The Ghost of Mayhem Present
Navigating the Chaos of the World Today
“Smile past the mayhem because it can not hold you forever.”
The year 2020 will be remembered as a whirlwind that wreaked havoc on the world! A global pandemic, like the modern world has never seen, was and is still a major part of where we are as a society. It has affected all of our companies in one way or another. For many small businesses, we have been hanging on by a thread, just hoping this nightmare would pass. And, honestly, that’s been true for many of the big businesses as well. But it is a present and persistent virus that we have had to adapt and change to combat against.
You’ve Made it this Far!
Take a moment and pat yourselves on the back if you were a part of one of those companies that tightened down the hatches and pushed through what I hope was the worst of the 2020 Mayhem. I spoke to managers and owners who thought, back in April, that they were finished as a company. Even with promises of Government loans and local subsidies they were sure they would be filing for bankruptcy by the end of 2020. But with some innovation and wit, many found new ways to safely provide for the needs of their customers. They looked in the face of death and boldly said, “Not Today!”
What are Other Companies Doing!
A cycling company in NC quickly realized that they had the means and technology to cut fabrics in such a way that they began to produce Personal Protective Equipment (PPE in the form of Facial Coverings). They made 26,000 on the initial run and still had a backlog for orders. Across the United States, breweries and distilleries began producing hand sanitizers to meet the growing demand for cleaning agents. Gyms began to do virtual classes so that members could workout from home. Even some smaller movie theater venues moved to viewing outside transforming their parking lots into drive-in experiences. These companies deserve a round of applause.
The Ghost of Mayhem Present would have liked to scare us off or beat us down, and for some, it succeeded. For the innovative companies that started thinking outside of the box, life didn’t cease. Instead, they made the best of this pandemic, and they made what was ‘present’ a thing of the past. Though the Covid-19 outbreak was the overarching cause of the shutdowns and closures, and even with reports of a vaccine building, companies need to, now more than ever, double down on a marketing strategy to get themselves back on their feet!
Marketing is for Leads!
“The sales team owns the sales funnel. But as a B2B marketer, you feed the top of their funnel”.
The words of Doug Kessler, co-founder of the business-to-business (B2B) marketing services, Velocity, hit the nail on
the head. Just like a newly formed company trying to get onto its feet for the first time, we NEED a dedicated marketing strategy to get us to our feet yet again. This is a task that many business owners dread as it is a reminder of the hard work they and their teams initially put into building the customer base they had grown over the last many years. But it is vital once again, to reclaim those customers as the world slowly, but surely, begins to open back up again.
So what are you doing with your marketing strategy? At Custom Equipment Company in Charleston, we are evaluating our entire company and revamping the marketing that has made us successful for so many years. People stopped walking in the front door, and so now we have to find them in a different way. That piece of the strategy involves video conferences and virtual self-tours of the facility.
It has required us to take a deeper look at how Social Media can assist us in reaching the appropriate markets. The current mayhem also revealed how emails can be the new rack cards. It has inspired us to hire an in-house Marketing Director to design new and revitalized content. They produce new print and even capture new graphics. Most importantly, it required us to take a long look at our customer’s needs and how we could meet those needs. Meet them without compromising health and safety for us and for them.
Be New! Be Bold!
And hey, there is no time better than the present to revamp and transform the company you are, to the company you need to be! (Look for our January blogs where we discuss what CEC will blossom into in 2021!) Don’t let your sales, leads and prospects dry up because you refused to dig a well. Yeah, it takes effort and energy and possibly a leap of faith on a new employee or
marketing company, but if we want to succeed, it will require something NEW and BOLD. Don’t let the Ghost of Mayhem Present derail your future!
Hopefully, we can all take from this what was expressed by Chuck Swindoll. “I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it”. We couldn’t control what happened because of the Covid-19 outbreak. Our response when catastrophes strike and our business is jeopardized is in our control . Be innovative and think outside the box, and if you can’t, surround yourself by others who can. Let’s join in making marketing a part of our success story as we look forward to a brighter tomorrow!
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