Keeping up in an uncertain marketplace with evolving consumer sentiment has been challenging for most brands.
Many businesses have managed to stay agile amid the pandemic; however, the rapidly evolving marketplace poses new challenges. This uncertain marketplace created opportunities for innovations and new ideas, helping brands with continuity and stand ahead of their peers.
To better understand the impact of COVID-19, businesses are collaborating on innovative projects for customers with empathy and efficiency. A recent study by MarTech Vibe revealed deep insights into the economic slowdown in the Middle East.
The report titled “State of the Martech Survey” highlighted the top challenges that brands faced during COVID-19. As we enter the new decade, businesses are managing priorities and shifting strategies. Simply put, brands have resorted to diversification in order to stay relevant in these dynamic times amid frequent budget cuts.
With all things online, nearly 62.16% of the marketers revealed generating traffic and sales as one of the top encounters their brand faced in the past months. In fact, 51.35% of respondents indicated generating leads as “extremely challenging” and about 40.54% said it was “moderately challenging”.
Read More: Authentic Marketing Communication Is Prerequisite Amid the Pandemic
Experts noted demand and lead generation could be designed by analyzing the mind-set of the target audience. It is undoubtedly a proven step-by-step process for capturing audience perceptions and preferences – and this way, they are capable of supporting brands to understand the marketplace and customer preferences.
Paul Stoddart, CMO at Epicor, explains – “The name of the game is loyalty and retention. As the pandemic taught us, it is wise for a marketer to focus on the cultivation of current accounts/relationships, rather than only focusing on new customer acquisitions…a true brand experience means people are feeling a sense of belonging to your brand, and it’s something you must prioritize and focus on.”
In this new normal, businesses have invested heavily in technology and other interactive marketing initiatives. As a result, nearly 51.35% of brands found justifying ROI for their marketing efforts were “extremely challenging”, and around 40.54 respondents indicated it as “moderately challenging”.
Consumers seek content that has a sense of trust and confidence amid sensitive times. In its essence, almost 70% of CMOs indicated understanding customer sentiment on social media as “moderate challenging” and 8% said it was “extremely challenging”. Even 62.16% of organizations found it difficult to include empathy in communication.
Thus, it is essential to understand the purpose behind marketing communication during trying times, keeping aside the profit margin. It should make sense to the customers, and they will remember if treated with empathy and care.
In this context, Paul adds, “Goodbye B2B and B2C, Hello B2i. There is no longer delineation between types of marketing. All marketing is about a brand reaching an individual person, and as we enter 2021, B2i will only be more prominent. To successfully reach an individual, marketers must strike the right balance by making their message powerful enough to resonate with the core individual person.”
