There is no predicting what the UK will look like from a business perspective in a few months or even next year.

2020 has been a challenging time for business in general and the UK has had to contend with uncertainty from Brexit and Covid-19 whilst trying to focus on growing and flourishing in this unpredictable and unprecedented environment.

The bottom line for marketing companies in particular, is to maintain clients and increase leads to deliver more new business, especially when advertising and other above the line spend is on the decline in 2020.

Marketing and other business strategies are as important here in 2020 as they have ever been. No matter what corner of the market you might occupy, you need to think about adopting some key techniques that could move your business forward through 2020 and on into the future.

Embrace digital

When Twitter and Facebook talk about how much of their workforce will work from home in the future, we know things are changing. This could have a major impact on your lead generation because if events, shows, exhibitions and face to face networking are scaled back then you are going to have to find a new way of generating leads. Back in May, we undertook some research which revealed that just 29% of UK businesses have invested more in online sales and marketing during the COVID crisis. Now could be a good time to learn something new to help future proof your business.

Use your existing resources – by this I mean your website which is your virtual shop front.  As a marketing business you will have spent an enormous amount of time, money and energy attracting visitors to your site, but for every 100 visitors, less than one typically converts. Don’t overlook the importance of visitor experience on your website. Your new clients’ journey will often start on the internet and a lot of companies lose potential customers because they do not supply the right help or information online. You need to serve your customer exactly at that point in time otherwise they will simply move elsewhere. 

Could your website be more engaging? Is the content up to date? Do you have recent testimonials, campaigns or news to add? The same goes for your social channels whether they are the more b2b ones like LinkedIn and Twitter or the more consumer-focussed ones like Instagram and Facebook. Look at what your analytics are telling you. Where are you most successfully engaging with potential customers?

At Leadoo we have been seen unprecedented interest in our chatbot service this year from businesses wanting to maximise their online business and engagement in the absence of face-to-face opportunities as marketing tools can make your website work harder for you.

Take a look term view

Finally, take the time to talk to your clients – let the conversation inform your future thinking. Ring them, ask how they are or how their business is doing. Is there anything you can do to help? Any new service that you could offer?

• Mikael da Costa is founder and CEO of Leadoo MT, the Finnish lead generation martech company that has a new platform to help UK SMEs update their marketing strategy, fight back in the current business climate and set themselves up for future proofing their business.