Richard Cook, Managing Director, Champion Communications Ltd. We Champion, You Grow.
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Let’s assume the experts are right and recession is coming. What does this mean for businesses selling goods or services to other businesses? How should B2B brands prepare and respond to an environment where economic activity is declining?
Rather than being terrified of the changing economic circumstances, a recession can be seen as an opportunity. There will be change, disruption and turmoil. Some businesses will go under and people will lose their jobs. Others will prosper. Recessions are periods of renewal and reinvention. While a downturn is a higher-risk period of transition, the rewards for those who make it through can be considerable. Not only is there an opportunity created as competitors fall back, but this is a time when businesses can win new clients and strengthen relationships with prospects who are dealing with new challenges.
These five simple tips should help most B2B businesses as their buyers navigate the new normal:
Read the room. Brands need to stop spending money on tactics that are seen to be indulgent and ostentatious. Corporate hospitality, events, exhibitions and such can seem inappropriate and wasteful in an environment where people are scared for their livelihoods.
Be of service. When a business is facing cutbacks, it is inevitable that it will slow, stop or reverse recruitment plans. Individuals who have jobs may find themselves covering multiple roles and filling gaps as businesses seek to cover shortfalls in revenue. Time-poor decision-makers need information they can trust to help them navigate roles they may not be prepared for and, subsequently, solve problems they have not encountered before. Creating content that they can rely on and that is of tangible value to them can help establish your brand as a partner in tough times. Give the content away. Be of service.
Understand that if it’s hard to sell, it’s even harder to buy. Business decision-makers are under pressure. There is less margin for error in an environment when budgets have been slashed. The products and services they do invest in must be business-critical. Help them. Case studies, customer references, free trials, simple but strong service-level agreements and flexible contracts all help de-risk decisions. Making services tangible through great content and generating awareness, trust and validation through third parties, such as editorial, awards and speaking at conferences, can all support buyers as they search for solutions in the new economic environment.
Segment and target, then go hard. In an environment where brands need to work harder to sell to other businesses, focus can pay dividends. Refresh your segmentation. Which type of business is most likely to be most receptive to your offering? Has this changed in a downturn? Brands that try to be all things to all people need to have very deep pockets when buyers are more demanding.
Focusing efforts can make those efforts go further. This philosophy should be applied to all aspects of marketing. Do you need to advertise in the same media? Does your PR need to extend as widely as it did? Go deep, not broad.
The good news is that recessions normally last approximately two years, and then the cycle of renewal arrives with a whole set of different challenges. The other bit of good news is that while the worst may be yet to come, we are probably a few months into the current downturn, meaning we have maybe 20 more months before things start looking up.
In a time of turmoil, it is inevitable that anxiety rises. B2B buyers are feeling this. Those brands that can become trusted partners and allies during this time are likely to find that they can create robust relationships that will help them survive and thrive as we work through this economic cycle.
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