Will e-commerce be more of a winner or loser in the crisis?

Even e-commerce is not entirely spared from the current situation, although it is currently apparent that there is an increasing shift from offline to online business. Accelerated by the Corona pandemic, e-commerce can demonstrate very clear advantages over offline business.

Overall, while online commerce has declined by about 20%, the impact is highly diverse depending on the industry and the provider. While most online stores have been affected by sales declines averaging around 20%, high-reach marketplace generalists such as ebay, Amazon and Co. are benefiting from the current situation and further expanding their market power.
Some search queries, on the other hand, have declined: Zalando, for example, reports that search queries for its own brand have fallen by 29 percent. In general, the fashion industry is suffering badly from the crisis. Other suppliers are increasingly being searched for on Google: These include demand for communication tools such as Zoom, Hangout or Slack, for electronics retailers such as Notebooksbilliger, Saturn or MediaMarkt, for online pharmacies such as DocMorris as well as food services. And social media usage also increased by a full 25% during the pandemic.
In other words, the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic varies greatly by sector and company.

What opportunities does the pandemic offer for online marketing?

Al clear fact is that people are shopping more online right now because you basically have no choice. Most likely, online retailers have gained some new customers in the process who did little or no online shopping before the crisis. Chances are good that these customers will continue to store online even after the crisis. Chances are good that these customers will continue to store online even after the crisis.

It is also a fact that the Corona crisis has accelerated the digital transformation that many already saw coming on the horizon. What this means for you and your business is that you can reach more people online than ever before.

What does this mean for your company’s strategy? Invest in far-sighted online marketing strategies, because that’s how you use the crisis as an opportunity.

What specifically has COVID-19 changed?

The most important points summarized once again:

• Due to global contact restrictions, more people are shopping online. Many brick-and-mortar retailers are also offering their products online to generate sales
• Many brick-and-mortar retailers are also offering their products online to generate sales
• Many companies are currently reducing their marketing budgets.
• Three quarters of Internet users in Germany are increasingly using social media

Why should you focus on PPC advertising now?

COVID-19 is an opportunity to push your business. The pandemic does create an economic downturn, but one that is usually accompanied by less competition. That increases your chance to get results by taking advantage of low pay-per-click rates, for example. After all, recent reports show that Facebook and Google stand to lose more than $44 billion in advertising revenue due to global restrictions.
What this means for you? Prices will drop and you’ll have a chance to invest in PPC campaigns. After all, less competition means not only lower prices, but also improved visibility at the same time.

What’s more, by staying visible even in such uncertain times, you’re demonstrating staying power, increasing your brand’s credibility and reliability in the eyes of your target audience. This will have an impact on your business now, during the crisis. And even more so when it is overcome and “normality” returns.

What are best practices for PPC campaigns?

1. Why should you adapt your ads to the current circumstances?
   Run ads that highlight the value of your product or service in the current circumstances.
   Explicitly focus your ads on how your product is proving its worth in these temporary times and thus fits the current life of your target audience.
2. Why should you end campaigns with average performance?As long as campaigns are bringing traffic, it may be worth keeping even those with only average performance alive under normal circumstances. But few companies will be able to afford that at the moment.
   Stop such only average performing campaigns and invest the saved money in your other, better performing campaigns instead.

A tip from the editors:

Do not save on SEO, content and links despite the crisis, but think long-term. You won’t see the results of such marketing measures for at least two to three months anyway.

Use our knowledge for your business – our agency will help you with it

We at Social Media Content Lab help you and your business to implement your marketing strategies and online campaigns. In doing so, we also focus on PPC campaigns to ensure that our clients get the best possible results. If you are also interested in PPC advertising, we look forward to hearing from you.