last 12 months, have certainly seen ourselves evolve and grow stronger as a business, continue that close bond with our customer base, whilst still being able to remain true to our roots. We continue to pride ourselves on being able to provide a personal and unrivalled service and support package, for whoever chooses to #bepartofthefamily, through both the good and bad times.