Adaptation During COVID: Retail Services

When the pandemic first hit the U.S. back in March, brick-and-mortar retail stores were among the first businesses to shut down. This meant that Integrity’s large segment of retail flooring clients had their normal way of business turned on its end.

So what do you do when your day-to-day changes by the minute?

Retail Marketing in a Pandemic

Adaptation is the new competitive advantage. Within only a matter of days, Integrity helped our retail clients reevaluate all marketing campaigns, including ads (digital and traditional), social media and eCommerce efforts. 

Digital advertising campaigns that had the marketing objective of driving people into stores were paused or pivoted to encourage virtual browsing. Because Integrity operates with a seasoned media team we were also able to aggressively negotiate traditional media fees down by 50%. Across all digital and traditional placements Integrity reviewed the content of the ads, analyzing and adjusting when appropriate. Is this the right tone given the circumstances? Is the messaging still relevant? Are we encouraging users to take action in the correct way? 

Given the importance of up-to-date communication, we increased posting across social channels and introduced social media giveaways that helped double the size of our email lists for many of our clients.

One benefit of a temporary pause in sales volume was that our clients’ internal teams had time to invest in learning or implementing new processes that made their efforts more efficient, like the setup and navigation of new CRM (customer relationship management) systems. Long wanted by our clients but hard to bring to the top of the priority list, Integrity made sure they had the resources, knowledge and support needed when that time suddenly became available. 

In addition, Integrity was able to assist with marketing health safety procedures in stores, promoted contactless shopping options and helped brick-and-mortar businesses navigate their way through the new online landscape.

Several of our retail clients are on track exceed sales this year compared with 2019, thanks to record-breaking months in May, June and July.

As we’ll continue to say time and time again, adaptation is necessary in order to stay competitive. Integrity’s aggressive, integrated retail marketing approach saved client budgets, boosted online and — when stores reopened — in-person sales, and turned pandemic catastrophe into market share growth opportunities making this immensely challenging year even more profitable than the last. 

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Has your business experienced the effects of the pandemic? Are you ready to shift your retail marketing and operational strategies to be better positioned for whatever comes next? Integrity is the right partner for you. Contact us today to get started.