Making the Shift: How to Quickly Transition Your Marketing & Develop Business Online

It’s no secret. Business unusual means we need to be creative, adapt, and reevaluate. What worked just a few weeks ago might not be the best approach now. And I want to dive into that.

Many people, especially small businesses who feel as if they’ve lost some footing, are pulling back their marketing and ad spend. 

And with reason. I don’t blame them.

However, there is a positive message in this as well. Most of the people we’ve been talking with are not panicking, they know that times will change again. 

They know that cooler heads will prevail and they’re preparing to be in a strong position coming out of this.

Of course, things can change and it makes sense to be prepared. What does that mean for businesses though? Where should you be focusing your time, effort, and budget to be best prepared?

This post explores those questions.

Your Competition Hasn’t Given Up & Neither Should You

Maybe you feel the need to cut back on your marketing efforts, but it would be a mistake to completely stop. I want to share this story that came up in our company slack the other day that illustrates this point really well:

• Forbes, The New Yorker, and many others have shared this similar story over the years, telling of a time when businesses struggled to stay open – let alone had the budget to market their products to people who largely did not have the money to buy them. It is, perhaps, one of the most telling reasons why it is imperative to maintain your branding presence to stay on top of the food chain – literally.
  
  In the late nineteen-twenties, two companies—Kellogg and Post—dominated the market for packaged cereal. It was still a relatively new market: Ready-to-eat cereal had been around for decades, but Americans didn’t see it as a real alternative to oatmeal or cream of wheat until the twenties. So, when the Depression hit, no one knew what would happen to consumer demand. 
  
  Post did the predictable thing: It reined in expenses and cut back on advertising. 
  ​
  But Kellogg doubled its ad budget, moved aggressively into radio advertising, and heavily pushed its new cereal, Rice Krispies. (Snap, Crackle, and Pop first appeared in the 1930s.) 
  
  By 1933, even as the economy cratered, Kellogg’s profits had risen almost 30 percent and it had become what it remains today: The industry’s dominant player.
  
  This is a condensed version of an important lesson taught in marketing classes around the globe, but tells a true tale of why maintaining your brand through various marketing initiatives is imperative, and why pulling back on your budget when times are hard, could actually mean never regaining that presence again.

The big picture here is that right now is NOT the time to hole up in a bunker and wait for this to pass. You may find that the landscape looks very different when you resurface. 

Every minute you spend submitting to the moment is matched by someone else out there fighting, innovating, and adapting.

Pivot to Online Channels That Cannot Be Taken Away From You

It’s a tricky time. That’s true for everyone. 

But if you have relied on networking events, in-person meet ups, trade shows, conferences, etc. it may feel like the world is collapsing in on you. 

There is good news though. While events and in person meetings are pretty much all universally canceled, you can achieve the same benefits/results online. 

The crux of business is, and will always be, trust. 

Say what you want about the shit show that 2020 has been, but you cannot deny that social media and online communication channels have made it easier than ever to build trust and develop relationships with your prospects without ever leaving your home/office. 

Now more than ever you have to double down on digital channels that cannot be taken away from you. 

That means investing your time and budget toward getting sales opportunities through social media sites (LinkedIn, Facebook), phone/virtual meetings, and email.

You Must Adapt Fast (Like, Right Now)

As the above story illustrates, Kellog was able to adapt fast and double down on what’s working. 

After all, it’s not survival of the fittest, it’s survival of those who adapt. 

Reframe the circumstances; this doesn’t have to be a “difficult” time. 

It’s simply a different time that each of us need to adapt to. There’s really no question that companies that adapt fast will be much more likely to succeed. 

For example:

If you spent a lot of time having meetings with prospects or attending networking events then you could replace that with LinkedIn outreach to build relationships with prospects. 

If you got clients from speaking at events (that have now been canceled) you can create an online version of the presentation as a webinar and promote it through Facebook or LinkedIn ads.

If you’ve relied on referrals from friends and existing clients in the past but that well seems to be drying up with everything that is going on you need to be proactive and create your own opportunities. 

The key? Much like your investments portfolio, you need to diversify the online channels that you use moving forward to avoid this situation repeating. 

**If you’re interested in seeing a full breakdown of the multi-channel outbound strategies that our clients use to get sales appointments every single month (yes, even now) you can check that out here.

What’s more, here are some numbers presenting the reality of the new, remote environment:

• 43% are now working remotely, and 52% are doing more calls on phone or video.

• 44% of senior leaders are somewhat or very likely going to make remote work policies permanent.

• 54% of senior leaders reported their companies are implementing virtual events as a result of the coronavirus outbreak, and 45% say this is somewhat or very likely going to be a more permanent shift. 

• 36% even stated they’re more productive when they’re working from home.

I don’t know about you, but this tells me that a lot of the changes people are making are likely to stay for the long term. And that brings me to another point - things will happen virus or no virus. Which is another reason why it’s imperative to be able adapt as quickly as you can; there will always be one reason or another for change. 

You don’t want to be locked into a channel that will prevent your business from growing. If that’s the reality you're facing, or if you want to come out of this strong and well-positioned, turning your focus to digital platforms and maintaining your marketing efforts will pay off as we come out of this.

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