
Industry weighs heavily on marketing spend
When it comes to digital advertising, all spenders are not created equal. Travel, retail, and auto are the main drivers behind the decrease in ad spending, according to Variety, which makes sense considering how the pandemic has hit the economy. This drop in spending makes for an attention-grabbing headline, but it’s important to remember that other industries and markets are doing well, with some even seeing a boost in revenue. Also read: Mitigate Crisis Pipeline Reductions in 4 Steps With This Portfolio Calculator The e-learning market, for example, is set to rake in more than $375 billion USD by 2026, thanks in part to its surge in adoption after the coronavirus pandemic forced schools to close. Companies shifting to a remote model has been a boon for other software markets like video conferencing and cybersecurity. With schools closed and offices empty, companies are still investing in B2B software, even if slightly less than they were pre-COVID.Lead generation remains a good investment
While there are fewer statistics about how COVID-19 has specifically affected lead generation, it’s safe to say that outsourcing some of your lead generation remains a good investment, as long as you’re partnering with trustworthy agencies. According to HubSpot, lead generation remains the top priority for marketers in 2020. In many ways, the pandemic has simply intensified the need for lead generation services. Consider:- With many companies now operating on a distributed workforce model and with travel restrictions and stay-at-home orders in place in various cities, sales teams have fewer opportunities to sell face-to-face.
- Reaching people on the phone might be more difficult since many office phones now forward to people’s personal mobile devices.
- Potential buyers with children home from school may prefer to research software purchases on their own time and may be less inclined to speak directly with a vendor early in their search.
- Given the initial heavy impact on businesses earlier in the year, many marketing departments might be racing to make up for lost revenue while lockdown restrictions start to ease in some parts of the world. Buying marketing qualified leads (MQLs) from a reputable partner is a good way to supplement internal marketing efforts and fill more pipeline.
The times they are a-changin’, so look for agencies that are changing, too
Aside from impacts on the client side that might make partnering with a lead gen provider more appealing, the pandemic has also had serious impacts on the agency side that can benefit marketers. According to Marketing Week, a survey of different marketing agencies around the world revealed that lead generation industries are coping with the pandemic by being more flexible with client needs and by offering creative new services.Of the companies surveyed, 29 percent said they were exploring new ways to support clients, and 12 percent reported taking on more tasks in-house. This translates to higher quality leads for clients, sometimes at a lower cost.
The same is true here at TechnologyAdvice. When asked how his team has responded to client needs during the pandemic, Senior Manager of Client Success John Fleming said, “We’ve been able to address our clients’ changing needs in this challenging environment through diversification in marketing tactics, leveraging our US-based call centers for dedicated outreach, and launching our new machine learning platform.” John also spoke to some different ways companies can push themselves to go above and beyond for clients. “We might look at any given campaign and apply arbitrary constraints to challenge our thought process,” he said. “For example, ‘If we had half as much time to fulfill this campaign, what would we do?’” The way marketing and lead generation agencies are responding to the pandemic varies greatly across companies, so tech marketers would be wise to ask agencies about how they’ve shifted practices when vetting potential partners. Finding a partner who takes a creative and adaptive approach can make all the difference between successful and disappointing campaigns.PPC ads are rebounding while email sees a boost
One major callout from the new eMarketer report is that spending on search ads was down, at least for Google. Part of this was due to the blow dealt to the travel industry, but reduced conversion rates also played a role. That seems to be changing now, according to data from WordStream.
The future remains uncertain
Perhaps one of the most concerning aspects of the coronavirus pandemic for businesses is the uncertainty. According to ProPublica, scientists are confident that pharmaceutical companies will be able to develop a vaccine, but when that will happen and how effective it will be once it arrives remains up in the air.