Covid-19 has definitely changed the way we worked earlier. Now that the second wave has hit hard on our country, it is better to promote work from home (WFH) environment rather than traveling to the office. You must have experienced a vast variation in working from home and working from office are two different things. Now that the economy has declined taking a toll on businesses, it is challenging to create b2b lead generation and new leads for your businesses. We totally understand that.
There is no prediction as to when this global pandemic would come to an end, many businesses are finding it difficult to target their existing and new audience.
However, it is observed that any negative impact on the industry has always resulted in positive outcomes thereafter. To bring light to this statement, let’s see a fact. During the time of recession in 2008, it was seen that many new startups such as Uber, Whatsapp were introduced and without a second thought, we know that these have become big brands now.
Now with the situation as covid-19, each one of you must be worried about how the business will take shape in the future and different strategies to stay connected with your audience during COVID-19 outbreak. We wouldn’t say that we have the best solution for this unprecedented time but surely can help in some way possible.
Nicholas Butler has beautifully quoted, “Optimism is essential to achievement and it is also the foundation of courage and true progress.”
This article is very useful for the ones looking to generate leads for their businesses especially during the coronavirus pandemic. It will help you how to strategize in a new way in generating leads for your business.
Following are the best practices for lead generation during the COVID-19 pandemic:
Your audience is more online during the lockdown period compared to earlier times. You need to build their trust now more than ever before and open all sorts of communication channels. This is the best time to allocate your budget to digital marketing as your prospects are probably spending more time on their screens.
- Optimise your website:
You can conduct an audit of your website and see where your online traffic is coming from. Add lead generation forms on high-traffic pages to get higher quality leads. You can use marketing automation tools to link business directory contacts to your contacts and outreach them.
- Leverage your marketing automation platform:
You can improve your sales lead generation process through contact databases with use of marketing automation.
- Nurture existing clients through lead scoring:
You must be wondering why lead scoring? Because lead scoring is probably used to score prospects! You would be surprised to know that lead scoring can also be used for existing customers for determining how ready they are for up-sell or cross-sell. You can submit appropriate and educational content about your additional services or products to see which clients are interested in learning more about them and who may be ready for a cross-sell or up-sell.
- Re-engage inactive clients:
Identify your inactive clients with use of marketing automation. If a client hasn’t been engaged for a long time now with your campaigns, the marketing automation platform will send out an automated email to the inactive client with an offer for an access to new product or a free trial or anything that will result in engagement. However, keep in mind the main points of the audience working from home – you need to provide solutions prevalent in times like these to maximise lead generation.
- Redefine your content marketing:
Conduct a content audit to identify knowledge gaps and develop educational content ideas that are both entertaining and useful to your target audience. Marketing automation can help you to deliver the right content to the right client depending on the stage of their buying process.
- Generate digital content:
This is the right time to step up your lead generation process by setting a foot in digital marketing. You can improve lead generation and generate sales with the use of following resources:
- Virtual events:
Now that all of us have to practice social distancing and only essential services are allowed to remain open, it is hard to host physical events. This is when virtual events come to the rescue. It will reach a wider audience and you no longer have to cancel your events.
- Webinars:
Webinars are again a great way to attract a wider audience around the world by educating your audience about a particular product or service for free. A Q&A session at the end of the webinar is a perfect way to keep the leads engaged. Keep in mind to keep the topic current and influencing in order to attract your audience.
- Video:
In the age of digitalisation, people are more keen to watch a video rather than read a text. According to statistics, 59% of the audience are willing to watch a video than read text. Try creating compelling content through videos that are promoting, engaging and entertaining. You can create tutorials, testimonials, promotional videos to generate interest and engage with your audience. You can schedule one to one meetings on Zoom or Skype to build relationships.
- Podcasts:
Yes, podcasts are still a thing. Around 74% people are willing to listen to podcasts to learn new things. You can create great podcasts that will help generate leads in your audience.
- Chatbots:
You can add chatbot to your website (if any) to help lead generation and marketing automation efforts be available for prospects 24/7.
As everyone of us tries to adjust and accept the “new normal” we must multiply our marketing efforts to come out strong. Nothing is impossible, you just need to change your perspective and act proactively to create opportunities. You can take help of global database website for lead generation and engaging with your clients while still staying compliant across global markets.
