There is no escaping the fact that we may be headed for an economic downturn. No one other than us (marketers) may bear a better testimony to this development since marketing function is the first to take a swing when companies cut down their spending and ease hiring.
The beauty of marketing, however, lies in its ability to painlessly accommodate changes in macroeconomic variables by switching to alternatives. Brands may scale back on brand building and rebranding efforts, gigantic MICE events, partner conferences and exhibitions in challenging economic times, but DIGITAL has always been considered as a panacea for B2B marketing managers grappling with cost-cutting. To substantiate my argument, I am compelled to highlight a crucial development from the imminent Auto Expo 2020 wherein major automakers like Toyota, BMW, Ford, Audi, Jaguar etc. are choosing to drop out citing high costs involved in participation in Expo.
Since marketers cannot afford to just crawl along in the economic doldrums, we need to find ways to skid through. Here are some of the approaches that we can adopt in times of economic distress to weather the storm-
- Rely on tried and tested- At times when customer sentiments are running low and marketing budgets have been slashed, it is prudent to assess your past marketing campaigns and stick to those activities that generate substantial customer engagement, leads and ROI.
- Switch to low-key activities- Marketers must shift to soft marketing tactics such as social media promotion, email marketing, SEO and PR that leverage more human than financial resources in economically tough times. These tactics work the best by building brand equity and driving website traffic when there is a marketing budget constraint and hefty investment seems unviable.
- Focus on customer retention- In economic slowdown, B2B marketers have less money to spend on acquiring new customers and therefore, they should change their focus from customer acquisition to customer retention. They should direct resources to digital in general and social media in particular. Social media offers the advantages of interactivity, flexibility to tailor messages and rich customer insights that can ultimately drive revenue and profits.
- Review Your UVP- Use the period of low economic activity as an opportunity to take stock of your unique value proposition and determine whether it will drive success once the economy recovers. Develop content that will help your prospects find you and differentiate you from your competitors when they are actually ready to buy.
- Use lead management to close sales- Analyse data you have collected from the past engagements to determine your potential purchasers. Use lead nurturing to convert those leads into short term sales. For rather apprehensive buyers, use lead scoring and develop relationships with prospects to close sales later.
While economic downturn is the least of all problems that we marketers expect to face but I believe we can leverage it as an opportunity to get ahead of our competitors by stepping up our marketing tactics- not in terms of quantity, but quality. I am really keen on seeing how digital marketing ushers in a new marketing high in these tough times. Hope you are too!
Best regards,
Sandipan Ray