During an economic downturn, it is actually the perfect time to engage in more lead generation. Investopedia even found that those who increased their advertising spending during economic downturns ended up in a better position than their rivals. So, how do you ensure you make the most of your lead generation efforts during such a difficult time when you might need to be more careful than usual?
The following guide offers five tips you can leverage to boost your lead generation during an economic downturn. Learn how:
- Adjust your market strategies during the downturn
- Maintain visibility despite a lower budget
- Leverage trade show services to help further
- Partner with cost-effective lead-generation services
- Focus your B2B strategies when you have a tighter budget
So, read on to improve your lead quality and conversion rates moving forward.
1. Adjust Marketing Strategies for an Economic Downturn
When you start planning your marketing budget after the start of an economic downturn, it is crucial to reevaluate your use of your budget so that you can focus your spending on lead generation channels with the greatest ROI.
For B2C campaigns, these are often social media ads and email marketing. However, almost a third of marketers agree that B2B lead generation involves more events and trade shows, where you can directly interact with the target audience.
However, your own data will offer you the best information for your specific industry. Leverage this to prioritize your efforts at the locations that offer the least financial waste.
Maximizing ROI on Trade Show Displays
When generating B2B leads at trade shows, focus on reusability to save money in the long term. Once you have a solid idea of how you want to lay out the booth, make it out of high-quality, durable materials. Then, you won’t need to worry about replacing them as often.
Opt for lightweight displays to lower your shipping costs and reduce any labor costs you need to shell out for installation and dismantling. Where possible, get your team involved to do a lot of the low-level work that doesn’t demand skilled labor to install.
The exception to this is in the broader booth layout. In that case, build your booth as a modular creation, allowing you to adjust its size and configuration based on the event you attend.
If possible, look for a partner who offers bundled services, including:
- Design
- Booth production
- Shipping
- Storage
- Booth installation and takedown
Finding a single group to do this streamlines your operations and saves you money, not only in the number of services you need to use but also in the number of meetings and business partnerships you need to maintain.
2. Adjust Digital Marketing to Reflect Shifting Client Priorities
During an economic downturn, many of your partners may have very valid concerns about the cost-effectiveness of your product or service. So, clearly communicate how your offer saves them money, solves their challenges, and prevents further difficulty.
Express empathy. Doing this will build trust, showing that you genuinely care for your customers’ satisfaction and demonstrating that you understand their needs. Following this, you can promote how your product or service is adaptable and can help solve several issues your customers might face.
Ensuring Cost-Effective Advertising
When not at trade shows, focus on LinkedIn and Instagram in your B2B campaigns, or social media and email campaigns for B2C. These offer high returns while only needing a comparatively modest budget.
If you have already had a lot of customers in the past, use retargeting strategies, such as pointing out filled carts or past purchases. These can engage potential prospects who have already interacted with you in the past. For B2B engagement, contact businesses that used you once and then didn’t need to again, asking about future potential requirements.
You can also focus on paid ads, but try to limit them to your highest-performing keywords with a high ROI, even during the economic downturn.
3. Partner Strategically with Lead Generation Services
If money is tighter, you can’t afford to make bad choices when working with other companies. So, seek out lead generation companies with a clear track record in navigating economic downturns and understanding market challenges.
For example, if a lead generator can make it clear how they can measure and communicate the success they offer, it shows that they understand what they need to do to understand their role with another company.
Focus on companies that offer data-driven strategies that will maximize the value of every dollar you spend on them to turn it into clear lead generation, as well as ones that are familiar with the methods of outreach you want to focus on.
4. Adapt Trade Show Strategies to Regional Events
You don’t want to neglect trade shows. After all, funnel provider Trade Secrets confirms that 95% of attendees say such events provide unique experiences they can’t find online. Such exclusivity can be very beneficial for customer or client focus.
If you have a limited budget, it will be harder to attend larger events. As such, focus on regional trade shows to engage more deeply with localized audiences.
Of course, if you have a specific event that offers a standout ROI, do not neglect it. However, be strict about which others you visit and see if leveraging trade show services like Infinity Exhibits would help with savings.
5. Use Data to Identify Cost-Effective Lead Generation Opportunities
Leverage the data-gathering tools you have to track all potential business leads or customers across all your campaigns. Then, analyze which client segments will most likely continue investing during downturns. You can tailor your approach to these groups specifically, allocating more resources to the platforms and methods to yield the best results.
Drive Continued Success During Challenging Circumstances
Economic downturns demand that you act smarter, adapting to produce strategies that will keep you competitive. To help with this, Infinity Exhibits offers cost-effective trade show displays that we can tailor to your specific business and industry, even with a limited budget.
With our data-driven insights, local event expertise, and experience in lead generation, we can help your business maintain visibility and capture or retain leads throughout challenging economic periods. So, contact us to find out what to do next and how we can keep you on the path to success.
- 5 Tips for Lead Generation During an Economic Downturn - January 9, 2025
- How to Maximize and Measure Your Impact With Exhibition Booth Design - December 13, 2024
- Selecting the Right Trade Show Backdrop to Entice More Guests - November 10, 2024
