• For how long will my business be disrupted?
  • What decisions can wait, and which ones can’t?
  • Can my business/job survive the recent turn of events?
  • How long will it take the economy to recover?

On the one hand, there are your customers. They may be paralyzed with uncertainty. As the growth leader, you determine the strategy for how your company will communicate to your audiences. You can set the tone to reassure, show empathy, and create meaningful engagement with your brand.

Then there's your internal operations. A large part of your strategy to drive engagement was likely focused on events – events that have either been canceled or postponed in light of the current circumstances.

My advice: don’t cut the budget, reallocate! Consider rerouting the event dollars to these five areas to drive more meaningful conversations in the face of uncertainty. For a more in-depth look at how to reallocate your budget 

1. ABM and Customer Marketing

While social distancing is forcing us into new behaviours and business patterns, your marketing strategy still has a lot of value. Now is the time to double down on your ABM and ensure that the effort you put in is reaching exactly the right people – those who want to hear what you have to offer!

Strengthen the bond between your existing clients and your business, and reach out to 'new' ones you've already established contact with. Would you like to be bombarded with spam from a non-essential business right now? Exactly.

Don't shy away from trying something new in your approach: the good old fruit basket to the office HQ doesn't exactly work right now, but a gift certificate won't go bad (and it supports a local business!).

2. Focus on Customer Experience

Right now, everyone of us will happily take all the support we can get. Let that message sink in and then pass it on to your Support Team (if you haven't already had that discussion). Whenever you send out something to your clients and partners, focus on quality over quantity – an uplifting "Thank You" note goes a longer way than this weeks 80 % off Groupon for a dinner experience at a closed restaurant.

·      To which channels are your customers migrating? 

·      Can CX leverage these channels to reach customers more effectively? 

·      What type of content and messages are resonating with your customers?

Despite the crisis, there's nothing wrong with adapting to the new patterns in customer behaviour: rearrange your offers so as to HELP you target audience with your product. Finding solutions to valid pain points is the essence of good business – in a crisis more than ever. Keep your ears open for new developments and be proactive.

3. Embracing virtual events

What do you do if you can't meet your prospects in person? You meet them virtually! Most B2Bs already had some sort of remote work implemented before the "Coronial era" started. If you redefine your event strategy fast, there's a good chance that you can maintain a certain amount of normalcy for internal and external communications.

You can even position yourself as a thought leader (think IT and remote business!) by becoming your clients' role model through a successful remote workshop or sales presentation. They'll want to learn from you. And that's on top of flattening the curve by staying in!

4. Inbound Marketing

Even before the outbreak, Inbound Marketing has been a powerful tool in the hands of those who know how to leverage it. Now, it's quintessential.

The Inbound Strategy is based on the assumption that great content attracts great leads, prospects, and customers. This model has become more nuanced with the emergence of increasingly smarter search algorithms, and is perfectly adapted to the generation of digital natives that are dominating the market of today and the future.

With virtually everyone conducting research online and (due to CoVid) being confined to their homes, Inbound Marketing is your first choice to conquer the online business and market place with your MEANINGFUL and ENGAGING content. 

Moving Ahead

To learn more about how to keep your strategy agile and align it with what drives your success, check out our recent webinar. It provides a deeper dive into the five places in which we see our clients' efforts to be the most fruitful.

We will share more of that during our April event. Make sure to tune in.