While the cultural shift during the pandemic has been tremendous, there are many facets that are likely to become the new normal for businesses and their marketing strategies in the future.
Businesses should not look at this time as a temporary normal that they can come up with some quick fixes for, but as a permanent shift for the future. There will be a new way of doing things and the business models and marketing strategies will be different – it’s already changing every day.
With people staying at home more often than ever, virtual has become the new standard. Video calls and online communication are more normal and saving consumers time, setting them with a new expectation of how they can communicate with companies and firms. For example, having a video meeting with a professional service instead of visiting their office, can be more convenient and efficient for a consumer – something they might want to keep doing in the future.
The reality is that people are developing new ways of doing things and new expectations are being set. Many companies will need to have a substantial online presence to meet their consumer’s needs. Is your business in line with adapting to the new virtual landscape of consumer behavior?
4. Reallocate labor flexibly to different activities.
For example, in response to a severe decline in revenue, more than 40 restaurants, hotels, and cinema chains optimized their staffing to free up a large share of their workforces. They then shared those employees with Hema, a “new retail” supermarket chain owned by Alibaba, which was in urgent need of labor for delivery services due to the sudden increase in online purchases. O2O players, including Ele, Meituan, and JD’s 7Fresh followed this lead by also borrowing labor from restaurants.
5. Shift your sales channel mix away from face-to-face towards new channels
For example, cosmetics company Lin Qingxuan was forced to close 40% of its stores during the crisis, including all of its locations in Wuhan. However, the company redeployed its 100+ beauty advisors from those stores to become online influencers who leveraged digital tools, such as WeChat, to engage customers virtually and drive online sales. As a result, its sales in Wuhan achieved 200% growth compared to the prior year’s sales.
Personalized marketing is tailoring your marketing message to an individual. Personalization ranges from personalized video to personalized emails to customized product recommendations and everything in between! With the advancement of technology, customers now expected personalized or customized marketing messages. Read on to learn how to do it right.
It seems obvious that developing a clear marketing strategy – one embraced by all internal groups – before deploying a slew of marketing tactics can drastically improve the success of your marketing program. However, many new product marketing launches don’t reach their full potential because of a breakdown in communication and a lack of focus. The most effective path to a successful launch includes identifying clear goals and objectives, and zeroing in on consistent positioning and messaging.
This article posits that there has been a fundamental shift in the way brands are perceived and the value they provide. But why? Blame increased consumer skepticism, the “millennial mindset”, the importance of value over status, or the increasing power of community to provide help and insights, but whatever the cause, brands must understand what is changing so they can adapt. The author proposes some new guidelines brands should follow when shaping their strategies, communications and behaviors to face this new reality. While some may already be part of your brand strategy, others are worth calling out, specifically: a) be sure to find and communicate your brand’s meaning and purpose, b) participate in communities; they are critical to brand acceptance, and c) customer service can be a brand-defining attribute. Read the article for more fascinating insights.
Have you found your niche customer segment? Being able to find the “right” customer for your business is critical to your success and will help you focus on the right marketing mix. The first step is to create a buyer persona – a fictional ideal customer. Armed with this information, you can make informed decisions.
Relying too heavily on data when trying to create authentic customer experiences seems to have back-fired for some companies whose recent actions have caused significant damage to the customer trust they had built up and all but taken for granted (think: Facebook.) Marketers should remember that customers are human beings, not just numbers on a spreadsheet or sequences in an algorithm. So how do marketers meet increasingly sophisticated customer experience expectations that tend to be based on data, when those same customers are using more ad blockers and other privacy protection tools? This article suggests that the innovative use of AI technologies and curation platforms may be part of the solution to data overload.
A seismic shift is under way that many businesses cannot ignore: thanks to new technologies, instead of waiting for customers to come to you, you can address your customers’ needs the moment they arise—and sometimes even earlier. It’s a win-win: customers get a dramatically improved experience, and companies boost operational efficiencies and lower costs.
We’ve been promoting the advantages of curated content (lower cost, enhanced credibility, broader selection of topics) for years so it’s heartening to hear it’s catching on. Check out these B2B tips.