As we enter the 23rd year of the century, we have emerged from a two-year pandemic that has forced us to adjust the way we do business. We had to evolve very quickly, forcing leaders to either adapt or die. Remote work continues to be part of the new workplace as companies look for more efficient ways to operate, collaborate, confer, and more. This change was important because hyperconnected customers demanded it.
The pandemic has also significantly changed consumer habits, forcing a major shift towards digitizing things. Digitization is still evolving.
According to Yotpo’s research, more consumers are moving to online shopping, with 25.35% of consumers making more online purchases than usual. Another 40.55% of them are ready to buy from similar new brands when their regular brands run out of stock.
In short, carefully aligning, planning, and reviewing your inbound marketing strategy can increase your brand’s market share and revenue, despite the pandemic. Below, we review five strategies that can help you make the most of these changes in consumer habits. let’s start.
Marketing strategies, tool updates
Before the pandemic, most companies had both outbound and inbound marketing strategies. Cold calls, magazine and radio advertisements, product activations, flyers and brochures were all part of the typical marketing vehicle.
Most of these options are currently inadequate on their own. As we spend more and more time online, having a blog, opt-in page, and active social media pages can prove to be an invaluable marketing tool. These channels existed before the pandemic, but the impact of the pandemic has accelerated the adoption of these tools. As business owners and marketers use digital platforms to find value and increase efficiency, they can expect to realign their marketing mix to include more.
Up to 57% of consumers use social media to learn more about a brand’s products and services. The right marketing tools with valuable content can drive brand discovery and attract more leads.
Redefine your buyer persona
One of the key elements of inbound marketing is a deep understanding of your target user or buyer persona. Your business probably had a good idea of who the ideal buyer is or what the perfect audience looks like.
The pandemic has forced more people to go digital who would otherwise not shop online or seek solutions. So what changes have you made in your current segment and if there are new audiences who might be interested in your product or service and what kind of content is needed to appeal to them? It is worth reconsidering whether
Check your lead generation campaign
After including other people searching for your brand online, you’ll need to fine-tune your existing lead generation campaigns to include this audience. This means adding new demographics with paid social media ads, creating different types of blog content, and using different lead magnets. CRM tools like HubSpot and Keap allow you to segment your customers into different groups and better target the entire sales funnel from acquisition to sales conversion. Close potential loopholes in your funnel and improve segmentation.
Test, test, test more!
Marketing should be approached with the idea that marketing strategies are hypotheses and campaigns are experiments that you run to validate (or refute), refine, and move forward. Perhaps you’ll notice your traffic taking a severe hit as people don’t seem to be interested in certain topics. Remember that some are. These changes can mean it’s time to take your content in a different direction, so test, test, test.
If you’re running paid ads, you can hit your ad spend cap quickly if you don’t plan ahead.
It can also help you find other aspects of your online presence that you haven’t fully explored. Local SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is important nowadays as more and more people are trying to find local businesses that offer important services. Enhancing your business or online pages with location-specific keywords can pay off.
Competitor research and social listening can also give you great ideas for improving your campaigns. Tools like Mention and Brand24 are good examples of low-cost social listening tools.
Improve your brand experience online
Focusing on the content you put on the web is important, but another often overlooked aspect of building a strong online brand is ensuring that your brand delivers a cohesive experience. . Many people want to try new brands, so it’s important that your online brand feels trustworthy and has solid social proof. This should start with the overall look and feel of your website. Does it look professionally done? Is it easy to navigate and read? Does your content convey what your business or blog is about at a glance?
Social proof and recommendations are what influence the purchasing decisions of new customers. According to OptinMonster statistics, 70% of consumers check product reviews before purchasing and 90% of buyers are influenced by positive online reviews.
You can apply this to your business by encouraging positive customer reviews on your social media pages and your own website. A good option is to set up a Google account and encourage people to share positive reviews of your business on forums like Google, Quora, and even Facebook groups. This will help you win new business.
final thoughts
The pandemic has brought its own set of challenges. Businesses using inbound marketing as a strategy must review and improve their existing plans due to the pandemic and changes in consumer behavior.
Know what still works, what can be improved, and what needs to be eliminated entirely. Then look at new potential buyer demographics to enhance your lead generation strategy.
You may find that you need to test entirely new strategies and track different metrics together to measure your success. The final important part of any successful marketing strategy is to post social proof online whenever possible.
The Trinidad and Tobago Chamber of Commerce thanks Brevard Nelson, co-founder and CEO of Caribbean Ideas for contributing to this article.
