The unprecedented changes in the wake of COVID-19 have certainly pushed marketers to redefine their marketing strategies. While the pandemic has engendered substantial business disruptions in the form of sales slowdown and declining profits, it has also allowed leaders to start afresh with an agile and innovative marketing approach. 

Against this backdrop, modern marketers must focus on these four factors to thrive in the post-pandemic world:

Customer

With changing customer needs and demands, marketers must look at and understand customers from an evolved perspective. They must dig deep, go zip code by zip code to assess their requirements, and reshape their communication strategy accordingly. To create a solid and meaningful human connection, they must ensure that all their marketing plans are personalized and in sync with an individual’s particular situation and values. 

While it is essential to attract prospects, what’s more important at this juncture is to focus on existing customers. Doing so might not bring quick money, but it will surely bring more traffic to the table. This move will ultimately help leaders earn and retain customer loyalty, ramp up brand awareness, increase social media engagement, and definitely highlight its empathetic side to the world. 

Digital

We all witnessed how going digital emerged as one of the critical go-to strategies for businesses to ensure continuity. While it seemed like some sort of survival necessity, several brands also capitalized on this newfound opportunity by serving customers online and adding new wings to their profit levels. 

Honestly, there is no better time than now to establish and increase your online presence. Consumers are already spending a lot of time on their smartphones surfing on social media, shopping, gaming, and whatnot; therefore, as a marketer of today’s digital-first world, you must strike while the iron is hot. Remember, it doesn’t matter which industry you are in, there are always more and more offerings that you can take online, and thus set yourself apart from the counterparts. 

User experience

More than the product, you must invest in enhancing the user journey. While it is a must for brands to keep innovating their existing product portfolio by adding new modifications and features, they must also focus on improving the user experience; that is, how they consume the product, how they can get issues resolved in a jiffy after sale, and much more. 

Because no consumer will be willing to buy a product if the overall buying and after-sale experience are not brilliant. To ensure this, marketers must be honest with customers and never overstate things that the brand can’t deliver. What they can do best is add a pinch of creativity to their communication system; an interesting example would be Zomato’s personalized food notifications.

Spending 

Gone are the days when marketers had to rely on past expenses and trends to make the present spending decisions. As smart marketers, brands must decide by assessing their current needs and customer expectations. New-age brands must practice discipline when it comes to managing and measuring spend, and strive to craft a marketing culture where everyone feels like the owner of the brand and accordingly makes smarter and wiser financial decisions. 

This could also be a great way to build and strengthen communication with marketing teams internally. Always remember, marketing is all about creative communication and setting up a smart budget. Brands that can maintain these marketing principles will surely make a place in the heart of customers, and those who fail to do so will have to learn this or perish sooner or later. 

In closing

The world has already seen the wrath of COVID-19. But simultaneously, it has also shown brands a new way to innovate and connect with customers by understanding and catering to their evolved needs and demands. And in doing so, they must revamp their marketing principles by focusing on the aforementioned aspects. After all, now is the opportunity to re-connect with customers, address all the disconnects that have hampered the business so far, and start afresh with positive mind and heart.