Planning, not panicking,

in a pandemic!

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Before Covid-19 happened, we knew what to expect from clients when it came to lead-in times for their marketing activities. Of course, it varied from months ahead to last-minute, but we simply adapted our processes to meet their expectations in our usual efficient manner.

However now, things have changed. The pandemic has caused clients to react differently, some radically altering their behaviours. We have clients who have erred on the side of caution and put larger projects on hold, others who have scaled their marketing back, whilst a few have decided that now is the time to market more not less. So, with client’s priorities adjusting, what has that meant for Pixooma?

Business as usual

For us, it’s very much business as usual. We haven’t changed our methods drastically. We are still here for our clients, checking in with them regularly, listening and understanding different perspectives and continuing to execute our own marketing activities in a timely way, so we can continue to remain visible and accessible.

Our approach since March 2020 has been to “hope for the best, plan for the worst” and we think that is still important. It’s easy to stop doing things, blame the pandemic and essentially talk yourself out of doing business. For us, it’s been a time when the power of regular communication, being flexible and accommodating is essential. However, the biggest thing we have done is not to panic.

It’s easy to stop doing things, blame the pandemic and essentially talk yourself out of doing business

Good change

Of course, there are things that none of us can do anymore, but alternatives have arisen which we have actively embraced including virtual networking. And, during the first lockdown we stepped up our marketing and now do all our meetings via Zoom. We also took on the cashflow software Float and started to monitor the ‘here and now’, number of proposals, conversion rates and other metrics, so we could be proactive and help to future proof the business.

Fortunately, as a creative business, we are good at thinking outside the box. This has helped us when it comes to managing client relationships and partnerships. It’s not unusual for us to have projects that remain on proof for many months – in fact, we have a couple that have been that way for over a year. We’re not sure if this is pandemic related, but it could be.

We’re here when you need us!

So, the key here has been to reach out and offer help, whilst at the same time remaining mindful of the situation. After all chasing people for decisions is good practice, but if that person is firefighting, micromanaging everything, or something worse, you must remember that being treated with kindness is always most welcome.

We're not sure what the future holds. But then we're not sure anyone does! However our number one priority has been, and will continue to be, to look after our clients, keep their work on track, be understanding and accepting of changes, or delays, and be as helpful and encouraging as we can be.

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