How long is that pot of money going to last? I know the instinct is to cut fast, so hard that you’d make Gordon Geekco from the movie Wall Street look like a wimpy kid. Will this strategy work? No. As all the liquidity (fancy name for money) dries up, and you all hoard the cash, businesses will close. You could be the one breaking the chain, causing others and yourself to go into administration…

Two weeks ago most of us did not have a care in the world. It even seemed that way this weekend with thousands going for walks or runs. But, we really did feel the dark cloud hanging over us. We have all looked at our finances, all to face the unpleasant truth that we don’t have a backup – sure we all have car loans, rent and mortgages, and it’s alarming how much gets spent on these items. European governments have stepped in guaranteeing 80% of your salary and I am sure the same will come from Trump too. As an employee, you’re pretty safe, but the business you work for needs help – unless you’re selling mobile homes, medical items or groceries, your business’ survival is under threat.

I urge you not to go quietly into the night, but to stand up for our way of life. The NHS and all the other vital industries are doing their absolute best, but are you? Sure, you’ve now got a handle on social distancing but what about business survival? We can and will survive. It will be a boom for many industries, particularly e-commerce stores. My guidance is to stay calm and let the panic subside. You may feel you want to cut expenditure and I have heard of many businesses considering delaying PAYE payments and cancelling HMRC direct debits. I would advise caution until we know the situation with the ‘HMRC Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme’.

I’ve contacted commercial mortgage companies asking what their plans are for customers but they just seem keen on ensuring we all keep paying. This ‘just keep paying’ approach does have a flaw and it’s that it requires you to still have sales and income. This is easier said than done today.

If you need sales, DO NOT CUT your ad spend, unless there’s absolutely no way you can continue. You will need the sales, Amazon is booming and they’ve cut all advertising, so Google Ads presents a huge opportunity now with Amazon gone. With millions isolated at home, e-commerce is exploding. People are going to get bored, they will still be getting paid too. If it’s 80% they get, then after they have taken a mortgage holiday they may even be financially better off too.

Last week was a great time for onboarding new clients. Luckily for us, we always dealt in the dirty end of marketing – e-commerce marketing. For years I have gone on and on about how most agencies don’t have a clue about e-commerce marketing, and it’s suddenly visible for all to see. We’re battle hard e-commerce marketing experts and it really has shown over the last few days. I am a member of multiple marketing groups and the chats are awash with agencies who do brand marketing and social media awareness, desperately asking for help about how e-commerce marketing works.

We won best business over 10 employees in 2019. A huge part of this was down to how well we deliver sales for customers via e-commerce and lead generation.

Now is not the time to pin your financial future to the mast of your brand agency, now is the time to call Click Convert, battle-hardened marketing troops who will pull your business up the landing beaches of Covid-19 to safety for you, your family and your business. At moments like this, you need veteran marketing experts not branding snowflakes.

PS, I’ve created a Facebook group ‘No Business Closures and No Job Losses’ to campaign and help support businesses.