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By: Rhoan Morgan on April 21st, 2020

Quick Marketing Wins: COVID-19 Pivot Punch List

There’s no question that these are uncertain times, but marketers still need to help businesses keep moving forward.

Businesses are doing all that they can to mitigate any slowdown or reduction in sales, and the pressure is on high for B2B marketing teams. But with the majority of professionals working from home, popular tactics like direct mail and in-person events are no longer feasible. Here are a few ideas for marketers to ‘pivot’ and continue to support revenue goals in 2020:

Support your sales team

Think about how to best support sales right now. They are some of the hardest-hit professionals out there as they are trying to sell during a time of uncertainty. Help them refine their lists by creating highly targeted Account-Based Marketing (ABM) plays.

Produce educational content

Revisit your content strategy and identify some topics that would be interesting and educational to your customers. Repurpose the content for today’s buying needs.  Get creative. For example, consider producing some online live casts like the one Mastermind just did with Chris Voss on topics that will help them now and in the future.

Segment your audiences

Segment your marketing/sales database into multiple audiences including a well-segmented customer list; highly qualified/interested prospects; target accounts. Treat them each differently in terms of size, access, and content and customize a nurture program for each accordingly.

Explore new topics

If you’re already podcasting, invite some new guest speakers who are subject matter experts (SMEs) on newly relevant topics such as working from home, coping with business crises and downturns, and maintaining mental health.

Build a community

Launch a new, easy-to-access online community for your customers so they have a direct line to their success manager and can ask questions about how this situation may affect their engagement with you, service delivery, the product roadmap, and so on.  This community hub can also be used by members of the sales team who want to give prospects a quick way to be in touch with them.

Leverage your influencer network

Professionals today are overwhelmed, which means it’s not a great time to ask customers to contribute to your marketing program. Instead of asking your customers to share your social content,  create content that highlights thought leaders in your space or features a topic relevant to today’s situation. Tag everyone who contributed, and they will naturally share. This strategy will enable you to reach a wider audience without burdening your network.

Upskill your team

Look inward at your team to assess who may have skills and experience that will benefit the business as priorities and strategies continue to shift. Identify professional development and training opportunities that will ensure that everyone on the team is prepared to support newly prioritized tactics such as ABM, virtual events, and sales enablement.

Marketing in an unstable economy will inevitably be challenging for even the strongest of teams. At DemandLab, we are advising our clients to ‘stay close to revenue’ and invest further in the tactics that support the mid to late stages of the buyer journey such as engagement, conversion, and loyalty.  Let us know if we can help you and your team to pivot and be prepared for whatever 2020 brings.