First there was Brexit. Then there was coronavirus. Businesses have had a tough time of it lately, that’s for sure. Looking ahead to the next few months, we’re going to need some of that good old-fashion British resilience to see us through. Plus some smarter, less conventional thinking.
As often is the case during a crisis, marketing is picking up the pieces dealing with events on the front line with limited time and resources. Demand for business services has dropped off a cliff as decision-making takes a back seat. But is that reason enough to join them on the fence by taking a ‘wait and see’ approach?
Time for a power play
Maybe, just maybe, now is the perfect time for marketing to finally get on the front foot and begin to ‘own’ the customer relationship? See how by downloading this free guide.
Over the last 20 years, the showrooming phenomenon has given retail a kick up the proverbial backside. Ironically, we can’t indulge in a bit of this ‘browse in-store and buy online’ behaviour at the moment. But that won’t last indefinitely and brands, once again, will have to figure out how to blend the online and offline worlds.
B2C organisations will make this switch naturally enough, but B2B will inevitably find the adjustment more difficult to deal with. And deal with it we must if we are to recover lost revenues from the Covid-19 outbreak and lockdown period.
The not-so ‘new’ normal
The perfect place to start is with the customer and focusing on buyer enablement, rather than sales enablement. Workforces have been pleasantly surprised by how easily it’s been to work remotely. We’re blessed with video conferencing, cloud based tools and every digital trick in the book to reach our colleagues and customers.
Some of us will revert to ‘business as usual’ but that ignores the seismic shift that took place well before the pandemic. Stats going back almost 10 years indicate that 70% or more of the customer journey is complete before a prospect reaches out to a brand for the very first time. We research remotely and then we buy directly.
Interruptive marketing was the only form of marketing pre-Google, but now the buyer journey looks far different. As we enter the ‘new normal’ why not embrace more digital methods of giving prospects what they want?
Bounceback-ability
Will marketers like us be happy with a small bounce back? Or will we strive for a giant leap forward? If the latter is more your thinking, then this is a webinar for you. In under 30mins you’ll come away armed with a simple but effective buyer journey model. And to sweeten the pill, we also share real-world sales funnel metrics and ideas to boost your pipeline. It’s not an antidote to every marketer’s problems right now, but it’s a good place to start.
