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How To Find New Clients During Pandemic

This article is more than 3 years old.

When it comes to business development, how is your short-game, medium-game and long-game during this pandemic?

Developing strategies for an unsure future is a pretty big, and possibly confusing task, but there are experts out there who know how to adapt to a rapidly changing market.

“If you provide services, explore how you can provide services remotely on a continuous basis, not just right now,” says marketing expert J.D. Wildflower. “As things get back to normal people will have had a taste of the convenience of having remote services, especially in the coaching and consulting fields, and will want more of these time-saving services.”

Wildflower, the founder of VIP Global Media and professor of marketing at Brown College, has developed branding and business strategies for Oscar and Grammy winning celebrities, as well as huge global brands like Samsung, US Bank, and Dish Network.

Wildflower offers five tips on developing new strategies for attracting clients in the shifting and sometimes volatile pandemic world:

Explore your offline opportunities. “If you sell products, explore additional ways of getting your products out to people. Mail order has been in fashion since the horse and buggy days, and with so many people clamoring online to get everyone's attention, mailing out a catalog to your current customer base could make all the difference in the world.”

Share your story, but don’t make it about you. “Engage with your customers to keep in touch. Let them know what you're up to, and keep the topic pertinent to your brand. Keep it positive and upbeat, there is no need to feed into the fear that people are experiencing, and if nothing has changed with your business because of the pandemic, it is okay to refrain from mentioning it in your customer engagements. If your business is being operated differently because of the pandemic, then share the story about what you're doing to make things safer for your customers and your staff.”

Bring back old school strategies. “Old school is new school again when it comes to marketing. Old school techniques like direct mail and telemarketing have not gone the way of the dinosaurs. With the online marketing space becoming more and more saturated, look at how you can employ some old-school tactics to stay relevant in today's business climate. Direct mail and telemarketing can still be effective ways to reach new clients.”

Find ways to work together. “Marketing partnerships can help you reach a whole new audience. Consider partnering your marketing efforts with a non-competing business to help both of you expand your marketing reach and share marketing costs. For example, if you own a restaurant that provides delivery, consider partnering on marketing with a grocery delivery company.”

Figure out your client’s new needs. “Because COVID-19 has forced everyone to look at their own mortality, focus your marketing messages on connecting with your target market’s newly awakened needs like: holding on to their money, physical health, their legacy, their families' well-being, and security. Directing your marketing messages towards these needs can speak to what your consumers are thinking about after COVID-19.”

According to professional service firm leaders I have interviewed, expect this new normal for at least until the end of 2020. If you haven’t already, now’s the time to develop your business’ long-term strategies for attracting new clients in an ongoing pandemic situation.

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