It’s a globally accepted fact that the Covid-19 pandemic has brought earth-shattering change and disruption in the business sector: Businesses have struggled or even closed altogether due to the sudden and unyielding demand for entrepreneurs to adapt to the new reality.
And yet there is an indication that those businesses which manage to be flexible, creative, and open to new and innovative ways to engage with their target audience will not only survive but thrive during and beyond the era of the pandemic. So, what are the business and marketing trends that will characterize 2021 for businesses to remain at the top?
Make your business human-centric
The pandemic has made everyone crave the human connection, to make quality interactions with others from the isolation of their homes, as quarantines keep coming. Identify your clients’ and target audience’s core values and build powerful connections by incorporating these values in your company and company’s practices.
Keep it personal
Personalizing your marketing campaign, especially through email and social media, is going to be crucial. Personalized rather than mass-emails are more likely to be opened, and customers feel they have had a better experience when things felt customized, thus increasing customer loyalty.
Become a thought leader
People are seeking answers and guidance during this pandemic, with what was considered ‘normal’ almost completely upended. Prove yourself an expert in your field and industry and provide answers and guidance to build trust and loyalty with your customer base. This can be done through educational content, video marketing, and blogging.
Invest in video marketing
More and more, video footage is consumed by potential customers. Invest in a video marketing campaign that will rely heavily on the human connection that people direly need.
Don’t neglect your SEO
Optimizing for search engines is key to get traffic to your site. People search for everything these days, from getting answers to finding the niche products they desire. Optimize for search intent, and preemptively set up your content to be instantly retrievable by people looking for what you offer.
Keep in mind that intent lies in four categories: informational, navigational, commercial investigation, and transactional.
Form innovative partnerships
Partner up with businesses that offer complementary services. Cross-promotion is one of the best ways to boost your number of leads, conversions, rapport, and trust with your target audience.
Be flexible
Making your marketing campaign flexible and constantly updating it is crucial during the pandemic and beyond it. Create campaigns that will engage your target audience on many levels and especially personally. Give frequent and new offers and use AI and other innovative technology to anticipate consumer behavior.
Get featured snippets
Google’s featured snippets, which answer user questions quickly in a box at the top of the search results, are a prime way to get traffic to your site and get brand recognition.
Invest in ABM (Account-Based Marketing)
ABM targets specific high-value accounts and decision-making individuals, displaying how a solution you are offering will most efficiently solve a problem they have. This type of marketing is high-stake but if you land a deal, it will have great revenue.
Email Marketing
Email Marketing offers the highest ROI, and so it’s a must-have in every marketing campaign. If your email campaign is effective, you will get the personal connection, the community building, the traffic to your site, audience expansion, and new sales & leads.
Tell your story
Brand storytelling remains one of the most important elements in every marketing campaign. By telling your brand’s story, you can build the personal connection you need, get customer engagement, and customer loyalty. Brand storytelling gives a powerful connection to other businesses and to individual consumers you need, so definitely make sure you tell yours.
Answer the questions about who you are, why you are in the business, what you offer and why it is unique, what your history is and what success means for you in an emotional, engaging narrative that resonates with your audience.
