Our lives have been turned upside down by COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus) and the havoc it's bringing down on the world isn’t over yet. With shelter in place orders and a widespread fear of contact with other people, many businesses have had to close their doors and consumers are not as willing to spend. It may be hard to see hope at times, but there will be an end to this, our economy will reopen. When it does, will you be ready?
With many being forced to close their businesses and/or to reduce manpower, budgets are extremely limited. Even so, can you afford to cease lead generation altogether? When your company reopens, you’ll need customers/clients. In addition to offering a lead generation marketplace, SalesGig offers up a few tips for lead generation during COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus).
When the okay is given and we’re able to reopen our economy, it’s not going to go right back to how it was before the onset of the virus. The atmosphere is rife with fear and the mindset is that just because our freedoms have been restored doesn’t mean the virus is gone. Right now, the economy is upside down. How well we adapt can make or break us.
Gyms are all closed and after being named as hotbeds for the virus to spread may not recover as fast as they’re hoping. Meanwhile, manufacturers are unable to keep up with the demand for home gym equipment. With many businesses having to scale back operations and/or manpower, they may not have in their budget to pay for services that they may have in the past considered essential. However, those same shops may now need to add services to help them adjust to the new normal, by installing chat services on their website.
You’ll need to identify your new target demographic (audience) and shift focus in order to adapt to the current economy. We’ve all had to adjust our what we consider to be needs and wants and shifting your focus to what your customer needs right now can help you find a measure of success. Don’t completely rule out the wants, but rather place more effort into marketing the needs. These are uncharted waters that we’re navigating and paying attention to what’s flying off of the shelves or is in most demand in your industry can give you a leg up.
With the exception of some, most are stuck home working remotely - if they’re still able to work at all. This means that not only is your own company doing the best it can virtually, but everyone else is as well. This is the time we need to adapt to the virtual environment and find new ways to conduct lead generation.
We’ve put together a few suggestions for lead generation during COVID-19 (the novel coronavirus).
● Generate relevant digital content.
● Host virtual events.
● Attend virtual events.
● Integrate video conferencing for sales.
● Update your website.
● Create an online marketplace to showcase your products and/or services.
Your potential customers/clients can’t come to you right now so to conduct successful lead generation, you need to go to them. Maintaining a presence on social media and producing quality, relevant and engaging content can help bring new business, keep your name at the forefront of your current, former and prospective clients and help to establish you as a thought leader.
Consider adding blogs to your website. Not only does it help with SEO for keywords, but also gives you another outlet for producing and providing relevant content to your followers and is yet another way to establish your company as a thought leader in your industry. Posting the links to your blogs on your social channels can help reach a wider audience and drive traffic to your website.
In a day when virtual is really our only outlet, be a leader by hosting and attending virtual events. The Spring is a time that is normally filled with all sorts of conventions, conferences and other networking events rife with lead generation opportunities. All of those events have been cancelled, but some are finding innovative ways to bring conventions to the digital space. Emerge, for instance, is a virtual summit dedicated to helping companies adapt to the virtual space. Along with bringing in keynote speakers, they’re also offering virtual booths to visit, fostering Q&A sessions and presenting opportunities for companies and professionals to network.
We may not all have the capability to pull off a large scale virtual summit, but offering and/or attending virtual job fairs, trade shows, even webinars can benefit your lead generation efforts. Webinars are a great way to host Q&A sessions for your prospective clients and to also provide virtual product/service demonstrations.
There’s a totally different feeling between taking a sales call and meeting with the sales professional in person. Offering video conferencing to current and prospective clients can instill a layer of trust and can help ease any concerns they may have. Companies like Skype and Zoom offer video conferencing solutions that even include the ability to screen share. Sharing your screen with a prospective client to show them what you would have shown them in person can also help close the sale.
For some, this may seem like an obvious; others, not so much. If your website is not mobile optimized, you’re not only going to be penalized by the search engines, but your prospective clients may not view you as professional or quality. Your website is your digital face and you should take care to ensure your site is optimized for mobile visitors. Even prior to the pandemic, mobile users were more likely to interact with a website than desktop users so if your website isn’t mobile optimized, you’re already behind the curve.
Another update to consider adding to your website is a chat function. Having the ability to chat directly with a company vice long wait times and pushy sales personnel on the phones is a huge draw for many - even without a pandemic. Now that more are forced to shop for products and services virtually, making it even easier for them to get in touch can help close a sale faster.
Without the ability to visit your shop, your website becomes an even greater focal point of your business. Adding in a “marketplace” or at the very least expanding on your products and services to provide a comprehensive overview is a must. Simply stating that you offer a service without going into detail on what that service entails is not enough.
During these unprecedented times, no one really knows what to expect next. It’s obvious that people are ready to get back out there, but when and how that will happen, or even what that looks like, is still up in the air. Be flexible and adapt to the change. We will get through this. In a world full of disconnect right now, let’s come together (virtually) and #GetConnected.
SalesGig creates seamless lead generation with limitless opportunities by connecting companies with referral partners. Sign-up today and get connected.
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