COVID-19 has resulted in the closure of one in three startups and the scaling down of 74% of small and medium businesses. The ones that have fared well during this pandemic are not necessarily backed by huge cash flows from investors but those that have perfected digital marketing. Their strategies have come with the clarity and ability to stay relevant to the changing times and cater to the modified consumer behavior.
But now that vaccines are ready to be administered worldwide, will businesses and people go back to the ‘old normal’? Is COVID-19’s impact on business and marketing restricted to 2020 or has it created a paradigm shift in the way businesses communicate with and appeal to their target audience? As a team of marketing experts that has witnessed, first hand, how transformative the business and marketing landscape has been this year, we are positive that the changes are here to stay.
As a heads up to your business, here are a few digital marketing trends that we have observed that have helped businesses not only stay afloat but also thrive in during the pandemic.
An Integrated Approach
Consider the traditional sales funnel of a brand that begins from a customer identifying the need for a product and then moving on to his/her search for it and ending up with the actual purchase. This has largely relied on a brand being popular, to begin with and the assumption that people will instantly think of it if the need for a product arises. Digital marketing breaks this necessity very easily by allowing brands to introduce themselves and promote their products in an integrated way.
With consumer behavior shifting towards online purchases because of the pandemic, taking an integrated approach to promoting your brand across social media, display ads on websites and featuring in organic search results can go a long way in getting them to buy from you. Irrespective of your business objective, digital and online platforms allow you to easily achieve them.
An Emphasis On Tools
When it comes to any form of marketing, content is king and the digital space is no exception. And the key to creating and publishing engaging content lies in using the right tools. This includes social listening tools that give you instant notifications whenever your brand is mentioned in a public domain and intuitive publishing tools that determine when your users are most active and more likely to engage with your content.
Another example of a popular tool would be a chatbot that would make it easier for customers to get more information on your website. The tools to help brands achieve maximum customer retention are endless and would work best in tandem with the constant creation of useful and reliable content that adds value to your customers.
The Focus On ROI
As we mentioned earlier, the SMBs and brands that have survived the economic impact of the pandemic are the ones that have enabled and reminded their customers to easily and safely buy from them. Therefore, the natural focus comes down to ROI and digital marketing is decidedly the best channel to maximize it. With traditional advertisements, your display or television ads are viewed by most people for whom your product would be irrelevant. With digital ads, a well optimized one is guaranteed to give you better returns for your investments because of its targeted approach that eliminates unwanted views and the ability to redirect those funds to reach more of your target audience.
Even before the pandemic, most brands’ spend on digital marketing was seeing a constant rise but with the impact of COVID-19 decreasing ad budgets, you can expect a steep increase in the remainder of it dedicated to online marketing.
The biggest takeaway from how marketing has changed this year is how digital marketing is no longer an option but a necessity to be profitable. The end-to-end approach of digital marketing includes everything from social media marketing, search engine optimization and marketing, display ads and integrating the experience with advanced tools, data analysis and automation. All of this might seem like a tall order but this is where we come in. At Toss the Coin, we work with brands that understand the scope of digital marketing and are interested in leveraging online platforms to realistically maximize their ROI. If that is something that you want for your business as well, please get in touch with us at [email protected]