“We’re looking to try to at least generate some emotional ROI if we’re not doing sales, just to be one of those brands that was standing up and doing the right thing at the right time,” said Tony Verre of The Integer Group during a digital commerce marketing session of Live with Search Engine Land.
The businesses that have been negatively affected by the pandemic should focus on marketing efforts that can generate an emotional return on investment (ROI) from their audience.
Because of the challenges that have surfaced due to the pandemic, Verre and others marketers have shifted resources to enable more nimble, sensitive messaging instead of just going dark with their marketing.
“Everything we do . . . we try and walk that fine line,” said Bryant Garvin of fashion accessory brand Groove Life, who referred to the balance between promoting the company, and not trying to seem too opportunistic. Groove Life responded to the crisis by fast tracking plans for a series of medical-hero-themed rings. 25% of the proceeds that came of these rings were donated to a non-profit organization for the first responders.
The company also found other ways of engaging customers and increasing emotional ROI. Groove Life launched a ring design contest and a blog post of feel-good stories. “[It] had no sales messaging whatsoever, but it had a really good, positive emotional ROI,” Garvin said, adding that the post was among the top 5% of all blog articles posted to Shopify in March.