The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many business owners to assess and reframe their marketing strategies.
Caught between a rock and a hard place, marketers realized that the tried-and-true tactics of the past might not be enough to withstand drastic economic changes. And many expected that the quarterly reports for the first half of 2020 would likely show underperforming results.
To safeguard the future of the business, B2B and B2C companies have set out to identify new strategies for increasing brand awareness and conversions.
The hard-earned lessons of 2020 have made marketers more adaptable than ever — giving a whole new meaning to the phrase “Hindsight is 20/20.”
In this guide, we outline five action items for marketers looking to move beyond survival mode and see more growth in this quarter and the next.
How To Build A Stronger Marketing Strategy
Be More Informed About How Prospects Interact With Your Website
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, many businesses that could make the shift from an in-person to online presence have been operating this way for months now.
Not only have day-to-day operations changed, buyer behavior has been impacted as well.
According to Intelligence Node, 75% of Americans are buying products that they consider to be necessities. And 65% report being less likely to go to a business’s physical location to make purchases.
So what do these statistics tell us about buyer behavior in 2021 and the years to follow?
To thrive in the market, it’s important to
- identify how your services will meet the target audience’s consumer needs, and
- devote more time building a strong online presence.
As part of your marketing strategy, we recommend conducting voice-of-customer (VoC) research and consumer surveys to understand your consumer base on a more personal level.
Also, regularly tracking how visitors interact with your online presence can help you gauge the success of your ongoing marketing efforts. Through heat maps, for example, you can get a sense for how site visitors spend time on your website.
Build Trust Through Value Proposition
Understanding buyer behavior, while a necessary part of your marketing strategy, goes hand-in-hand with building customer trust.
One article found that during pandemic times, 21% of US consumers claimed that they trust brands. Along these same lines, only 20% trust retailers.
Because so many consumers have shifted their purchase intent to essential products and services, it’s more important than ever to affirm your business’s value proposition and build trust.
From the tone of your marketing campaigns to your investment in the customer experience, buyers are more likely to invest in your business if you demonstrate your willingness to meet them where they are at.
Take A Social Commerce Approach
Social commerce is on the up-and-up. And with 70% of consumers turning to platforms like Instagram and Facebook when searching for products to purchase, it’s easy to see why.
More and more businesses are turning to social media marketing to increase engagement and drive traffic to their websites. Social commerce gives purchase intent-driven consumers the ability to directly follow a linked product to the website’s shopping cart.
This short-cuts and simplifies the process for consumers, which in turn leads to more conversions.
E-sales are expected to surpass $735 billion by 2023. To meet and exceed revenue goals, we highly recommend accounting for social commerce and m-commerce in your marketing strategy.
Seek Opportunities For Cross-Promotion
Another lesson to take into the coming months is that cross-promotion can help you position your business and its partners for growth — even amidst difficult economic circumstances.
To put cross-promotion to the test, one case study analyzed the impact of a cross-promotional campaign between a gaming app company and different ad exchanges. These marketing efforts led to a 32% increase in daily installs of the app on average.
Another study found that, for 52% of surveyed companies, partnerships contribute more than 20% to overall revenue.
These numbers speak for themselves. Cultivating new partnerships and maintaining established relationships are proven methods for increasing brand awareness and growing customer bases.
It’s a strategic move — for all parties involved — to partner with businesses that target the same audience personas but offer a different set of services and products.
Optimize Your Business’s YouTube Presence
With a presence in over 100 countries and more than two billion monthly users, YouTube is a top platform for distributing video content. Not to mention, this platform is ranked as the 2nd largest site following Google.
With this in mind, it’s also important to note that 88% of video marketers cite that video is directly linked to a positive ROI.
This data points to the immense potential of YouTube in your marketing strategy.
Whether your business is already active or has yet to join the platform, an optimized YouTube channel can become another strong source of revenue — and direct more traffic to your website and other platforms at the same time.
A Marketer’s Key Takeaways From 2020
In 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic made it difficult for businesses to survive, let alone meet quarterly revenue goals.
Marketers adapted to unprecedented circumstances, and many took the opportunity to reimagine their marketing approach. This guide is intended to be a helpful resource to you in your continued efforts to examine and revitalize your marketing strategies going forward.
Mackenzie Scott is a copywriter at Soundstripe, a royalty free music company that provides creators and businesses with vlog music.