The COVID-19 pandemic has shone a light on many industries and sectors, sparking reactions across the globe as supply and demand try to adapt to plug gaps and react to accelerated changes. One of these accelerated changes has been the use of digital marketing. With events canceled, shops closed and lockdown restrictions prohibiting in-person customer engagement – businesses are forced to take their marketing online, leaving many scrambling to get up to speed.
Getting In The Digital Fast Lane
To enable change and to keep up with growing online demand, companies have accelerated the digitization of their customer and supply-chain interactions by three to four years. And the share of digital or digitally enabled products in their portfolios has accelerated by a huge seven years, with most of these changes expected to be long-lasting.
However, when analyzing all major sectors, the rate of change indicates the development of digital products can differ. For instance, the consumer packaged goods market (CPG), entertainment and automotive sectors report somewhat low levels of change in their digital-product creation and output. In contrast, the reported increases are much more substantial in healthcare, pharma, financial and professional services – where an increase nearly twice the size has been made compared to CPG companies.
Content. Content. Content.
In reaction to a dramatic shift towards all things digital, there has been a surge in online content consumption that is constantly evolving to keep up with new competition and consumer demand. From a quick fix, digital content creation and promotion has now become a permanent solution to appease basic marketing needs of food, entertainment, acquisition of information, goods, and services.
Of course, there have always been industries and sectors that looked to do more and more online. However, the use of lockdowns has dramatically increased both the size, availability, and profile of the digital audience, now bringing in those people more traditionally accessed offline.
Re-thinking and re-defining your marketing strategy
The arrival of COVID-19 and worldwide lockdowns has forced marketers to step back, rethink and redefine their relationships with consumers. Companies are now adopting more dynamic and fluid marketing strategies that enhance their virtual space just as much as their physical storefront.
If previously a platform constructed networks physically, rather than digitally, COVID-19 has forced these brands into unchartered waters as previous strategies may no longer be relevant or even possible – so it is vital to adapt in order to succeed and thrive in a digital environment.
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