Adjusting to the “new normal”
The impact of the pandemic has not passed and will continue to affect the industry this year. While lockdowns lasted in 2021, people had gotten used to online shopping, virtual events, and working from home. Streaming and browsing have become day-to-day activities. In 2021 alone, 40% of Australians were forced to comply with remote working requirements.
As in 2022, countries are cautiously reopening, offices and schools are welcoming their staff and workers once again. A study by Stanford demonstrated that work performance increased up to 13% with a higher level of work satisfaction. While some reported working from home to be more productive, the majority reported actual or perceived costs of missed opportunities of networking and long-term consequences to their career progression.
Along with current health guidelines, future jobs are leaning towards a hybrid model to optimize efficiency. Companies and managers should work closely to see what works best for their marketing teams and employees.
As people are slowly returning to work, some daily habits might change, while others may remain the same. For instance, most definitely there would be a reduction of time spent on streaming and social networking platforms. This in turn will affect marketing channels, their reach, and interactions. Furthermore, while E-commerce would continue to prosper, customers will shop in-store more regularly. Thereby, firms must soon re-boost not only their sales team but also their PR and marketing teams, so that all departments’ goals are aligned for the whole operation to run smoothly.
Developing Omni-channel Marketing Strategies.
Customers are now active on multiple devices and digital platforms. The 2020 Omnisend Report showed that omnichannel campaigns received a 287% higher purchase rate than single-channel marketing campaigns. Additionally, campaigns that involve SMS are 47% higher in conversion rate. Omnichannel perceived advantages are not limited to digital networks. Regarding the pandemic restrictions in 2021, more than 70% of shoppers rated 8 or higher on a 10-point scale for their in-store/pick-up experiences.
Previously with multichannel marketing, different channels operated separately and disconnected from each other, leading up to a nonuniform shopping experience. Conversely, omnichannel marketing aims to deliver a consensus shopping experience with all available channels. Product information, customer registration data, transactions, orders history must be synced, creating seamless navigation between devices with minimum effort. It is reported that nearly 90% of customer engagement is retained with strong channels management, compared to 30% for weak channel correlations. Recommendations for marketers in 2022 are to analyze the platforms that customers are active on and attempt to develop an omnichannel marketing strategy to further facilitate growth.
Focusing on building Brand Identity
The marketing field is getting more and more competitive. Especially with digital marketing channels, there is more noise than ever. Companies must stick to their core identity, missions, and values. Nevertheless, it is essential to know how to market that identity and position it compared to competitors. The first step is to control the internal process, whereby the brand identity must align with the company’s culture and ethics. Consequently, is to build an external identity that is, distinct from competitors. And finally, it is a must to stay consistent. If a brand’s content and messages got too disoriented, it is natural for customers to switch brands. If your brands lack identity, your team lacks purpose.
Following an omnichannel approach, across communicating channels, companies should harmonize the latest trends in graphic and web design, making it visually pleasing with long-lasting impressions. It is not all about aesthetics, but also meanings. Companies must attempt to deliver informative content, data visualization, comparison, and analysis. Another point worth noting is that brands should always consider cultural and ethical ramifications into their brand values. Business leaders and managers will need to continue to embrace inclusivity and promote a rich diversity of perspectives.
Data Privacy and Data Analysis Tools
2022 would be one of the key strategic years for data security and privacy. Google, the world’s biggest search engine, has announced that it was removing third-party cookies from Chrome in 2023. In late 2021, Apple has also launched a feature for Safari to prevent cross-site tracking, which means data collection is only permitted with user consent. With that in mind, the change is now. There is a massive amount of data that is now residing within large corporations. In the near future, there is a possibility that this data will not be accessible anymore. It is time to collect first-party data. Companies need to design strategies to collect and own their customer data independently, as well as ensure that the process is transparent along with customer consent.
