I was on my way to the office yesterday. I have a typical route that I drive. It is so engrained in me that I don’t even think about the stoplights or the turns I make. The drive has become a habit, so much so that I don’t give any thought to it while driving. Even when I am not going to the office, I find myself routinely driving to it without thinking. (My wife often asks if I am really cognizant about where I am going or am I just on autopilot!) I bring this up because while I was driving to work yesterday, there was a massive construction truck blocking traffic in both directions. It was not going to move anytime soon. My rote drive was detoured a couple of city blocks – no big deal. Flexibility is a virtue. But what happens when the proverbial truck doesn’t move out of the road, ever? What if the detour becomes permanent? Traffic patterns change. So do markets.

We are experiencing a market change right now. Is it a temporary detour or is it more like a permanent obstacle? In either case, your marketing needs to be actively finding an alternative route around it. The old routine marketing will not work. What will? Here are a couple of ideas to build into your marketing plans.

Be agile. When markets take a detour, you have to be able to move with them. The event you were going to sponsor might have been canceled. The trade show you were going to attend is not going to happen this year. If you had planned on making a marketing push to the attendees of these kind of events, the key marketing questions is this: how can I still reach the same people using a different method? That may mean you have to use an online medium when you were planning on going face to face with them. That may mean you need to invest in some technology to make this work. Good marketing is always executing, measuring results, making adjustments, and executing again. Right now, your marketing adjustments may have to be more drastic than you would normally make them. That is okay as long as you are engaging in a relevant way with your target market. In doing so, you may find a new medium that works better than what you have been using. Be agile and try something new.

Move past the fear. It is important that you communicate that you are taking precautions to keep the health of your customers in mind, but many people have been scared to walk out of their homes. Understand that frightened customers are not going to buy anything, especially when the future is so uncertain. You need to move past the fear that has gripped the world over the past several months. The best way to do this is to change the narrative to a more positive tone that gives hope. Positivity sells well. Hope sells well. Fear does not. Let your customers know what safety measures you have put in place, but don’t let your marketing message end there. Turn the page and make a positive marketing statement about your brand. Let them know you are open for business and welcome them to order from you.

Be creative. I said that positivity sells well. A positive marketing message is one side of the coin. The other side is creativity. Marketing is tasked with grasping the attention of customers. It is a challenge to find new and innovative ways to make this work, but creative messaging, imagery, video, and sound are key to getting your target market to pay attention to you. Especially right now, creativity sells. How many imaginative short videos are shared on social media daily? How many clever photos make you stop and take a second look at a news feed? Creativity is essential to successful marketing.

The detour of your marketing is crucial in these changing times. Are you ready to move with your customers? Better yet, have you made plans to lead them in a new direction? Make sure your marketing plans include flexibility, positivity, and creativity.