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B2B turns to digital marketing in the wake of coronavirus outbreak:
B2B turns to digital marketing in the wake of coronavirus outbreak - ClickZ
Recently, I met with a potential client, who expressed great disappointment over the last-minute cancellation of Mobile World Congress (MWC) 2020 in the wake of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. The world largest cellular trade fair would have been the major industry event in which his company was planning to participate. Months of preparation and tens of thousands of dollars were lost as the Coronavirus panic led to the last-minute cancellation decision. The frustrated marketing manager said his company had already been notified that another large show, in which they had planned to shine, had been postponed for the time being.
I can still remember what happened during the financial crisis of 2008, in which most business-to-business (B2B) companies decided to play it safe and cut their marketing budgets.
I was therefore happy to hear that the company has already adopted a new strategy of shifting the funds allocated to participation in exhibitions to double the investment in online marketing.
On reflection, such a move makes perfect sense.
Add to this the fact that a growing number of organizations are these days minimizing all face-to-face meetings with the inevitable result that they must change their digital strategy and turn it into their key source of lead generation.
Large organizations, such as the World Ban and International Monetary Fund have already announced that they drop all face-to-face meeting and companies on the private sector are expected to follow.
Considering that companies allocate the largest chunk of their budgets to trade shows, even a moderate change in preferences is likely to translate into higher investment in web marketing.
Figures published by data intelligence company PredictHQ indicate that in February alone, concerns about the coronavirus led to a 500% surge in cancellations and postponements of significant events.
The company said that more than 225 events ranked high impact were cancelled last month and the number of events canceled in March is expected to be significantly higher. The total cost of cancelations is estimated at billions of dollars.
Research conducted in 2018 by the Center for Exhibition Industry Research indicated that B2B marketers who participate in industry events allocated nearly 40 percent of their budgets to exhibitions and industry shows, almost five times more than the 8% spent on online marketing.
Even if only a small fraction of the events’ budgets is shifted to online marketing, it would translate into a massive growth in web marketing.