I’m not sure about you, but I sort of feel as if there is a portion of life missing between March and now. To say that 2020 has been a weird year is quite the understatement. It has certainly given business owners a reason to pause, take a step back, and take a good long look at how business has changed in a very short period of time. Some business sectors have been harder hit than others, but all have been affected in some way or another. Along with safety changes pertaining to COVID-19, marketing strategies have also needed adjustments. Marketing leaders were surveyed by The CMO Survey asking their survival strategies and predictions about the future and here is what they found.
Trusted relationships have always been important, but now more than ever. Marketers expect customers to focus more on trusted relationships than low prices. It may seem ironic since we are in a time of economic downturn but it is at those uncertain times that people need to know they can trust people they do business with.
There is no denying that online sales have been a winner during the pandemic. Online sales were already popular, but it seems as though the pandemic catapulted online selling 10 years into the future and that isn’t changing. Those that were prepared were winners, but those that weren’t were left scrambling. Many did a good job improvising and getting by, but many did not fare so well. Shifting resources to accommodate business models to focus on digital opportunities is necessary.
Social media has emerged as a winner as well. It has been an important tool for the past several years, but suddenly became the only avenue to connect and engage with customers. According to the survey, 84.2% of marketers said that they used social media for brand building and 54.3% say they used it for customer retention during the pandemic.
Most marketers indicated that the COVID-19 marketing strategies developed would be important opportunities in the future. To read the full survey, click here. While we anticipate things to settle down regarding the pandemic, some things may never go back to a pre-COVID “normal.” Contact Cyberspyder Marketing to focus on how you can use or enhance your digital tools to get the maximum customer interfaces and engagements with or without a pandemic.
