Lockdown: a hard lesson for marketing teams
Posted: Wed Dec 04, 2024 6:00 am
Lockdown: a hard lesson for marketing teamsOne of the consequences of the lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic has been the paralysis of many marketing plans and the teams responsible for carrying them out. But not all of them.
Apart from the enormous human tragedy that this situation is causing, and which this is not the place to talk about, the truth is that on a personal, social and professional level, we are receiving a hard lesson that those of us who are experiencing it will never forget.
And the first lesson is that we have learned that what we never imagined could happen, is happening.
Marketing in times of pandemic
One of the consequences of confinement is the increase in online media consumption, which, in global terms, exceeds 30%.
If we analyze the sectors, we find some cases, such as that of a client of ours, who is receiving 500% more visits to his website from Social Networks. The circumstances, due to the type of product he sells –online training– and his marketing process, are good for him.
There are many people at home, with a lot of free time, who croatia business email list are taking advantage of the opportunity to educate themselves, inform themselves and research on the Internet about decisions they will make in the coming months. Personal and professional decisions.
Given this scenario, we find two types of companies:
Those that did not have a digital strategy based on automated processes are missing out on a situation in which their potential customers have more time than ever to interact with their brands.
Companies that, on the other hand, have implemented an automated digital marketing process (like the client we mentioned), supported by all the necessary tools, and whose operation does not depend exclusively on human intervention at their workplace located on the company's own premises, continue to maintain their presence in the minds of their potential clients.
We have dedicated several articles to talking about the digitalization of the marketing department, such as this one entitled The digitalization of the B2B marketing department .
In these articles we have argued for the urgent need for marketing departments to undertake a digitalisation process as quickly and completely as possible. What we could not have foreseen was that a situation like the current one would occur, which would place sales and marketing teams that have not yet digitalised their processes or have only done so halfway, in a helpless position.
Now is the time to digitize the marketing department
We now know what can happen and, as many people fear, that this situation will remain chronic for an indefinite period of time, with periodic lockdowns.
It is the ideal time to digitalize marketing processes and strategies. In fact, it is essential, because companies that do not do so will see their capacity for work and communication greatly limited; they will remain stuck in a "I don't know what to do because I can't do almost anything" situation, which will have bad consequences.
Why now? For several reasons:
There is time to do it. It is unfortunate, but we already know that this situation is going to last longer than expected. If marketing teams are doing little or nothing, they should focus on this work. In addition to implementing new processes, they will have to learn to use new tools and assume collaboration processes between marketing and sales . And all this requires time and dedication. Which there is now.
There is a marketing budget that is not going to be invested, such as the entire budget allocated to attending events, fairs, congresses and other actions that involve social contact. They are not going to be spent this year or probably for a large part of next year. These are very important amounts of money that can be invested in the process of digitalizing marketing.
Your competition is probably already doing this. Where do you want to be in a few months? Still licking your wounds and lamenting your bad luck? Or ready to take on your competitors from a position of advantage? It's up to you.
Every day we hear that many things will change from now on . And they will. You can be absolutely sure that marketers who are not in a position to offer a way out of these situations will cease to be competitive. Think about it.
Companies for which marketing is vital and who don't do it will disappear.
Apart from the enormous human tragedy that this situation is causing, and which this is not the place to talk about, the truth is that on a personal, social and professional level, we are receiving a hard lesson that those of us who are experiencing it will never forget.
And the first lesson is that we have learned that what we never imagined could happen, is happening.
Marketing in times of pandemic
One of the consequences of confinement is the increase in online media consumption, which, in global terms, exceeds 30%.
If we analyze the sectors, we find some cases, such as that of a client of ours, who is receiving 500% more visits to his website from Social Networks. The circumstances, due to the type of product he sells –online training– and his marketing process, are good for him.
There are many people at home, with a lot of free time, who croatia business email list are taking advantage of the opportunity to educate themselves, inform themselves and research on the Internet about decisions they will make in the coming months. Personal and professional decisions.
Given this scenario, we find two types of companies:
Those that did not have a digital strategy based on automated processes are missing out on a situation in which their potential customers have more time than ever to interact with their brands.
Companies that, on the other hand, have implemented an automated digital marketing process (like the client we mentioned), supported by all the necessary tools, and whose operation does not depend exclusively on human intervention at their workplace located on the company's own premises, continue to maintain their presence in the minds of their potential clients.
We have dedicated several articles to talking about the digitalization of the marketing department, such as this one entitled The digitalization of the B2B marketing department .
In these articles we have argued for the urgent need for marketing departments to undertake a digitalisation process as quickly and completely as possible. What we could not have foreseen was that a situation like the current one would occur, which would place sales and marketing teams that have not yet digitalised their processes or have only done so halfway, in a helpless position.
Now is the time to digitize the marketing department
We now know what can happen and, as many people fear, that this situation will remain chronic for an indefinite period of time, with periodic lockdowns.
It is the ideal time to digitalize marketing processes and strategies. In fact, it is essential, because companies that do not do so will see their capacity for work and communication greatly limited; they will remain stuck in a "I don't know what to do because I can't do almost anything" situation, which will have bad consequences.
Why now? For several reasons:
There is time to do it. It is unfortunate, but we already know that this situation is going to last longer than expected. If marketing teams are doing little or nothing, they should focus on this work. In addition to implementing new processes, they will have to learn to use new tools and assume collaboration processes between marketing and sales . And all this requires time and dedication. Which there is now.
There is a marketing budget that is not going to be invested, such as the entire budget allocated to attending events, fairs, congresses and other actions that involve social contact. They are not going to be spent this year or probably for a large part of next year. These are very important amounts of money that can be invested in the process of digitalizing marketing.
Your competition is probably already doing this. Where do you want to be in a few months? Still licking your wounds and lamenting your bad luck? Or ready to take on your competitors from a position of advantage? It's up to you.
Every day we hear that many things will change from now on . And they will. You can be absolutely sure that marketers who are not in a position to offer a way out of these situations will cease to be competitive. Think about it.
Companies for which marketing is vital and who don't do it will disappear.