The “Stay home” era can be boring, sad, and demotivating, especially for companies who are used to the day to day rush and adrenaline of dealing with customers, clients, and business-related issues. During the lockdown, we might feel paralyzed in many ways.
While we are locked up in our homes during the COVID-19 crisis, it is tempting to press the “pause” button in our lives and simply turn on Netflix and wait for the crisis to pass.
It doesn’t need to be like that. This interruption in our professional life is also the perfect opportunity to prepare us for the next step in our careers, more robust and satisfying than the last. Now is the time to put more effort into planning and developing, by exploring different possibilities and to finally start evolving our businesses into the next phase.
After a much-needed season of reading, research, exploration, and reflection, here we share five action steps that are critical in helping your insurance business emerge from the coronavirus crisis stronger than ever.
1. Prepare for the changes that will come to your industry.
Most companies are trying to adapt their regular routine to this “new normal”, but overall, industries are making adjustments to its products, underwriting guides, and implementing processes to continue to bring new business.
While we are all used to doing business in a certain way, being forced out of our comfort zone can bring new, unidentified opportunities.
How to take advantage of this opportunity?
- Keep in contact with clients and suppliers to stay on top of any product changes or limitations.
- Communicate with industry leaders and colleagues to understand their short, medium, and long-term strategies.
- Carefully analyze your sales opportunities and redirect your strategy finding viable solutions for each potential client.
2. Call everyone!
Go over each client’s information again, think about what they might need, and then start reaching out. Follow up on their health, their family, and their opinion regarding the current situation of closings and quarantines.
Your international clients may face much stricter lockdowns and experience much more difficult health care conditions. Forget about making a sale and just confirm that everyone is safe. By making the effort, you will stand out from the rest.
If possible, try to understand how your clients are adjusting their businesses, remember, in B2B, a good relationship and understanding from both sides is essential to keep deals alive. You might encounter something useful for your business too!
3. Update your online presence
Many B2B businesses rely on -sometimes too much- physical relationships, hand shakings, conferences and coffee meetings, but if lockdown has taught us something, is that most of our practices can be done digitally.
Interrupting COVID is a perfect opportunity to get ahead of the rest and improve your digital presence:
- Invest in an accessible and professional video conferencing platform that will allow you to meet with your clients “face to face”, even if they cannot meet in person. PRO TIP: If your budget allows you, don’t trust the built-in webcam. A good camera and professional backdrop will enhance the meeting experience.
- If your website is over two years old, consider updating. A sleek appearance and user interface will facilitate digital marketing and sales.
- Order your social media accounts with your brand profile on all channels (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, etc.)
“Check how to level up your Social Media Strategy”
- Invest in content! YouTube videos, photos, blogs, social media content, etc. Having consistent content online shows authority and is key to keep your brand on top of the conversations.
Outsource anything and everything you tend to put off or fall outside your scope of expertise, but consider putting yourself in front of the camera. You are the face of your brand. Let them see you!
4. Shift to a digital sales approach
Now that we are talking about the digital world, not only presence is important but Sales. This whole situation opened a huge scope of new opportunities for digital sales efforts.
Digital initiatives must include:
- New ways of generating leads. You can only be in so many social events at once … and right now, social events are suspended until further notice and some are being adjusted to digital spaces. Explore ways to capture leads that don’t require your physical presence, such as social media and digital marketing. Make sure you have a specific marketing strategy that allows you to reach your contacts with valuable content that will capture their attention.
“Check 8 ways to generate leads for B2B Companies”
- New ways to organize your marketing strategy. A digital customer relationship management (CRM) system and an email marketing automation platform can grow your business, allowing you to manage more customers with less effort. These tools can help you track and know where each customer is in the sales process and allow you to send proposals and email communications with just one click.
“Check 5 Digital Marketing Strategies B2B Companies MUST have”
5. Prepare to reopen
Many companies operate under tight margins and with minimal safety nets. We have all felt the breakdown of stability during this crisis, which makes now the perfect time to tackle the reopening of your company.
This may not be the last time we face closures this year if we are hit by a second wave of COVID. Now is the time to carefully analyze your continuity plan, which includes:
- Provide a safe environment for your employees and speak personally to each of them.
- Spend time adjusting financial projections and prepare for unavoidable deficits. Protect your payroll!
- As a leader, accept the new normal and face each day with enthusiasm and resistance.
In every crisis there’s a lot of opportunities, is a say of many, but in this case, we believe that is very accurate, even though there’s a lot of uncertainty, the best way to come ahead is to plan carefully and start implementing and adjusting along the way.
If you need any help to plan your marketing strategy in Latin American countries, reach out! Our team at MdB is glad to help. Click below to schedule a free consultation.
