One by one, they dropped off the schedule.
First it was a healthcare IT conference in March.
Then a government show in April.
Before I knew it, we were down a few hundred leads. And then a few thousand.
It was clear that my trade show strategy for 2020 was going to take an L.
What do you do when 22% of your annual marketing budget is devoted to trade shows where you’re expecting to generate 3,780 leads, and all of those shows evaporate?
Clearly it was time to regroup, COVID-style.
In the words of Ross Geller – “Pivot!”
Let me start by sharing that, being in distance learning for IT professionals, our business was well positioned to survive the repercussions of COVID-19. We have a rabidly loyal fan base, a quality service, and we provide great value to our members.
All that said, in order to maintain and grow the business, we still needed new business leads.
I knew we had to act fast, so we did an assessment of the situation. Two ideas quickly emerged, both with a digital marketing focus:
- Double down on B2C demand generation programs. People were home, bored, and looking for content. Many who lost jobs were in the hospitality industry – a common vertical for people looking to switch careers into IT.
Plan: Heavily promote our free membership via paid social media and YouTube. Get people in the funnel which has upgrade opportunities over weeks/months. - Target IT leaders by job title with a theme of “IT team stuck inside?” to get bites on team trials.
Plan: Use LinkedIn display ads. Move these leads directly to a demo and a trial by connecting IT leaders with our learning specialists.
While the first is a B2C strategy, keep in mind that B2C2B is a big lead source for us, so both would drive B2B leads, albeit at a different pace; idea 2 was instant, idea 1 was a slow burn.
What are the numbers?
These net-new programs are both being funded by the trade show line item. As of now, it’s looking like the two programs together will come close to replacing those ‘missing’ leads.
Idea 1 status: Over the last four months, idea 1 generated about 10,000 additional new free members than our average. In my plan, this is replacing the scans we would make at those trade shows – people who come by the booth, grab some swag, play a booth game and go into a nurture. These are not quite as valuable as people who we engage with at the booth, but what they lack in engagement, they make up for in quantity. So if each one is worth .25 of a trade show lead, we’re on track for success at around 2,500 so far.
Idea 2 status: This is on pace to replace the 300 or so SQLs we get at shows. These are people who are ready to talk to us about a demo and want to get their team on a trial while they are at the booth.
Mind you, these programs have very different CPLs, but together they are filling the gap left by my 2020 trade show plans.
How we’re doing now
March through June were good months for the company where we met or exceeded revenue goals. All this while adapting to work from home and worrying about a pandemic.
I am proud of the marketing team for working quickly to make these campaigns happen. People shifted responsibilities and prioritized the work that was most likely to move the needle.
We had two team members who managed events, and we actually were worried back in January that they would be overwhelmed by mid-year as they show schedule got heavier. Well, that clearly changed, and in hindsight, I am glad we were ‘lean.’ These team members have found new ways to make meaningful contributions.
So yeah, I’d say we are doing quite well.
Share your pivots!
Has your marketing team made a pivot? Please share so we can all learn.
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