Sales & Marketing in the Coronavirus Era

With all of the uncertainty in the news right now, and businesses across the spectrum dealing with the economic impact of the novel coronavirus, we wanted to share some thoughts on how to approach B2B and sales-process-oriented marketing in this current environment. 

Here’s our advice in a nutshell. The more you can lean into a core set of sales, marketing and communication efforts, the better you will protect your market share and the stronger you will be on the upswing. 

Read on for a few recommendations, and contact us today to discuss how to make the most of your sales and marketing efforts during this unusual time. In fact, we’re offering free 45-Minute Zoom Strategy Sessions to discuss your situation and provide advice. So if you’re interested, request a time to chat with one of our strategists.

In the meanwhile, here are a few things to keep in mind as you plan your approach to sales and marketing in the coming months.

• Maintain Engagement
  With more people working from home, and spending more time in front of their screens, there is opportunity to engage with customers and prospects. Appropriately timed email newsletters, along with social activity and a smart retargeting strategy will help you drive awareness and build trust that will pay off over time. 
• Maintain Awareness
  Decision makers that are looking ahead are gathering info and researching needs for later in the year. Ongoing marketing activities will keep your brand and messaging in front of them now, and are sure to pay off down the road. Plus, if your competitors pull back, you stand to gain on the upswing.
• Project Confidence, But Empathize
  Communicate openly with your various audiences, project confidence, and empathize with any pain they may be experiencing. You want to be the first phone call when a prospect is ready to buy, so continue to appropriately engage, follow-up, and nurture. Even if they don’t buy right now, they’ll gain confidence and trust in you, knowing that your business is strong, and will be primed to buy when the time comes.
• Control Your Narrative
  If you scale back on communication activities, prospects and customers alike could make negative assumptions about your business – and you don’t want them to assume anything. Rather, you want to control your own narrative by engaging in smart, strategic communications that reinforce your brand and build trust.
• Don’ Be Afraid to Pivot
  Covid-19 has scrambled all of our typical ways of doing business. That means it’s time to get creative. Does this scenario present any new uses for an existing product or service? Does it offer an opportunity to launch something new that would be useful in these current circumstances? At the very least, look for creative ways to adjust your sales and customer service processes in order to pivot to a new normal.
• Play Offense, Plus A Little Defense
  This article from Harvard Business Review looks at how businesses successfully adapted to challenging times in the past. It shows that the right combination of “offensive” and “defensive” activities helped companies come through stronger than ever. Click here to read the article at Harvard Business Review.
• Stay The Course
  It may be tempting to react and change course. However, the more you can stick with a core set of sales, marketing and communication efforts, the better. Keep these efforts going, with the right message, while continuing to optimize them over time. Businesses that back off will lose market share, and will ultimately find it harder to fill their sales pipelines in the future.

We are here to strategize with you and support your business as we all work through this current business environment together. So if you have questions about how to handle sales and marketing right now, please contact us today.

And if you’re interested in discussing your particular situation, we’re providing free 45-Minute Zoom Strategy Sessions to share ideas and offer advice.

If you’re looking for ways to strengthen your business and bounce back from the coronavirus situation stronger than ever, its not too late to get started now! We look forward to hearing from you.