Starting a New Business in a Pandemic

As many of you will now have seen, I decided to start a new business slap-bang in the middle of a pandemic.

Right at the time when Boris Johnson was taking the UK into its second full-scale lockdown, I was sat at my laptop typing entering updating my LinkedIn profile with details of the new business. Some may say that my timing and logic are not the best – others would argue that I am crazy.

I think they are all wrong. 

Crisis drives opportunity 

There is an old saying that crisis drives opportunity – and of course, it is a phrase that has been rolled out numerous times over the past 6 months or so. But in my situation, I genuinely believe it is true. 

Let me start though, by saying that I am fortunate to work in an industry that is not experiencing the challenges of lockdown – in fact, quite the opposite. I work as a marketer in the information management industry – not the most glamorous of industries. Or at least not until everyone is forced to work from home when suddenly, the software applications that I’ve been marketing for years are not nice to have, but essential tools.  

I had the pleasure of writing a report for the esteemed analyst firm Deep Analysis during the summer that explores this phenomenon in more detail for anyone interested – but in a nutshell, COVID has driven record profits in this sector for the first time in many years. 

So, with all of that said, why are many of those same vendors cutting their marketing budgets and getting rid of their marketing teams? 

You Still Need Marketing 

Honestly, I can’t answer that question – but unfortunately, it isn’t uncommon for marketing to be the first department to get hit when cost-cutting is looked at. I fully get that, but this puts tech vendors and all companies who are removing marketing resources in a very challenging position.  

Two key questions emerge for me. 

1. How do you generate business during the pandemic with little to no marketing? 
2. What happens after the pandemic? The demand for marketing resources will go through the roof at that point – as will salaries! 

Experts have extolled the benefits of investing in a downturn for years – and from a financial perspective, this pandemic is exactly that, a downturn. But another side of the balancing act is that cash is king.

Let’s be honest again - full-time marketing resources are expensive and require careful management. Many CEOs do not have time to understand how a marketing budget is built, let alone how marketing activities form a complex, interconnected web of leads, mqls, and opportunities. Therefore, it is somewhat understanding that we see marketing cuts – but those cuts ultimately act as misplaced prudence.  

Now is the Time to Engage 

Think about it for a second. Your employees are working from home – but so are most of your customers, both existing and potential. This is a perfect time to converse with them, engage with them, and build relationships. BUT this is not a time for the hard sell.  

Let me repeat – this is NOT a time for the hard sell. To those organizations who believe that marketing is sending out automated emails promoting sales offers once every 2-3 days – sorry, you are going to fail. This is a time to empathize with your audience, to give something for free even –without asking for anything back. It will serve you well in the long-term.  

But, what can you do as a tech organization with a limited marketing budget and a starving sales team? How can you possibly engage more with your customers and prospects? You can adapt to the situation, that’s what. 

Adapt and Thrive 

Everyone is having to adapt to the new world. Restaurants are offering take out services, pubs are converting into grocery stores, brewing factories are now sanitizing gel distribution plants – the level of adaptability and innovation in the human spirit is amazing. And tech vendors can be just as dynamic.  

Within the marketing department, specifically, the mass of marketing cull has created a huge hole to fill somehow. But turn that frown upside down for a second – those people who have been laid off are ready and willing to work, many in a freelance capacity. This means that organizations can get access to highly skilled marketing resources for specific projects – as opposed to having them as permanent employees.  

This has huge upsides. For example, a small business that previously could only afford one or two marketing generalists in their team can now hire a digital marketing expert for one specific project and a blog writer for a dedicated blog series. Neither of these tasks could have been executed to a high level by the generalist team.

And those benefits are mirrored for the marketers too. Being able to work on multiple projects at any one time is incredibly exciting and fulfilling. And having the ability to identify and source the exact projects that the marketer wants to work on is both liberating and offers a work-life balance that doesn't exist in many full-time roles. The so-called “gig economy” has been growing for a while – COVID has fueled it to a level where it could become the default way to work with marketers in the future. 

Final Thoughts 

I have spent the last 10 years, believing that I had to be working for a company to be successful and fulfilled as a marketer. That may have been correct previously – but in late 2020, that is not the case – for me, at least. My situation may well be somewhat unique, but there are many hugely talented marketers out there and just as many organizations that need marketing help. Simple economics suggests that there is an opportunity waiting to be fulfilled there. Everyone can win.

The jury is still out with regards to whether I am crazy or not. I guess that only time will tell. But personally, if working on projects for clients that I want to work with and spending more time at home with my family as opposed to being in remote offices for pointless meetings means that I am crazy – then so be it. It’s my crazy, it's a happy crazy, and long may it continue. 

For anyone wanting to learn more about my new venture, please look at our website or follow our LinkedIn profile.