The recent Covid-19 pandemic has almost paused every economy in the world. At the beginning of this year, we were quite hopeful for the final year, but that changed very quickly. A lot of companies have fought to stay in business with the sudden and unexpected disruption that Covid has caused.
We’re not sure when this will come to an end, even with restrictions easing and cases falling, as a business, we need to be prepared to get back into it even better than before and figure out marketing in the post-covid world.
We must continue to put the consumer and their needs first. Additionally, businesses need to recognise these ever-changing needs and cater to them accordingly. The priority of your future campaigns in a post-Covid environment must be to boost lifetime value and customer experience as well as continue to deliver a meaningful, purpose-driven brand.
To meet future consumer needs, smart companies will use a proactive approach to ensure they are aware of what needs to be changed, and most importantly, are prepared to do so.
We’ve highlighted some steps below to help you prepare:
1. Gather Insight from the New Marketplace
Companies should develop a plan that enables them to assess the marketplace, so you can understand the new consumer behaviours we’re all-seeing. The best way of finding out what your customers need is to ask them! Marketing research is a great way to gain customer feedback which will mean you can analyse comments, attitudes and data and prepare to make changes accordingly.
2. Turn to chatbots and AI
Reassuring your customers on the ways you are operating, has become a vital task with all this uncertainty.
AI is developing faster than we know and changing the way that brands do business with their customers. This makes it an excellent time to introduce this kind of technology into your marketing strategy. After the pandemic, if you come back bigger and stronger than ever, your consumers will be impressed. The benefits of such a strategy mean that you can answer consumer questions and queries in real-time as well as automate lead qualifications and even book meetings/arrange appointments.
Chatbots and AI will allow you to interact and engage with potential customers more efficiently, therefore making meeting the demands for faster and more direct responses a lot easier and more achievable.
3. Focus on Improving Visibility and Generating Online Traffic
Shoppers have had to change their shopping habits from physical stores and focus their attention on all things e-commerce. A lot of retail brands upped their online presence and their digital marketing strategies to attract this additional online traffic.
As things start to go back to normal, it’s essential not to take your eye off the ball when it comes to having a successful digital marketing strategy. It’s important to remember that although shops will open and allow customers inside, it doesn’t mean that all consumers will go. If you moved a lot of your activity online and expanded your e-commerce offerings, you will have built up a reliable flow of online traffic. Make sure you don’t neglect this now and continue your online efforts to convert them into customers.
4. Outsource if you need to
Covid-19 put a lot of pressure on companies to come up with disruptive digital strategies in a bid to attract online customers. It’s understandable to struggle to reassess your digital marketing strategy and budgets. Therefore, when a digital marketing strategy with a multi-channel focus is paramount, it can be helpful to outsource your marketing efforts to an agency who can ensure you are focussing on the most effective channels. This can ensure that you’re not wasting energy and resources when working out how to best approach your digital marketing strategy post-Covid-19.
