21.01.2022
How should you promote your business in 2022?
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It is safe to say that in the past two years, we have been the starring actors in the movie Contagion, all while witnessing the world changing like it never did before. 2020 was a year like no other, and 2021 certainly did not revert to the so missed, old normal. The Covid-19 pandemic has not only transformed the way we think, work and socialize, but has also changed the way we shop and our consumer behaviour.
So, for those who are thinking about ways to advertise their brands accordingly in 2022 and beyond, there are some nuggets of knowledge which we can take away from the pandemic in order to promote our business in a consumer world redefined by the age of Covid-19.
1. Know your customer segment
If in a pre-pandemic world, one vital aspect was to know your customer, the Covid-19 crisis has shifted the focus onto knowing your customer segment. The pandemic has reinforced what was already obvious, that businesses and brands must communicate in very local and concise terms, targeting their customers based on specific circumstances. In order to be effective, marketing messages have to be personally relevant and aligned with an individual’s values. Creating such a personal connection with any commercial message requires understanding what influences your audience’s purchasing behaviour (be it health, society or affordability) and which are the segments created by such factors. Therefore, adopting a customer segmentation approach can bring valuable insights to our marketing strategies and means of promoting our business.
2. Know who you compete against
If you think your competition is your competitor, you are wrong. Your post-Covid-19 competition is the last best experience your customer had. Customers’ expectations were on their way up even before Covid-19, and as the pandemic facilitated an accelerated digital transformation, those expectations have skyrocketed, too. A smooth digital transaction is not enough for customers when companies have so much data about them. An anticipated, personalised experience throughout the whole customer journey is where it’s at now. Therefore, the classic one-size-fits-all approach will have to be left behind, and in 2022 companies should use the data they already have to sharpen their decisions and bring more relevance into their customer interactions.
3. Foster great values
The pandemic has unquestionably challenged brand loyalty. A high percentage of consumers are now willing to consider using a white label product and switch name brands, mostly due to the rising consumer awareness during the social unrest of 2020. While price and quality are still very much relevant to the decision making process, one must not forget that issues like global warming are a hot topic on the worldwide agenda.
Therefore ethical sourcing, sustainability, trust and social responsibility are becoming an increasingly important factor to how consumers choose their services and products. Marketing is thus the tool we can use to educate our customers on the importance of brand values, when it comes to making a distinction between upended brand preferences in a post-pandemic marketplace.
These new marketing trends highlight the mix of operations, various strategies and technologies needed to drive growth in a post pandemic world. It is therefore time to adapt the past, pre-pandemic marketing habits to current situations and embrace the adjustments leading to a post-pandemic recovery and long-term success.
See you next time!
diARK team
