Whether you are a small start-up or a major player in the event industry, many of us have had to scale down business operations, teams and resource, and we have all felt the IMPACT of ‘storm COVID’ in some way. So, I wanted to share some of the lessons I have learnt, and where we have found solutions to our challenges in even our darkest of days. I hope that some of it might inspire or at least resonate with you, so you know you are not alone, and we are with you every step of the way.

 

Disrupt the rules and let go of the status quo

I am taking a positive outlook to 2021 and seeing how we can do the same things differently (and even better than before). Now is the time to change things up, try new things, and create new ways of working. For many that is often that is the toss-up between in-house resource vs outsourcing your team. But guess what, we outsource too!

Our reality has sadly seen redundancies and furlough in the team, so it has been vital that we pull together to support our clients. As an agency with a PEOPLE arm, we are lucky we have on hand a bank of contractors in the specialist areas we work in, and we have had to utilise our freelancers for TEMBO IMPACT to support the business.

This has worked wonders, as it has given us the flexibility and freedom to place resource where it is needed, often at a moment’s notice. I will now undoubtly always consider contractors and freelancers now as a permanent extension of the IMPACT team.        

I totally understand moving to a new way of working with a remote team is a huge change and transition, but trust us, it works (we wouldn’t do it ourselves if it didn’t).

 

Speed and agility beats size

At a first glance, our battle with storm COVID might have seemed impossible to overcome. But as an agency we had to be agile and think quickly. Especially when it comes to how we adapt as an industry.  

At IMPACT we have always taken pride in the fact we are a bolt-on marketing resource, that can plug-in to an existing team – we are by nature adaptable, agile, and can get resources up and running for you in 48 hours. Take that COVID.

 

Planning is key

One of the hardest parts of the pandemic for many of us, has been losing our ‘second’ homes – our office space. This was like heartbreak hotel for us, where for months previously we had been growing tenfold and building a beautiful office space fit for a king!

However, we recognised and accepted early on that we had to be flexible with our operations in order to continue. It meant working as a team to find the best solution for us all – so we downsized to a space that means one day we can work together again, at a safe distance of course.

We have created an efficient process of working together remotely, so we could still service our clients seamlessly (thank you, zoom). We plan our activity together as far advance as possible, both internally and externally, and we are always here if you ever want to have a chat or to see a friendly face. Our consultation service is still running, so drop us a line if you want to know how we manage it all, and how I manage a marketing team remotely.

 

Live on the cutting edge

With virtual, hybrid and live formats all on the table for 2021, all seem viable options for the future of events. Not only for the coming months, but for the long-term prosperity of the industry. We will no doubt continue to see new platforms appear, giving even more choice to organisers, which could really level out the playing field for suppliers and organisers alike, and change the face of events for the foreseeable.

But we know at IMPACT, it is not just about the event platforms themselves, but also how we will continue to use technology to communicate, engage and delight audiences across the world, especially now our face-to-face time is limited to a screen. Now is the time to assess technology can support you and your business goals.

We work with a multitude of platforms and systems that could provide you with a turnkey solution you are looking for, and our latest move to a new CRM Sharpspring, has been a being a turning point for us. It’s an integrated email and database system, that gives you the functionality of HubSpot Enterprise for a snippet of the price. We love it. We think you will too.

P.S. demos on Sharpspring are also available :-)

We all know things are different now. We are living and working in a time where we need to be agile, think outside the box, have precision and speed to disrupt as we go. At TEMBO we were born ready to support those in the industry, to work as a team, as a force to be reckoned with. So, let’s do what we are good at and weather this storm, together.

If you are interested in finding out more about how to adapt to change, book some time in with me and I am happy to have a chat: https://bit.ly/2LRZyGf