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2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 5: What’s working in sales and marketing?

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In May and June 2020, Haley Marketing conducted an online survey of staffing industry professionals to find out how our industry has been impacted by the pandemic. Today’s post is a continuation of a series, in which we share survey data and practical information in a way your staffing firm can use. 

Related posts in this series:

2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 1: Entering the Economic Rebound

2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 2: Impact and Recovery

2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 3: Adjusting Sales & Recruitment Strategies

2020 Staffing Industry Outlook Survey, Part 4: Changes in Marketing & Recruiting Budgets

Thanks to COVID-19, drop-in calls, networking events and other face-to-face sales methods have gone by the wayside – at least for now. But in a time when building personal relationships is more important than ever, what tools have proven most effective for account managers? 

Q: Please rate the effectiveness of the following sales/marketing tools during this pandemic on a scale of 1 to 5 (1 = not effective at all and 5 = extremely effective): 

(weighted average)

No single tool, method or medium stood head and shoulders above the others. As expected, staffing companies are having to implement a higher volume of activities to sustain sales growth. However: 

  • One-to-one, personal emails were rated as the most effective tool during the pandemic (weighted average of 3.64). 
  • Digital marketing tools were ranked highly effective. Social media marketing, text/SMS, webinars, and SEO rounded out the top 5. 
  • Old school is older than ever. Yellow page advertising, radio, TV, newspaper/print advertising and cold calls were rated among the least effective tools. 

When the Going Gets Tough, the Tough Market Smarter 

To thrive in this downturn and emerge more competitive: 

  • Position yourself as a partner. Build personal connections, ask how you can help, and provide sound business (not just staffing) advice for employers. 
  • Educate clients. Use webinars, eBooks, blog posts, sell sheets and more to teach prospects and clients new ways your services can be of value in all market conditions. 
  • Stay visible online. Invest in digital tools to stay top-of-mind, increase demand for last-minute fill-ins and crosssell your services, especially while you can’t make in-person connections. 
  • Help your team master remote selling. Provide training and resources for account managers to effectively use remote sales tools like video email, Zoom and online presentation software.  
  • Increase sales activity​ – and provide marketing tools to make every call more intentional and effective. This can include multi-touch campaigns that leverage a variety of communication channels to capture attention as well as digital and traditional marketing to strengthen positioning and keep your company top-of-mind. 
  • Invest in recruitment marketing to capitalize on this unprecedented (and very brief) access to highlevel talent. 
  • Experiment. Test. And measure. Improve your marketing ROI by systematically evaluating which tools are right for your firm.  

What can – and should – your firm be doing right now? 

Staffing Sales Lead Generation (eBook): Learn how to use integrated direct marketing, and content and inbound marketing, to generate staffing leads in this economy. 

Smart Marketing Checklist (digital workbook): Discover more than 150 ideas to make your marketing more effective, strategic and affordable.  

Schedule a free consultation with a marketing educator. If you’re not sure where to start, we can help. Our experts will discuss your challenges, learn about your goals and provide recommendations to help you reach them, faster. 

Up Next: What does the future hold?

Our next post will take a look at the long-term impact of the pandemic on clients, the economy and our industry: how long will it take for things to get back to “normal”?  But, if you don’t want to wait, you can download the full, FREE eBook “2020 Entering the Economic Rebound Staffing Industry Outlook” here!

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