As people absorbed the implications of COVID-19, businesses quickly canceled conferences, lunch meetings, live events, tradeshows and face-to-face sales appointments. And yet, while many local restaurants and shops shuttered, B2B business didn’t cease.
Instead, the pandemic of 2020 unleashed a massive special database paradigm shift to a remote working and virtual interaction business model that has the potential to become the new corporate normal. As businesses scramble to rise to the occasion, B2B marketers need to rethink their strategies and tactics.
One critical question is: Where do the smart marketers’ dollars go now?
Embrace the New Digital Normal
When NewsCred surveyed marketers about their response to coronavirus, 88% admitted that they see a significant decrease in conferences, tradeshows and live events. At the same time, there is a dramatic increase in digital content and virtual gatherings.
As the dust settles, many marketers are discovering that their business isn’t so much changed as refocused. After all, the tools and platforms necessary for automation, digital marketing, and even virtual events already exist. Marketers just need to ratchet up a trend that was already present.
As for the budget, when live events are canceled, so are the expenditures for travel, meals, booth design, printed collateral, shipping, hospitality suites and more. It’s up to you to divert those dollars into building a new digital marketing model that continues to reach your target market and ensures that your sales reps have plenty of qualified leads.
Here are a few suggestions:
Focus on Brand Building
Without big displays at tradeshows and an army of field reps meeting with customers and prospects, marketers need to build their brand digitally. The customer experience you deliver throughout the buyer’s journey is your new brand ambassador—that experience and what your brand stands for must be consistent across all media and platforms.
