In mid-March of 2020, the world changed overnight when the COVID-19 novel coronavirus was declared a pandemic. Schools closed, businesses shifted to work-from-home, and what was normal quickly became abnormal. As the dust settled from this rapid change, companies faced new questions and challenges, worries about hitting sales quotas, and how to maintain business in an ever-changing world.
As events continue to go virtual for Q4, there is no right answer on how to keep your business running, but there are moves to avoid. During a crisis, some may instinctually halt marketing spending and double down on old strategies. Both actions feel safe, but in the end, are destructive.
Successful businesses keep the long term in mind, even in the middle of significant disruption. To maintain and grow your business during these uncertain times, you need to pivot your strategies and target your spending. Now is when “bang for your buck” is most critical.
Ideate, Test, and Evaluate
While it may seem counterintuitive, now is the time to experiment. The old systems of outreach are gone, and there is no clear path to the new ones. The only way you’ll determine what works is by coming up with ideas and testing them out. Explore all the opportunities you think of, rapidly testing, and evaluating results till you see what sticks. The trick is to identify ways to use your funds in the most impactful way. At this point, no idea is a bad until proven so.
Stay Relevant
One of the main reasons to keep up as much of your marketing budget as you can is you don’t want to get lost. It’s much more difficult and costly to emerge from a marketing silence than to use funds to keep yourself relevant throughout a crisis. Find ways to continue to communicate with your customers, displaying compassion, and establishing trust through your outreach.
Focus on Customer Needs
The best way to determine how to maintain and gain business is by listening to your customers. Get in touch with top tier clients or send out a short survey to find out what your customers are going through and what they need. This outreach accomplishes three things: keeps you relevant, shows compassion, and brings in essential data you can use to inform your marketing experiments.
Double Down on What Works
Though many of your “old” tactics may not work, some may continue to perform well. Focus on what’s working and divert your funds to those top-performing channels or strategies. As you test and evaluate new methods, you’ll need these tried and true tactics in place for some stability.
Target Marketing with Data
Data is your number one priority. The faster you can gain and interpret data, the quicker you can pivot your strategies and discover where you need to invest time and resources. You’re on a mission to find out how to target the right people at the right time with the right message- all of which may have changed in these past months. Leverage your market research, CRM, and data processing to the max.
Get It all Form One Place
If you need ideas, data processing, and a variety of “pandemic-proof” strategies, you can find it all in one place with the experts at NuGrowth Solutions. Our team has thrived in a virtual work environment with digitally-focused outreach strategies for years, helping businesses of all industries and sizes leverage data to fill their calendar with appointments. Strategies like our 90-day Tactic Group outreach campaigns put your team in front of buyers uniquely qualified for your services, with no long-term contract and proven results.
Give your pipeline the jolt it needs to meet sales quotas and bring your business back to life. Get in touch with one of our experts today at 614.304.3916 or fill out a simple contact form here.
Sarah Deak is a veteran copywriter and content strategist with NuGrowth Solutions. She likes to look for the unexpected angle and uses her background in education, business development, and marketing to create interesting and informative pieces to equip readers with actionable data