By Tiffany Harris
President

The 24-hour roll of the clock did indeed bring a new day and a new year, and a hope that 2021 would be drastically different. Unfortunately, we have not seen very much “different” in our day-to-day business activities from 2020 — at least not yet!

While there are several factors that are out of our control, we do have the ability to pave a new path in this unconventional time and create a positive outlook on the future. How you ask? Re-evaluate your goals and objectives; prepare a game plan; get your mind in the right place; and then get to work.

I have always been a big advocate on setting goals and objectives — specifically short-term actions that lead to long-term gains. This translates to pinpointing key areas where a pivot in your near-term strategy could make a significant difference in long-term results.

Here are four areas of interest:

• Government: As we have certainly seen in the past few weeks, the newly inaugurated leadership has a target on the energy industry. And regardless of where you fall within the industry — upstream, midstream, downstream, renewables – there will be changes within the sector and, most likely, in your business. While you navigate the immediate federal policy changes, develop a short-term game plan on how to stay relevant over the next four years and beyond.
• Sales: We must add the personal touch to the impersonal delivery now fostered by Zoom, bringing a grassroots approach to digital engagement. Be creative, use non-traditional tactics to reach your audience and build relationships during a touchless time and through the ever-increasing digital noise. Set an objective to hone your target audience and create individualized touch points – here are a few ideas.
  • Virtual
    • Lunch-n-learn with a twist
      • Think care package with a pull-up banner (they will not throw it away)
      • Have lunch delivered, and the same delivered to you and share it via Zoom
    • Virtual Product Tour
      • Live demo
      • Send mini products for them to touch and feel while watching
  • In-person
    • Drive-In demo — for a larger group with demonstration shown on a big screen
    • Drive-by drop-off — for those customers and decision makers in the field, deliver care packages
• Diversification: While many of us rely on organic growth to build business, we know that budgets will continue to be tight and organic growth limited. Therefore, it will be more important than ever to look toward new opportunities – new industries, new applications, new products. Delve deep into your resources and capabilities, identify parallel opportunities and set an achievable goal of expansion.
• Mindset: Understand that the way of doing business is changed for the foreseeable future, and possibly forever. We must reset our minds and be good with it, like it or not! The goal is to find peace and prosperity, regardless of social limitations, travel restrictions, masked meetings; and be prepared to build business relationships in any environment.

At Foster Marketing, we have always encouraged the glass-half-full mantra, which has gotten us through 40 years in the cyclical oil and gas industry. It looks like 2021 will prove to be another challenging year, but we are confident that with every short-term goal and objective achieved, we are one step closer to long-term success and our new normal.

As you take a hard look at your plans and adjustments for the coming year, our strategic thinkers are here to help. We’ve helped our clients thrive in both good and lean times. Contact us to set up a meeting to discuss your business goals.

We wish you a healthy and prosperous 2021!

BONUS TIP

Take the time before live events return and focus on content marketing to maximize the impact of the assets you have. It’s all about repurposing. If you write an article, turn it into a video and a few social posts so you get more bang for your buck — or more actually, more impact for your time. Take the time now to set some goals for your content plans. Be realistic, but don’t let yourself or your team off too easy. Consider adding one article per month or a couple of blog posts per week or a new video interview per quarter or a photo gallery from the field each week. Just get started and your efforts will soon start paying off!