The last time we’ve experienced a pre-pandemic day was in February 2020, or about a month before the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the novel coronavirus a global pandemic. While most governments have been immunizing their citizens against the virus, that does not mean that life will be back to how it was before. That doesn’t mean big events will be upon us again. That doesn’t mean we can do face-to-face meetings comfortably and with nary a care if we’re bringing home the virus or not.
The world will never be the same again, but thanks to people’s intuitiveness, innovativeness, and creativeness, companies have found a sweet spot on how to market their products and services. Even marketing agencies have adjusted comfortably enough to start looking into digital solutions for their clients. So, unless you live under a rock this past decade (not to mention the past year), you should be running a business either partly or purely online.
This means it’s time to look into website hosting solutions for agencies. You cannot depend on free social media platforms all the time. At one point, your clients and customers will want to see you invest time and money into your virtual marketing strategies.
Virtual Events Will Continue
Even after in-person events and meetings are allowed, virtual events are going to be the norm. In fact, marketers are looking into hosting asynchronous events to guide customers through the sales funnel. They are going to persuade customers through virtual events, community forums, and live streaming. But there will be more intimate and topical online events, too, than big ones. These more personal virtual events are going to increase engagement more.
There’s another thing that marketers need to focus on. That’s virtual interaction. The popularity of webinars increased in the past year, but it tapered off because people want to be heard. They don’t want to watch a seminar or conference. They want the ability to ask questions. That’s why interactive videos are going to be a critical marketing tool.
Brand Values Are Going to Change
There is no way the marketing approach will continue to be one-sided or one-way. What you value as a brand will change because what your customers value has changed as well. Putting the customers at the heart of every business decision will become a norm. This means more engagement is needed and a deeper understanding of what they want and need. Businesses must also work to align their customer service, marketing, and sales strategies.
But that’s not all. Brands will also need to reinvent themselves because there’s an increasingly polarized political and social climate out there. Social and political issues dominated social media last year. No business can separate itself from these issues, especially if you will operate on social media.
Machine-learning Capabilities Make A/B Testing Obsolete
For years, marketers were so dependent on A/B testing, which means showing two versions of a web page to different web visitors at the same time to determine which one works better. Thanks to artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and machine learning, marketers don’t need to do these anymore. They will rely instead on the predictions of machines based on data culled from websites and other platforms. Marketers can know exactly what strategy to employ without testing the theory. It saves resources.
Cross-channel Integrations Will Grow
Marketers and businesses will learn to integrate their campaigns across multiple channels rather than putting all their eggs in one basket. The ability to cross-message across platforms, for example, has changed the way brands communicate with their target audience. Some companies even use a versatile channel like SMS to connect with their market. It might be effective, too, since people are always glued to their phones.
Marketers will stop depending on one platform for customer interaction. They will be on everywhere—emails, social media, SMS, and in some way or another, in traditional marketing channels, too. The campaigns will be customer-centric but will be available on all platforms their markets are engaging with. It’s a whole new world that marketers will need to keep up with this 2021 and the years to come
These marketing strategies are not trends. They are here to stay. If marketing agencies and their clients want to remain relevant, they will study these new approaches in the industry and start to integrate them into their existing and future campaigns. There is no dilly-dallying with technology rampantly developing because you will be left out.