Or: how to be prepared for the next crisis?
When the world was shutting down in March of 2020, a group of language schools in Singapore was killing it with live Zoom classes.
I ran the school’s SEO and Google Ads campaigns. The co-owner handled the rest of the marketing.
When Singapore went into lockdown and physical classes were no longer possible, it was obvious that we had to act.
We had a bit of luck. The co-owner was already keen to offer online classes, limited as the school was by Singapore’s expensive classroom rentals.
So the setup was already done, although we had until then struggled to get people to sign up for these online classes.
Within a few days, we updated the ad copy and webpages to explicitly acknowledge the new reality of working and learning at home, and make it crystal clear that people could still learn whatever they wanted to learn, from behind their computer at home.
In the process, I got a front-row seat to how competitors reacted.
- First, they left outdated ads running for weeks.
- Then they stopped advertising altogether.
As a result, the school was almost the only language school still actively advertising language classes.
Cost per click plummeted, because there were no other bidders in the market, and we could buy far more exposure than we were used to.
Covid may be a distant memory for many of us, but the 2020s have held plenty of surprises so far, with more to come, no doubt.
Beyond luck, how can we respond better and reap the opportunities that tend to hide inside crises?
1. Bold, data-driven and experimental mindset
We kept the ad budget constant but completely rebuilt the messaging. That may seem bold. But it was a calculated bet.
I kept a close eye on performance on a daily, then weekly basis. I had set the Google Ads account up to track website actions, such as enquiries, and was in touch with the owner every week to make sure people were still signing up. We were ready to pull the plug, or make changes, if the new approach did not prove itself.
By the time many competitors thought “wait, maybe I should pause my ad campaigns”, we already had a new, proven modus operandi.
The future will bring new surprises even if we do not know what they will be. Budget cuts, wars, natural disasters, visa issues.
You can prepare by having a handle on measuring performance, and deciding in advance that when shit hits the fan, you will build hypotheses on which response will work and test these for a few weeks, closely watching the results.
You need real-time data, such as dashboards, and you need to look at it at least monthly. Weekly in the case of crisis.
2. Structure and delegation
I must admit that this is much easier for a small organisation. Our roles were crystal clear: the owner handled marketing, except SEO and search advertising, which I handled.
In a larger organisation, unexpected events can easily become a waiting game as everyone waits for word at the top about what to do, and the top gets overwhelmed.
You can prepare by delegating decisions to a level as close to operations as possible. Do not make people ask for permission for small stuff. Set boundaries, of course, such as budgets and KPIs, but allow people to experiment and make mistakes.
If you are the one needing permission, take a step back. Instead of asking permission for every step, you can propose some boundaries, such as budget and time, within which you have the freedom to act on your own judgment.
3. Trust
You can only be bold with trust. And trust goes both ways.
Yes, I needed the owner’s trust for him to go along with my advice.
But at the same time, if I did not trust that he would not be all over me if results did not show up right away, I would never propose to double down on advertising.
Trust takes time to build. That is why, in any leadership role, it is so important to challenge the people reporting to you to step up and do bold things.
Give them credit for success, and allow your team the space to fail, learn, fail, and finally master and build confidence.
This article is adapted from Genuinely Helpful – Field Notes, Guus Goorts’ newsletter for education marketers. Want more practical notes like this? You can subscribe to Genuinely Helpful – Field Notes.
