We are going to see two types of people over the coming months. The ‘Child’ and the ‘Adult’.
In times of crisis, the child panics whereas the adult stays calm and rational. All of us have the capacity for both, we all have an inner child and an inner adult battling with each other, not just today but at various times in normal day-to-day life.
As we find ourselves in an unprecedented situation it’s more important than ever we all try to release our inner adult by reasoning with our inner child and avoid focussing on the worst-case scenario or making emotionally-driven decisions.
Love or hate him, agree or disagree with his decisions, Boris is not in a state of hysteria, he accepts it is going to be incredibly tough but he has a plan based on evidence, not guesswork which aims to minimise the impact – we need to take his lead and do the same for our businesses.
It’s true that new opportunities can present themselves in times of crisis – sometimes it just means we need to have the courage to run in the opposite direction to the rest of the herd.
In the Great Recession which hit the UK between 2008 and 2009 following 6 consecutive quarters of negative growth the businesses that survived and thrived were those that invested in themselves and their future.
Whilst our inner child might be telling us to run and hide, our inner adult is telling us to keep calm, plan and get our businesses in the best possible state so we can outperform those that do nothing.
Here are 4 things to consider:
1. Strategy
When you’re busy working in the business rather than on it, strategy can get put on hold as you work on ad-hoc projects and firefight to solve an immediate issue. Over the coming months, you may find you have some more headspace, away from the office and working at home – it could be a really good time to hit the reset button and assess your business, your next move and how you can come out of this better and stronger.
2. Online Visibility and Websites
Your online presence is more important now than ever – face-to-face interaction is going to dwindle at least over the coming months, so ensuring you’re found online and that your website isn’t just an online brochure but a lead generation tool will help you to close the gap caused by less face-to-face sales opportunities.
3. Marketing Automation
You may find yourself with a reduced team – whilst we’re not suggesting automation can replace them – it can help to alleviate some immediate capacity issues and in the long term help the team to make better use of their time. Automating emails and sales based activities based on behaviour, stage in the decision-making process, or persona means you’re nurturing your prospects through the funnel, in the background without having to have one-to-one contact until the time is right. HubSpot is a great marketing tool to help businesses to do this. Find out more here.
4. Refocusing Budgets
You may have relied on some key exhibitions to generate an influx of leads however, it’s likely they’ve been postponed or cancelled for the foreseeable future. You should consider reallocating that budget to other tactics that could help fill the gap. Whether it be social advertising, lead prospecting on LinkedIn or finally getting around to creating a content plan – if your lead tap has been turned off the last thing you should do is nothing. Refocus, regroup and get moving!
The biggest mistake businesses make is endlessly debating on how to move forward whilst standing still. Accept the challenges and work around them the best you can to ensure you’re securing the best outcome for your business and your team.
Hard times show us our best strengths and resilience. Although times will be tough, two things are certain. Do NOT stop selling and do NOT stop marketing. The economy will continue and so should your business. If you’re ready to get the ball rolling on a new marketing strategy, looking into a new CMS such as HubSpot, a redesign of your website, or perhaps wanting to get support with your digital marketing then get in touch with us today and we’ll help you do more.
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