The
virtual world has experienced a surge in traffic and demand, during the
lockdown as many small local businesses and vendors had decided to take their
trade online.
- Consolidate existing customers
The
social networking sites are the best platforms to stay connected with loyal
customers of a products. Frequently responding to customers’ questions about a
product will maintain their trust in the brand. Providing the customers with
various offers and seasonal discounts on the company’s website can keep them
engaged with the products.
- Internet Usage and Traffic
-
Spike in Online Orders and Sales
Marketers
should be present where their consumers are, whether they’re on social media,
YouTube or news portals. The average time spent on digital media by an
individual has increased in the past year. People are looking for ways to stay
updated, connected and entertained. Malls and Super-market shopping in the
crowded streets and markets has become a thing of the past. Current trends
signify an exceptional surge in online shopping and delivery options as people
continue to self-isolate themselves and stay active online. Digital marketers now
stand a chance to put up advertisements on high-traffic websites and display
their products to a wide section of audience. Capitalizing on this section of
audience can result in more conversions.
- Spike in Online Orders and Sales
-
Work-From-Home Perk
The
work-from-home culture which is a result of nationwide lockdowns in several
countries has allowed the workforce the convenience of wearing clothes of their
choice, flexible working hours, and spending more time with family, etc. However,
mental health issues are likely to increase to increase with social distancing
measures. That means no need for physical shopping. Instead, customers have to use
mobile apps for shopping which poses a novel opportunity for digital marketers to
promote their products.
- Work-From-Home Perk
-
Digital
Payment methods
The
pandemic has affected the people from all classes in terms of their expenses,
health and lifestyle. One way that the marketers can reduce consumer’s anxiety,
is by offering them various digital payment options. Again, the digital payment
applications can advertise a product of any marketer. That’s a win-win
situation for both the consumer and the marketer.
- Digital Payment methods
-
Blogging
for the Save
- Blogging for the Save
Local
vendors need to start their own personalized blog for local consumers.
Strategies such as writing blogs about the products that you’re selling along
with the seasonal offers, deals and discounts on it, will attract the loyal
customers to a store. Including SEO-friendly content and keywords along with
extensive use of #Hashtags can widen the reach.
Creative
words that the marketers use in Blogs should be topical, sensitive to the issues
and emotions of the parent climate to lend a powerful social message such as
‘To every virus, there is a vaccine’. Focusing on your keywords can influence
the consumers very deeply as they are looking for hope and encouragement.
- Online Educational Courses and Coaching Arise
-
Using
Digital platforms to spread the awareness about the pandemic
- Using Digital platforms to spread the awareness about the pandemic
Isolation
can give rise to insecurity about health after reading various health articles
that can sometimes be speculative and predictive. Believing such articles can
make them sick in real-time. Marketers must target those audience with an
authentic information about the spread and vaccination updates from actual
sources. Considering television audience in the marketing strategies can be a
necessary step that will ensure some short-term recovery because the people are
tuning in for the news coverage of evolving situation. The polls related to TV
ratings showed that the average time spent watching TV on weekends increased from
3 hours to 5 hours per connection. The situation has even boosted Podcasts by a
decent 10% while 63% of marketers are expected to increase the expenditure on
Podcast over the next few months.
All
the businesses are affected severely but if taking a step back and looking at
it from a marketing perspective, will help businesses realize that the COVID situation
has simply accelerated trends like online shopping, health & wellness, have
been on the rise since the lockdown. FMCG companies are holding up better but
the pharmacy industry is riding at the top. Normalization is taking place
slowly in different countries but in American cities like New York City and the
state of New Jersey are still very much considered to be containment zones. Many
outlets have quickly recovered up to 70% of their pre-lockdown business.
Humans
are communal. We are social beings. We need to have people around us. But if
another COVID-19 wave hits, the normalization will take longer time to re-emerge.
Post-pandemic,
the resulting economic pressure has been uneven. The competition to regain the market
share is tough because of scarcity of resources in present times. Online
engagement has increased significantly during the pandemic. Digital Marketers
can use YouTube, social media or their blog to share the education information
which their consumers are looking for. If marketers have different products
targeted for different groups of people, they can always make use of the
portfolio. This will give them some time to rationalize the portfolio.
Different businesses will have different portfolios and margins, and marketers
should adapt their portfolio according to changing consumer behaviors.
In
conclusion, digital marketers can invest in those areas that really drive
value, customer engagement and not the least, revenue. Optimize the costs
wherever it is required and consider the efficiency of the expenditure
accordingly. Lastly, the marketers need to remain within the RADAR of the
target consumers.
