What do summer and fall have in store for business, especially as it pertains to marketing gatherings? In the aftermath of massive health concerns, will there be golf outings and trade shows this year? If so, will people come? If people come, will they feel comfortable getting close enough to you to talk face-to-face? Everyone in marketing is asking the same question: when will we get back to normal?

English writer Aldous Huxley said, "There are things known and there are things unknown, and in between are the doors of perception.” Huxley was a controversial person for sure, but he may have stumbled into truth when it comes to doing business – especially when you are in the business of marketing; perception is a very powerful marketing tool. For that reason, it is imperative that you keep track of trending opinions among your customers. Attitudes change as seasons go by; so, before you jump into a marketing event, it is good to take inventory of the attitudes of your customers before committing to anything. But the problem is, marketing is typically working six months ahead. Right now, you should be thinking of October. When there is this much uncertainty about large group gatherings, how can you judge what people will be thinking six months from now?

Right now, planning is key and in order to be effective in your marketing, you have to plan for three types of customers: those who are ready to put the concerns of the pandemic behind them, those who are not, and those who are waiting for someone else to make the first move. Those who are not afraid to come to a large gathering are pretty easy to figure out. Market to them as you would in any pre-pandemic mode. These customers are ready to make the last year a blip on the screen of the past. For those who are going to stay away for a while longer, marketing needs to remain virtual for a while longer. That means you need to beef up your online presence and communicate with them electronically. I would encourage you to look for ways to make a visual impact with videos, web upgrades, and content that is relevant to your target market. Be careful because it is easy to be forgotten when you are not meeting face-to-face with a customer. Make sure you are communicating more often than you might in normal situations.

This leaves us the person who needs some coaxing before they will attend a large marketing event. They want to come out of their shelter, but they would feel better if they knew others had done so first. This is where marketing one of the changes that came about during the pandemic can help. Promote your health and safety measures. I don’t think these are going away any time soon and it is critical for people who have lived for a year wearing a surgical mask to know you are taking appropriate safety precautions. There was a time when consumers really did not care how you produced your goods or services. That has changed. Consumers want some assurance that it was all done with their health in mind. The same is truer of large gatherings. How do you give these assurances? You shape perception with your marketing. Let your customers know you will be creating space where they can converse with you at a safe distance, behind a Plexiglas shield, with plenty of hand sanitizer. Keep in mind that the typical giveaways at events may have to take on a different shape (and be sealed in plastic!). An even bigger problem may be just finding space to stay a comfortable distance from other people. Big crowds have been shamed for the better part of a year. One idea is to stretch things out bigger than you used to at these types of events. If you have a golf outing, put up a larger tent than in years past. If you are going to a trade show, this may be the year to get into a larger booth and create some wide open space where customers can walk around your display instead of standing at the front of the booth talking to you over a table.

It is a strange time we are living through and marketers are trying to decide whether to stop or go forward with group marketing events. Take an assessment of your customers. What are they telling you? Ask them what it would take before they would be comfortable going to a large event. What is the threshold that would make them feel at ease? You don’t want to go when you should have stopped, but that would be better than choosing to stay at home when your competition is picking up your customers at the event you chose not to attend.