In a recent episode of our podcast The Reset, Acoustic CMO Norman Guadagno was joined by Allocadia VP of GTM Enablement Kelly Krumreich. Norman and Kelly discussed how Allocadia is helping customers continue to adjust to pandemic challenges one year later. You can watch the full conversation below.

Norman and Kelly examined the renewed sense of authenticity caused by the pandemic and evaluated how continuing to build trust with colleagues and customers is imperative as lockdowns end around the world.

What makes for meaningful engagement in a virtual world?

• There’s a new need for authentic, meaningful engagement. People have been isolated from normalcy for over a year now and we’ve become accustomed to wonder, “Can I see my family?” or “Can I hug my friends?” We’re each craving human connection and interaction on a new level.
• Pre-pandemic, the prevailing mentality was “Go, go, go!” Now, it’s never been more important to take time to get to know each other. We have to make an active effort to establish connections, especially for those who’ve started a new job during the pandemic. Virtual coffee breaks and scheduled Zoom calls for a team “stand-up” are the new normal.
• Teams must find strategies to connect with each other. For example, at Allocadia, Slack will match two teammates every six weeks who have never met to set up a virtual “meet and greet.”
• Teams became much more agile, focused more on the customer, and established an elevated level of connection between each other. Instead of seeing it as going “back to normal,” we should focus on merging the things we loved from before with the positive changes we’ve embraced since COVID changed everything.

“The move toward authenticity, and towards creating and engendering trust, is a critical outgrowth of this time.” —Norman Guadagno, CMO, Acoustic

Allocadia is in the business of budget management for marketers. How did the company support customers through real-time budget changes at the height of COVID?

• Customer support teams helped existing customers understand the platform's value in addressing the unforeseen challenges they encountered (and continue to face).
• When customers and prospects are in crisis, there shouldn’t be a major shift in how we approach offering support or closing the sale. Technology providers should always be listening to customer needs and focusing on how the tech can solve customers’ real-world challenges, in the moment.

What happens next?

Post-pandemic, our goal should be to continue to be more human in our social interactions, our professional lives, our marketing, and in our selling. Let’s learn from the adaptability and the discomfort that we’ve lived through and create something better.

Listen to all The Reset podcast episodes here.