7 Marketing Initiatives to Focus on When Sales are Slow
If you’re practicing safe social-distancing, then like Vive, you’re most likely working from home. Even though there are sales calls to be made, marketing projects to be completed and internal meetings to participate in, Vive is happy to offer suggestions that will feed your brand’s marketing channels during this time of decreased face-to-face sales efforts.
During these unprecedented times, here are seven marketing opportunities to capitalize on while sales activities may be light:
Email Marketing – Due to our “stay-at-home order”, onsite visits and person-to-person contact is extremely limited. Without face-to-face communication as an option, creating e-blasts or targeted, personalized emails is crucial to stay top-of-mind with your customers or prospects, while building brand awareness. Your email marketing should contain strong subject lines and engaging content that links back to your website, driving traffic to your website. Email marketing is a cost-effective and easily measured way to reach a specific audience segment, allowing you to reach a wide audience with a tailored message.
Blogs – Now more than ever, customers are looking to brands to communicate important updates and information. With heightened attention from current and prospective customers, writing blogs are an opportunity to speak directly to your audience and can be used as featured content in email marketing. In addition to the ability to connect with your customers, consistent blogging provides a boost in SEO, increasing website traffic to develop your online brand presence, and establishes your brand as a knowledge leader. The best part of blogging? It’s free.
Scheduling Customer Interviews – Setting up a time to speak directly with your customers is an opportunity to check in with them, remind them they are valued and that you are there to support them. These interviews can also be a time to learn more about your customers, providing a chance to gather testimonials. One-on-one customer interviews can also help reinforce how you will continue to add value to the relationship and provide the base for continued growth.
Social Media – Your social platform is can be used to illustrate how you’re adapting to the COVID-19 pandemic and how you are continuing to sustain productivity, even in new environments. LinkedIn, Facebook, and YouTube are useful resources to provide suggestions, alternatives or innovative supply chain strategies.
Updating CRM Lists – As sales slow down, this is an opportunity to take a step back and revisit tasks that typically are neglected. Using this time to clean up your CRM list, update in-house documents or organizing information within your shared server are examples of tasks that may have previously been deferred, that can now be completed.
Videos – With thousands of companies posting COVID-19 updates and statements, finding a way to be unique can be challenging. Companies have the opportunity to promote their brand and break through the noise by using video. Producing short clips on how you are adapting and advancing through this peculiar time creates personable interaction. For your customers, it is comforting to feel as though we are all going through this together.
Webinars – Providing opportunities for high-quality lead generation, webinars are the perfect platform to promote the value of your expertise and offerings, communicate your unique differentiators, demonstrate products or showcase industry knowledge. By producing valuable content in webinars, brand awareness is created, helping to establish your company as a credible industry leader.
Incorporating these marketing best practices during this period will not only help to elevate brand visibility but also develops business skills that will continue to foster flourishing relationships with customers. Use this abnormal time in history to learn from your customers and remain in contact with them through multiple channels. When we get through this, and we will, you’ll be in an advanced position to guide your manufacturing sales team by initiating new business objectives and escalating new opportunities on the flip side.
Want to learn more about Vive? Explore our work or contact us to see how we can support you.