How to benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era? • Digital Dot

How to benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era?

With the COVID-19 pandemic having taken the world by surprise, all industries have been affected by the crisis. Most experienced loss and struggle while there were several that managed to come out of the crisis with more revenue. However, the fact remains that the entire situation brought about economic disruption and financial chaos for businesses worldwide. As a result, companies are in dire need of ways to bring their business back on track. Among the many ways to ensure this, digital marketing strategies have come into the list of top ideas. Our digital marketing agency helps guide you through the very idea of how to benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era. Keep reading to learn more and start preparing your business for counter-pandemic measures.

How will companies be able to benefit from working online?

As countries across the globe are faced with recession and recovery from the loss that the pandemic brought about, businesses need to find ways to survive the post-coronavirus recovery process. And digital marketing is one of the means to make that happen, by shining a light on online consumers and relying on online work to make up for the lack of real-time results. Unlike those that benefited greatly from this crisis such as supermarkets, online retailers, fast-food delivery companies, online course providers – other niches were forced to adapt and overcome, or go under.

Person working from home
Plenty of businesses were able to survive the crisis with the help of remote work.

The differentiating factor was the fact of whether or not certain companies need to rely on their staff being in the same room as consumers or not. For companies that managed to establish an online working environment, the crisis period was much less impactful. And the benefit of digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era is that it can help you bridge that gap that the past several months left. Companies will be able to recover much faster if they refocus their efforts on online advertising tactics and consumers.

How did remote working during the COVID-19 crisis benefit companies:

  • Maintained business continuity when work premises are out of use or cannot be accessed for any reason.
  • Provided flexibility for staff who may need to be at home one day, such as waiting on delivery or having an appointment.
  • Enabled staff who have any sort of illness (not just Coronavirus) can work in isolation from their colleagues and not pass their bugs on to them.
  • Brought about environmental benefits due to the lack of travel.

The only potential downside here was for businesses with less IT-literate employees, which were unable to maintain their usual efficiency and productivity because of it.

3 ways digital marketing will transform after COVID-19

Despite the mess that the coronavirus crisis created for businesses worldwide as well as individuals, not all industries suffered at the hands of it. The implementation of digital marketing strategies and opting for brand development tactics will be crucial for helping companies survive the after-effects of the pandemic. After all, events such as this are life-altering. And as such – they affect not only individuals and businesses but entire populations and cultures. That means that consumerism will need to evolve past the consequences that COVID-19 has brought about.

Woman sitting with her laptop, with a protective mask.
Digital marketing in the post-coronavirus era will bring about many changes.

History has taught us the impact that globally-recognized events can have on social mentality, quality of life, job opportunities, and industry trends. And with the overall dynamic nature that digital marketing goes through constantly, it doesn’t take a pandemic to realize how it will definitely change after something like that. By taking into consideration SEO trends and other marketing changes, we can conclude that companies will need to adapt in order to survive. But the question arises – can companies benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era and how?

Here are a few considerations for digital marketers while planning for a post-coronavirus future:

Cost savings from creative and content production

Traditional marketing requires significant resources and manpower to create and distribute content across televised and printed formats. And companies ended up investing a lot into all of it as a direct result of that. The digitalization of the creative production of copy for companies has introduced a much simpler and more automatized way of advertising your brand through online channels. And while some companies were still slacking off in implementing modern digital marketing solutions, the global crisis showed just how fundamental online advertising strategies can be. As a result, companies that relied on traditional offline marketing were affected more by the pandemic and quarantine, as exposure to physical ads was more limited.

This will only push more businesses towards investing in the various digital marketing solutions that agencies such as ours have to offer:

So, if you want your business to remain competitive despite whatever else 2020 or the upcoming years bring, going digital in your marketing efforts.

The result

If you want your business to expand and stay ahead of the competition, you will need to update your content to match the needs and expectations of online consumers. Digital marketing is seizing the world by storm, and the coronavirus only boosted the need for establishing an online presence even more.

