The disease officially named COVID-19 but more commonly known as Coronavirus is likely to take several months to peak and dwindle, with significant implications for businesses of all kinds.
Most people who contract the disease will recover from it, but we are still entering a period of likely substantial disruption to many daily practices we take for granted.
The daily commute, working from a shared office or open-plan workspace, shopping for essentials like food and household goods, are all on the agenda.
For commercial entities the coming months are a minefield as you seek to share important information with your customers, without appearing to take advantage of the situation.
On a personal note, I don't think anyone should try to capitalise on the coronavirus, but certain marketing communications still need to be written and sent out.
As I see it, there are a few scenarios in which Coronavirus could disrupt your marketing communications, so let's take a look at some of them...
1. You provide Coronavirus-relevant goods or services
First of all, some businesses will have a legitimate interest in Coronavirus COVID-19, and not necessarily for bad reasons.
If you supply antibacterial hand gel, you're probably having your best month ever. Staple foods and toilet paper are also selling well (much more than is really necessary, but you can't help what people choose to buy...).
Some healthcare services are no doubt seeing a surge in custom too. So for some businesses - probably more than people might imagine - there's a legitimate interest in producing Coronavirus marketing materials for the greater good, not purely for profit.
2. You need to weather the Coronavirus storm
Some businesses will be in survival mode. As more people self-isolate or are just afraid to go outside, the risk of a severe downturn in business is growing for companies with physical premises.
This particularly affects hospitality and foodservice establishments, and the bricks-and-mortar retail sector, who of course have had nothing to worry about over the past 10-20 years at all...
You might also fall victim to myths and misconceptions - like the Corona beer brand, which has seen a huge slump in sales in some markets - and again, it's completely fair to put out your own marketing messages to set the record straight.
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| Corona Extra beer is not responsible for the Coronavirus COVID-19. |
3. Your marketing team is directly affected
If your marketing team is unable to work because they're off sick or self-isolating, you might face disruption to your regular marketing communications.
Coronavirus is a legitimate concern, but it doesn't mean things have to grind to a halt. And not everybody will be ready to switch seamlessly to working from home.
So if you need to outsource marketing communications to a homeworker during Coronavirus, I'm here and ready to take orders - I work from home as standard and if things get really bad this summer, I don't need any more than the bare minimum of face-to-face contact with the outside world.
Disruption to Marketing Communications from Coronavirus COVID-19
- Legitimate non-evil reasons to promote goods and services.
- Survival until Coronavirus COVID-19 peaks.
- Marketing team directly affected or infected.
- ...and no doubt many other ways and reasons.
Hire a home-based freelance writer
The bottom line is, there are several reasons why you shouldn't shy away from putting out marketing communications during the Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak, but there may be good reason to hire a freelancer writer who works from home as standard.
If you're covering for sickness among your editorial team, a slump in productivity as staff who are not used to working from home attempt to do so, or a spike in sales and marketing because your goods and services are directly related to the coronavirus, I can help (subject to demand).
My home is my office, and depending on how things go in the coming weeks and months, I'm ready to batten down the hatches and get through this, and I don't expect to stop working throughout.
