Maximise Customer Reach Digitally

The rapid shift to a virtual workforce has been incredible. What could have taken years has literally happened overnight. We should all be proud of ourselves for being super adaptable and resilient human beings.

We have had some really great conversations with clients over the past few weeks – we have talked family, flatmates, cooking, virtual exercise, challenges of working at home with kids. It is so lovely to hear everyone’s different stories.

The big work challenge for everyone seems to be how best to manage customer experience without the face-to-face contact. With all travel, meetings, conferences, trade shows and events postponed many people are wondering how best to use their remaining budgets (many of which have been cut) to enhance their digital presence.

While everyone recognises that a strong digital strategy is vital many people are still exploring their options and working out the best plan of action that will carry their organisation through COVID-19 and beyond.

As a WEF report on the COVID-19 crisis states, “Beyond new business models, the digital revolution has the potential to change traditional ways of conducting business. Local enterprises may adopt various digital services to reduce obstacles caused by physical barriers. A precursor to achieving such investment are policies and measures, that encourage adoption of digital features to conduct business.”

As more and more businesses shift to digital marketing strategically, it’s important to consider that ‘going digital’ shouldn’t be seen as just an emergency fill-in, but rather an effective solution that provides long term value. 

We talked to our in-house digital expert Sarah Duffy, about keys ways to scale up your digital marketing:

How can digital transformation help you?

Until now, digital transformation has mainly been driven by competition, but given the current slowdowns in business and customer activity, we’re seeing a major push to accelerate digital transformation. Essentially, the goal of digital transformation is to use technology to solve traditional problems, which means integrating technology into every area of the business. When done right, digital transformation allows companies to provide unprecedented value to customers. 

A key to digital transformation is customer focus.

Here are a few things to consider:

• How can you make your customers’ lives easier?
• What are new digital ways that you can deliver your products and services to your customers?

What marketing strategies should I be focusing on?

There is no doubt that consumer attitudes and behaviours are changing during this time, so marketers must start there when assessing their best approach. Now is the time to leverage technology to meet customer needs.

Here are some ideas:

• Create or update your website
• Maintain social media presence and post consistently. People are now spending more time on their mobile devices so there’s a great opportunity to reach a larger audience.
• Focus on SEO. Many marketers are now investing more time in SEO.  This is a great opportunity to create valuable content that will help them in the long term.
• Launch a PPC campaign. The advertising landscape has changed overnight and we are seeing large shifts in the way people search during this crisis. Facebook, Google and Twitter are seeing ad prices drop, so now may be a good time to launch a campaign.
• Create an audio or video podcast
• Use live streaming to connect
• Digitise your training and on boarding
• Host a virtual event or conference

Since digital experiences are now replacing in-person experiences, we can assume that some of these new habits will become the new normal, even after the crisis.

What content do B2B Customers Value at this time?

Customers are seeking valuable content that may help them to navigate the uncertainty around them at this time. Focus on providing content that is relevant to your position in the market – you can start by assessing the impact this crisis may be having on their business, or consider future potential risks – this will help to add value and build confidence.

Above all, the focus for all marketing initiatives at this time should be to communicate value. Consider that now is a great time to strengthen the core values of your brand for the long term, and don’t be afraid to show consumers the human side to your brand. We’re all in this together.

Sources:

• https://hbr.org/2020/04/ensure-that-your-customer-relationships-outlast-coronavirus

• https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2020/04/19/3-key-considerations-for-managing-customer-experience-during-covid-19/#5fb2359d5995

• https://www.pymnts.com/news/retail/2020/wef-digital-will-lead-covid-19-recovery/

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