Marketing strategies in many ways need to remain the same – relevant, personalized and timely. However, in the current context, they also need to be different in a few ways – accessible, innovative and empathetic. The moment brands believe they have nailed it, the next shift will occur. As a result, they should be prepared to rethink and re-evaluate their strategies.
Marketers have faced extraordinary challenges in the last two years. Some businesses were hit hard by shutdowns, while others went into overdrive. And regardless of whether business was good or bad, everyone had to reconsider engagement. This change had already begun prior to the pandemic, owing to increased digitalization, but the meter had moved dramatically in just 18 months.
It’s difficult to create marketing strategies and messages when so much is still in flux. The rules of engagement have evolved and will continue to change in the future. Even if future norms are still forming, businesses can focus on five areas that influence how — and how well — brands interact with their employees, consumers and other stakeholders.
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Emphasize Digital Accessibility
Digital marketing is currently the most dominant, if not the only, method of reaching out to customers. And, because technology evolves at such a rapid pace, it’s critical to stay current as the push toward ecommerce continues.
Whether it is text, social media, email, or video, screen time is on the rise. According to Insider Intelligence’s “US Time Spent with Media 2021 Update,” US adults spent nearly eight hours per day on digital channels on average, up 15% from 2019 and expected to continue this year. According to Salesforce’s “State of the Connected Customer” report, 57 percent of customers plan to change how they interact with businesses in 2020. COVID-19 raised their expectations of organizations’ digital capabilities, according to two-thirds of respondents.
Businesses should use their digital presence across platforms to develop marketing strategies that engage with customers on a deeper level.
Humanize the Brand
Relevance has always been crucial in marketing, but marrying it with a “do good” theme is becoming crucial at a time when people are more aware of one another’s needs. Customers expect brands to show empathy, according to Salesforce’s State of the Connected Customer report.
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Businesses could develop complementary marketing strategies that integrate their brand identity with empathetic features like giving back, supporting the local economy, promoting the necessity of staying at home, or assisting those suffering from the impacts of quarantine.
Carefully Craft the Messaging
Throughout the course of 18 months the impacts of COVID-19 were not limited to the direct effects of the virus. Throughout this time, other key topics such as the climate crisis, racial justice, and political divisiveness intertwined. Each of these factors necessitates careful messaging on its own.
To ensure that messages are not tone-deaf, further caution is essential. While businesses need to sell their service/product, they need to also engage with their customers in a caring and cautious manner. It’s more important than ever to test messages to ensure they are effective before distributing them widely.
Double Down on Emerging Channels
The rapid adoption of video engagement has been one of the most significant developments.
While digital accessibility is more crucial than ever, this transition emphasizes the need to create and deliver a uniform and seamless experience across all platforms. Customers will increasingly interact through a variety of digital and physical channels. It is now more important than ever to market across many channels. Brands should examine whether other marketing channels, in comparison to their current ones, make sense to expand into and then focus on them.
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