What can a B2B Cybersecurity Marketer focus on when nobody is buying?
I’m not going to open this post with (too long of) a keyword-stuffed lament about coronavirus. During these slowed buying cycles, many of us marketers are a little anxious.
For the less established companies, for startups who were anticipating new funding rounds, and for those in new, innovative, and Gartner-undefined categories battling for customers’ budgets with incumbent solutions…we may be more than a little anxious. Way more.
So, what can a B2B marketer do when all the stars and constellations (and the CFO) point to a major decline in expected revenue projections and the funnel seems to have clamped itself shut overnight?
Marketing must go on. Not in the same way as before, but it must.
Take a look at the below list. Not all of these will help everyone. But some might.
Think about how your customer is feeling
Depending on your target personas and ICPs, the people you’re selling to may be:
- Just subject to massive spending & headcount reduction orders
- In charge of all this new remote workforce technology
- Not affected by workforce restrictions, but still overwhelmed & anxious, and even may have been personally affected by COVID-19
Try not to say too many stupid, cliche things
Guaranteed, your customer has received 10,509 emails and messages about Coronavirus from their 100 existing vendors plus 589,567 others that they’ve just learned they’re on their list of
If you’re going to add to that clutter, do it succinctly, with sensitivity to the subject matter, and have something else to say about it. Consider whether or not your customers even want to hear about it. “Coronavirus is a thing” on its own is a useless message from a cybersecurity vendor (or any vendor).
Make the necessary adjustments to your plan
Marketing must go on. But that doesn’t mean putting your hands over your eyes–screaming LA LA LA LA–and running full kilter on ahead with the plan.
Burn your plan.
(Well, don’t. It’s on a computer.)
Plus, you’ll need it in order to adjust it. If leadership hasn’t already reduced spending, review and be prepared to prioritize marketing activities. Based on customer feedback and pipeline, gird your loins for the effort of having to quickly edit your strategy and messaging on the fly. (I know you spent a long time on this plan, I know.)
Upsell
Your lowest cost and lowest effort sale is always with an existing customer (unless you had a $1M CAC or something like that).
Assuming your product is awesome and customers love it, now may be a good time to offer a promotion, discount, or incentive to your existing customers.
(Assuming your product is terrible and customers hate it, now may be a good time to talk to Product, Customer Success, or look for another job)
Getting your messaging shit (or your other shit) together
If you’re an aforementioned cybersecurity startup, chances are shit is broken. Chances are a lot of shit is broken. (Even if you’re not at a startup, chances are shit is broken.)
Chances are your lists aren’t syncing between your CRM and marketing automation platform perfectly, your shared drive is an unholy mess, and your salesforce is using their *favorite* brochures from 2015 (even though the branding is completely different now, Jason!)
Now is a good time to grab a mop and a bucket and clean up your shit.
Grow that top of funnel audience
Just because nobody is buying doesn’t mean nobody is researching or reading.
Target Bottom of funnel
Nobody is buying doesn’t mean no one is buying. There are potentially some lurkers who’ve been repeatedly hitting your site, itching for a demo.
Become famous
No, not you. Your CEO! Your Director of Security Research. Your CISO. Or the other designated talking heads that champion your company’s product and services in articles, publications, and on webcasts and podcasts. When you can’t sell, you can still create content that will help fuel or nurture sales in the future.
Go through that folder you have of the 1,000 webinars you’ve never had a chance to listen to
On the personal side, now is a good time to up your skills if you’re not too busy with everything else. Or, just join one of our 10-minute Tuesday quickie trainings and learn something new from the hottest cybersecurity marketers in the Cybersecurity Marketing Society!
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