Covid-19: How Does a Pandemic Impact Your Marketing?

The Covid-19 pandemic changed how most core business operations and teams had to function in order for them to align to evolving pandemic effects and regulations. The year 2020 and onwards has led to different kinds of disruptions and shifts because of those unprecedented times, as the pandemic still shows signs of affecting how businesses and industries are run, what are some of the marketing impacts that B2B marketers need to be focusing more on?

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As marketing and sales teams prepare for a new quarter and new year, it is time to re-evaluate not only basic martech/salestech choices and marketing/sales processes, now is the time to accept that the pandemic is still set to overhaul typical marketing methodologies, this will help marketing teams plan campaigns that align to today’s actual dynamics and challenges with the aim of boosting conversions and fueling a healthy sales pipeline: two main goals of any marketing leader.

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Here are a few things worth keeping in mind:

Aligning Companies to Fit a Hybrid Work Model (based on your customer’s current hybrid way of work and life)

There have been an array of tips and insights depicting what HR teams, Sales teams and Marketing teams should do while adjusting to a new normal and hybrid work model.

When it comes to marketing, at a time when precise messaging that meets a certain objective and resonates with an audience set based on what their priorities and interests are, it is crucial to align campaigns to suit their current working styles too. Understanding that prospects are mainly still working from home with just a smaller lot actually imbibing a go-to-office model, campaigns need to align to trigger a need or identify with a challenge they face while they work through hybrid times.

Traditional marketing campaigns and techniques of pre-Covid days can work but only to an extent. Because, customers and prospects interests, priorities and even challenges have changed over the last few years.

Messaging that aligns to not only showing them how your brand can help but also trigger a sentiment of safety and trust can help pull more interest and engagement.

Digital-first with a Mix of Direct Mail and Print

When incorporating hybrid models and having a chunk of teams working from home, marketers need to keep in mind the impact and choice of their media mix. A digital-first approach has been a basic necessity to help capture market share despite locational disadvantages, but now, the need for a different choice of mixed media that allows a fair share of print and even direct mail is crucial in order to tap into your target audience’s attention based on where they are or if they are largely working from home.

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Surveying Customers and Prospects to Understand what they Need

Customers and prospects have a different set of challenges today than what they had pre-Covid. For marketers to identify actual pain points and dovetail marketing messaging and campaigns that can help prospects with these challenges, a thorough understanding of what pain points need to be addressed is a start. Online surveys that can depict where a prospect’s mind is and what they are looking for can allow marketers to not only differentiate their brand but also emphasize on product enhancements according to actual market needs: a core need at a time when competition is rife and every brand is jostling for the same prospect’s attention.

Understanding That Covid-19 Has Led To A Lasting Marketing Impact

If the Great Resignation is anything to go by, marketers need to also understand how the market is moving in terms of choice and priorities today, not just when it comes to jobs and work, but also how customers want brand interactions to change.

Prospects and customers want more value from every interaction they have with a brand and they are not afraid to end contracts or service agreements at the slightest sign of a problem or disruption.

Covid-19 has changed how the world wants to work and how it wants to buy and sell, with consumers now looking at meaning interactions and meaningful investments as a top choice. This is what marketers need to keep at the core of all their future activities in order to help dovetail the right output, campaign theme and nurture efforts that can give prospects and future customers exactly what they are looking for.