Direct 1:1 consumer marketing becomes an imperative

Just like the previously discussed reliance on traditional marketing, many B2C companies are still focusing their brick-and-mortar distribution for product placement on retailers. And as a result, most Commerce companies lack strong, long-term relationships with their consumers. Instead, they rely on traditional retail distribution networks to handle the heavy lifting of the sales process.

Woman with mask in a supermarket, buying fruit
Direct 1:1 consumer marketing is the new approach to take in the recovery period.

Unfortunately, COVID-19 and the quarantine it brought about during the #stayathome phase shut down retail sales almost entirely. And this gave a huge opening for eCommerce platforms and direct-to-consumer marketing strategies to skyrocket. And since the crisis itself has crippled the traditional shopping process, companies will be looking to switch over to eCommerce sales funnels through the implementation of digital marketing strategies. This is where the use of web design to influence conversion rates will come in handy. Consumers will be looking for online means to make their buying process simpler and time-efficient.

And with more and more competitive companies opting for the online sales approach, you will need to ensure that your own website exceeds all expectations, both in terms of:

The example of the fast-food industry

1:1 personalized marketing is becoming the only means to battle the gaping hole that COVID-19 has left in its wake. And the example of the fast-food industry is the perfect example of that. With the majority of customers have had to rely on home delivery or cooking, fast-food chains had to re-focus their marketing efforts to online orders and at-home deliveries. For brands such as McDonald’s, Subway, Burger King, etc. – this was a major transition from their everyday marketing activities.

Even with the quarantine coming to an end, the majority of consumers will still be reluctant to return to quick-service restaurants and retail stores. Businesses in this industry can benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era so long as they start re-focusing their objectives to online sales. Additionally, a lot of consumers were forced to break their habit of visiting fast-food restaurants during the quarantine. This will bring about a behavioral change in terms of how simpler and more time-efficient it is to order food rather than go into the actual restaurant. And so, implementing a more direct 1:1 personalized advertising approach with consumers will be detrimental for the survival of businesses that used to rely on in-person consumerism.

The result

The crisis affected the typical behavior of consumers, shifting their focus from visiting stores and restaurants to making online orders and purchases from the comforts of their home. Focusing on direct 1:1 consumer marketing tactics that are both personalized and responsive for mobile device users will help boost your organic growth in a post-crisis period.

Flexible marketing tactics are becoming the new gold standard

Having an adaptable marketing strategy is one of the core values for ensuring the survival of a brand on a local, national, or global scale. Whether we are looking at a pandemic, competitive changes, marketing trends, or the evolution of consumer behavior, adapting your advertising efforts accordingly can make all the difference. During the COVID-19 crisis, many companies took weeks to respond to the overall impact in terms of adapting their content and ads to reflect the crisis messaging. And now, most need to go through the same process to match the recovery messaging.

In addition to the overall switch from regular marketing messaging to crisis-related messaging, a lot of global companies had to segment their marketing efforts based on location. The overall impact of the pandemic had different stages and effects on each country, making it more challenging for marketers to match their advertising plans to maintain their online presence. The message here was clear – the one-size-fits-it-all approach is definitely no longer as effective as it once used to be.

The result

If you want to benefit from digital marketing in the post-coronavirus era, you need to rely on data-driven dynamic creative technology. Making rapid changes to creative and content is one of the few ways to not get left behind your competitors. As the crisis of the pandemic diminishes, marketers need to rethink their entire approach to advertising and how adaptable it can be. Businesses need to consider buying software solutions that will boost their responsiveness and enable them to create time-efficient and cost-effective solutions to ride current trends and boost conversion rates.

