In December 2008, while living and working in Canada, I went to Israel – my native country. The purpose of that short visit was the lay the ground for relocating back to Israel in the following year. Towards this visit I set up several interviews with potential employers. At one of these companies I had several good meetings with regards to a marketing position. Before flying back to Canada I met with one of their executives. He told me they were very impressed, but unfortunately the timing was bad. Amid the 2008 financial meltdown the company had just decided on a hiring freeze.

I wasn’t surprised by this decision since by that point of time I had already heard about many tech companies cutting costs and holding back on hiring due to the crisis. In 2010 – a year and half later, after relocating to Israel and taking a temp job, I received a call from that same company. A similar position opened and based on that previous impression they offered me the job right away. I accepted it and had enjoyed working there for three years. The company’s name is AudioCodes if you wondered.

In the midst of the Coronavirus crisis, this personal flashback comes to me as a reminder of the dilemmas faced by B2B marketing leaders these days. As they are grappling with uncertainty, travel restrictions, health concerns, and the immediate changes in plan, they need to start preparing for the day after the Coronavirus crisis ends. The sky may not look bright as of now, but new seeds planted today can yield substantial business advantages further down the road.

As articulated very well in an article by Erica Ariel Fox, New York Times Bestselling Author of WINNING FROM WITHIN, in times of crisis there are immediate urgent steps to take NOW. Then there’s the LATER – the light at the end of the tunnel, and we need to look forward and get ready for it.

I recently posted this article on what marketing teams can do when their big industry and customer events are cancelled. These are examples for the urgent NOW. Take Kryon – a company specializing in robotic process automation – as another example: to cope with the current situation the company increased the frequency of online training courses for customers and partners.

Let’s talk about LATER. No one can tell for sure how long it would take to eliminate Coronavirus. Based on China’s early success to contain it we can cautiously hope the rest of the world can follow through within a few months. Good leaders know that recovering from global crises starts from the steps you take during the crisis. B2B Marketing is no different. Two key marketing aspects in preparing for later are ALIGNMENT and ASSETS.

Marketing is a serving function by definition. When companies re-align their business plans in anticipation of future crisis recovery, the marketing goals and plan must be updated to reflect this change.  

Depending on the industry and segment, B2B sales cycles can vary a lot. Usually they are quite long, and can take weeks, months and in some cases even years. But now that events are cancelled and salespeople have limited ability to meet their customers, it is time to strengthen the sales-marketing alignment. Meet your global salespeople – even remotely. Find out what they need and what they are missing, discuss new ways you can help them, and fine tune the funnel process. It sounds basic, but we know the reality: when crisis mode is over both Sales and Marketing will once again be too busy to work these details together. 

Product-marketing alignment is another important component of successful companies. In times of global crises some companies continue full steam with their existing product development plans while other re-calculate their course and update their product roadmap in response to changing market dynamics. Either way now is the time for Product Management and Marketing teams to sit together, re-calculate their course and agree on needed research, upcoming product releases and required actions.

This brings us to marketing assets. When was the last time you examined your positioning, collateral, website, resources and processes as a whole? Do they serve the updated needs and ready for the post-crisis recovery? Do they differentiate you from your competitors and emphasize your advantages? The current situation might not be a good time for events, advertising and social media campaigns – which means you can shift your marketing resources to enhance your marketing assets. You will need them later, and the investment will pay off.