The COVID-19 pandemic continues to have an enormous impact on the ways we live and work. For business owners and marketers, it might have meant a dip in revenue or challenges in finding new leads and customers.

However, every challenge is also an opportunity. The pandemic doesn’t have to spell disaster for your B2B company! Read on to learn how to continue connecting with new customers in these difficult times.

Hold online events

As the world of work has moved online, so too have events. If you previously relied on conferences, trade shows, and in-person meetings, why not hold an online event?

A course, webinar, or virtual conference can help you to reach new audiences and remind your prospects that you’re still very much open for business.

Here’s how to do it:

  1. Define your goals, then choose a suitable format and platform.
  2. Schedule your event. In the middle of the day on a Tuesday, Wednesday, or Thursday is best.
  3. Promote your event using social media, your email marketing list, and your website. If you want to invite particular company representatives, use LinkedIn and an email finder to get in touch.
  4. Rehearse and prepare to deliver an amazing presentation.
  5. Leave room for audience participation and questions.
  6. End with a compelling call-to-action that directs participants to your squeeze page.
  7. Follow up with all attendees soon after the event.

The advantage of virtual events? You can reach people anywhere in the world!

Use lead magnets to grow your email list

The best way to market to someone is to get them into your email list. You can entice prospective customers to sign up by offering a lead magnet in exchange for their email address.

A good lead magnet might be:

  • A report or white paper.
  • An e-book.
  • A free consultation.
  • A short free trial period of your product or service.
  • Access to an online course or training video.

Build a great landing page to capture your leads’ email addresses, and make sure that your lead magnet delivers on the value you promised. Once a lead is in your digital marketing funnel, you can target email campaigns accordingly.

Focus on SEO

Search engine optimization (SEO) is one of the main sources of organic (unpaid) traffic to your website. Therefore, make sure you are regularly putting out fresh content and optimizing it for the right keywords.

Here are a few ways to optimize your site:

  • Use the relevant keywords several times per piece of content (without keyword-stuffing).
  • Use alt tags on all images.
  • Optimize your page load speed.
  • Use plenty of internal links.
  • Offer to write guest posts for other sites in your niche in exchange for a high-quality backlink.

It takes time to see results from SEO, but every step you take to optimize your site and content will get you closer to achieving your goals.

Step up your PPC advertising

Many businesses are cutting their advertising budgets right now in an attempt to save money. This is short sighted and a poor strategy. If anything, you should be increasing your marketing during this challenging time.

If you’re not already doing pay-per-click (PPC) advertising, it’s time to start. If you are, step up your efforts. Here are some best-practice tips to help you:

  • Undertake robust keyword research. Aim for high-volume search terms with low competition scores. The Keywords Everywhere plugin can help you with this.
  • Check out what your competitors are doing and use this to inform your decisions.
  • Use an appropriate landing page for each audience segment and set of keywords.
  • Use ad extensions to include information like pricing, contact details, and review scores.
  • Monitor your campaign at every step so you can amend and adapt it as necessary.

People who click PPC ads tend to be highly qualified leads and often ready to buy. That’s why it’s a channel that you can’t afford to ignore.

Make sure your marketing is still relevant in the current situation

Are you using the same marketing copy and images you used before COVID-19? In many cases, that is a big mistake. It signals to your customers that you are not aware of, or choosing to ignore, the seriousness of the crisis.

Therefore, ensure your marketing reflects the current reality. That doesn’t mean you have to reference the pandemic in every piece of copy, of course. But you should be cognizant of the fact that we are now living in a world where many people are staying at home more, traveling less, working remotely, and experiencing anxiety about their health.

Reaching your customers during COVID-19

The pandemic has changed the way we do things, but life — and your business — must continue. Follow these strategies to let your prospects and customers know that you are still there for them during this time.