COVID-19 has changed the landscape of B2B marketing along with almost every aspect of our personal and professional lives. All businesses large and small have had to shelve their long-term plans at least for a while and adapt to this new environment. Adapting your B2B marketing strategy is integral to your success during this time. These four tips will help.
Help Small Businesses
Although businesses of all sizes have been hit by COVID-19, small businesses are under particularly intense pressure. Most small business operate with tight budgets. With no income coming in, they are not just struggling to survive, but they also have to find a way to pay their employees.
One way you can help them is by discounting your services or even offering them free of cost for at least a limited amount of time. You may lose some money in doing this but what you will gain by lifetime loyal customers is invaluable. Word of mouth is powerful in the digital marketing world. News of what you’ve done will spread quickly, drawing even more loyal customers to your site.
Review Your Email Marketing - Connect More Thoughtfully
Regardless of your marketing strategy before COVID-19, now is the time to take a step back from aggressive marketing and focus on reaching out to your customers more thoughtfully. Be empathetic to their struggles – different businesses may have a different set of struggles but it is an extremely stressful time for everyone. Inject a personal note in your email marketing.
Dropping out of sight and not reaching out to your readers just because they are not buying right now is a mistake. Instead, stay front of mind by just being there for them and connecting with them. It’s those little thoughtful gestures that will pay rich dividends when your customers are ready to buy again.
Offer Educational Based Training
Consider switching from marketing to educating. Teach your customers how to broaden their skills so they are better equipped to handle anything that comes their way. Scour the internet for relevant trainings and send them the links. Several companies are offering free courses and even grants to help small businesses stay afloat at this time. Not everybody knows where to find these courses. Even if you don’t offer any training programs of your own, you can help your customers by pointing them in the right direction.
Diversify The Regions You Get Your Traffic From
Have you been focusing your marketing efforts on one region only? Some regions have been more badly affected than others by COVID-19. If you’ve been focusing so far on regions that have been badly affected, you will see a significant drop in business. Diversifying the regions you get your traffic from will help those sales to keep coming in. At this time, even small sales are better than nothing.
There’s no doubt that COVID-19 has struck a blow to small businesses all over the world. Adapting your B2B marketing strategy to reflect the changes is what will help you rise above the crisis.
