COVID-19 has had an impact on almost every area of business. However, for marketers, it extends beyond simply a change in revenue targets. As content consumption goes up, in-person events fall off the marketing calendar and all sales move to digital channels, marketers need to recalibrate how their lead-to-revenue pipeline is structured and how their goals may need to shift.
As sales and finance teams recalibrate their revenue goals, how marketing contributes to this needs to shift. However, a change in buyer behavior can profoundly change how effective existing marketing processes are. Marketers can therefore not simply shift their KPIs in lockstep with sales targets. As content consumption and webinar viewing increases, marketers should consider how they recalibrate lead scoring and the qualification of leads. Otherwise, sales risks being inundated with leads that ultimately do not contribute to pipeline and take them away from core tasks.
If bottom-of-funnel inquiries (such as demos or ‘contact us’ form completes) are falling, sales enablement becomes more important. Webinars can provide both valuable engagement data for sales to use to tailor outreach – and also an opportunity for them to speak to attendees in real-time. If marketing teams are not already dedicated to customer marketing, they should do so as a priority.
“Preference for digital now ~2X more than traditional sales interactions; self-serve, digital ordering methods now prioritized” McKinsey B2B Decision-Maker Survey
“Senior VPs, Individual Contributors, and Senior Employees all took less time between their second request in 2019” a trend we expect to see other titles follow based on everything moving digital NetLine Content Consumption Report
“In the wake of COVID-19, 96 percent of B2B companies have shifted their sales model either partially or fully to remote selling.” Chief Marketer
The Q2 period may provide some insight into how the lead-to-revenue model in your organization has changed. Collate the data and information you need now to set pipeline goals which are as realistic as you can make them. Reassess lead scoring and qualification processes. Segment content and webinar touchpoints and CTAs by customer journey. Not all engagement should be weighted equally.
Provide more contextual information and data for sales teams so they can engage with leads that might not be as ‘bottom of the funnel’ as previously. Prepare for a greater emphasis on customer marketing. Look to ensure the key data for existing accounts is present within your CRM and marketing automation systems, allowing you to both triage at-risk accounts and identify those ripe for upsell opportunities.