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It’s Only Common Sense: Marketing Money to Spare?

One of the more interesting side effects of the COVID-19 pandemic has been that companies are not spending the money they had originally budgeted for sales and marketing. We are not traveling, which means we are not buying plane tickets, renting cars, or staying in hotels. Heck, for the most part, we are not even visiting customers in our own neighborhoods, which means lower gas bills, and no lunch or dinner tabs. And probably the biggest cost savings of all (albeit very sad) is that trade shows have been canceled. I’m sure we’d all rather go to those trade shows, but it is what it is right now, so we will have to wait. However, the lack of trade shows to attend or at which to exhibit means tremendous cost savings in terms of marketing budgets.

In many cases, these expenses have already been budgeted, and the money has been set aside. Now, these funds are available for other uses. But what should you do with those funds? How are you going to use that money?

Since I have always been very good at spending money–especially marketing money–here are eight creative ways to make those marketing dollars work for you.

1. Rebrand your company.

Spend time and thought on rebranding your company so that you will come out of the ashes of this pandemic like that proverbial “phoenix rising.” Develop a fresh new look for your company, and update your marketing messaging, literature, and all other collateral materials.

2. Update your website.

Bring that old clunker into the 21^st century. Transition it from “brochureware” to a lively, interactive, visitor-friendly site that your current and prospective customers will consider a useful resource.

3. Get more involved in social media.

There has never been a better time to dig into your company’s social media. Learn to use Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Instagram more effectively, start a company blog. Start marketing the 21^st century way.

4. Develop and implement a newsletter plan.

Subscribe to a newsletter software, and start creating and sending out targeted newsletters. These should be well-written, informative, and provide value to your readers. This is a great way to create a customer following, as well as generate leads.

5. Hire a search engine optimization (SEO) company.

Even if you don’t know what SEO is or how to do it, it works. There are several companies out there, especially those being run by younger people, steadily increasing their customer acquisition and lead generation by using SEO. This is not for amateurs, but rather for people who know what they are doing. Hire a professional SEO company to handle your needs, and you will also start seeing the effects of a good SEO campaign. When done correctly, it is almost magical.

6. Put on webinars and virtual lunch-and-learns.

With people in lockdown, you have an almost captive audience when it comes to webinars and lunch-and-learns. Choose a topic that represents your expertise and develop a 30- or 45-minute webinar on that topic. Use your social media accounts and newsletters to advertise the webinar and increase viewership. This also gives your sales team a good reason to talk to customers. It is a lot more pleasant to invite a potential customer to a webinar than it is to ask them for an order. Premiere the webinar live, and then put it on your website and YouTube page, and provide links to it on all your contact media, from your email signature to LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Make it the gift that keeps on giving.

7. Upgrade your advertising.

Industry media companies, both print and online, are offering great advertising packages right now. Take advantage of these great opportunities. And the good news is that because of the lockdown, readership of these publications is going through the roof, which means more eyes on your ads than ever before, and that’s a great thing.

8. Invest in long-term planning.

Develop a multiyear marketing plan. Review what are you are going to do when things get back to as close as normal as they will. Spend quality time on this. Develop a full year’s marketing budget for the rest of this year, as well as next year.

Conclusion

As I have said before, a crisis is a terrible thing to waste, and this pandemic is no different. Despite all the hardships we are going through, this pandemic gives us the opportunity to sit back, take a deep breath, and think about where we are today and where we can be tomorrow. Review what you have been doing, including what works and what can be improved, and then improve. We can always do better.

It’s only common sense.

Dan Beaulieu is president of D.B. Management Group.