Proactive preparations to help you benefit from digital marketing in a post-coronavirus era

Having a proper plan of action for your digital marketing efforts after the COVID-19 crisis is crucial now. therefore, we created a list of six essential guidelines to help you prepare for the upcoming recovery period:

1. Monitor all results in real-time

Data analytics is always a strong foundation to stand on, especially during unstable times such as these. When all other knowledge and predictions fail, marketers can always turn to real-time data to help them plan future campaigns and advertising solutions. Use data gathering and analysis to determine how your industry and company were affected by the coronavirus crisis, both internally and externally.

Use industry-specific metrics and KPIs to cross-compare pre-crisis results with those during the crisis, all to make predictions for the post-crisis period. You can also use competitive analysis to see how your competitors are battling with the crisis recovery period and evolving their digital marketing tactics to maintain their online presence. All this data will help you understand where your company stands, as well as provide ideas on potential tactics that you can follow to prosper in this period after the coronavirus.

2. Conduct user behavior analysis and retargeting

A global event such as this one can alter the perspective of your average consumer. And such a change can affect entire industries as well as how they perceive advertising efforts. That is why you need to consider how COVID-19 affected your target audience in order to adapt to it in the post-crisis period. Your customers certainly won’t have the same behavior and habits as they did before the coronavirus.

The quarantine measure that was implemented in most countries caused a change in the shopping habits of consumers:

  • Ordering everyday shopping online has now become a regular occurrence, to help avoid long lines and crowds.
  • eCommerce companies, package carriers, and delivery service providers are profiting from the online purchases of non-essential goods.
  • The Internet has proven to be a great source of entertainment for everyone stuck in their home.
  • Social media advertising has become even more influential for consumers to discover new products and services.

All these changes led to the conclusion that consumerism trends are changing, which means that companies will need to reassess their target audience. Once they do so, they will also need to reassess how their current marketing efforts fit into the new image their business wants to portray. For most businesses, the coronavirus had radical impacts on brand perception.

  • According to the global Edelman Trust Barometer 2020 report, 65% of users believe that the response to the pandemic will be crucial for converting leads into customers.

A lot of consumers are even now demonstration grudges against businesses that kept their silence during the crisis or exploited the situation to benefit their revenue. Digital marketing agencies might be able to help soften the blow by retaining customers through recovery-support campaigns and re-branding strategies.

3. Embrace the post-coronavirus visual standards

We already explained how the crisis affected the behavior of consumers. Digital marketing in the upcoming period has to accommodate the newly-defined imagery that people have. Whether we are discussing articles, social media posts, advertising videos, or email marketing campaigns – you need to uphold COVID-19 awareness. Companies are no longer willing to use visual presentations of people close together or crowds of people in closed spaces. Instead, brands are now focusing on open spaces and fewer people, targeting the social distancing standard put forth by the crisis.

4. Redistribute your advertising budget and activities

According to the Coronavirus Research study conducted by GlobalWebIndex, the quarantine had a positive effect on the activities of people in terms of:

  • Following the news and reading online articles
  • Using Smart TV
  • Watching Audiovisual content through streaming platforms
  • Exploring social media networks and trends

All this has shifted the focus of Digital Media plans for 2020, forcing companies to reassess their business plans for this year in terms of all activities. That means that you need to revisit your annual budget plans as well as activities such as sales, advertising, production, software investments, upgrades, expansions, etc. This recovery period can prove useful to establish a stronger brand presence through the use of digital media advertising.

5. Prioritize product lines and e-commerce adjustments

Digital marketing strategies during this post-coronavirus phase should use product lines as a foundation, focusing on the placement of products and services online, all to offer the best possible shopping experience. The overall focus points of the content you create should aim to point out various product/service features rather than offer educational articles. Your organic positioning will largely depend on the manner in which consumers will perceive your business in this post-pandemic time.

6. Strengthen omnichannel strategies during the reopening phase

Digital marketing strategies have to support the reopening of those physical stores that were closed during the lockdown. Many factors come into play here that we should take into consideration: updated Google My Business information, communication plan about hygienic and safety measures, enhancing the use of omnichanneldistributing investment budgets according to their location and planning click-to-brick campaigns.

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