3 Huge Digital Marketing Lessons COVID-19 Has Taught Us
The ongoing pandemic has presented its fair share of problems affecting different walks of life. In the world of digital marketing, the coronavirus outbreak has brought many truths to the surface and helped open our eyes to several realities. With that in mind, here are 3 important digital marketing lessons that we have learned from COVID-19:
- Every business needs a digital presence
When lockdowns and social distancing became the norm, in-person interactions came to a near halt. Instead, people were forced to connect through digital means. As a result, it became vital for businesses to be active online. Social media, too, played a crucial role in helping maintain client relationships.
COVID-19 successfully highlighted the immense importance of having a digital presence in this day and age. Before the pandemic struck, digital transformation was merely a buzzword for many businesses. However, now it is a way of life for almost all of them.
The pandemic has brought the importance of modern digital tools to the forefront too. Technologies like online chatting, video conferencing and remote workplaces have become a necessity with many employees having to work from home.
- Data can always help us find the way
Since there was not much historical precedent of how modern businesses react to a pandemic situation, many companies found it hard to form long-term digital marketing strategies when the outbreak surfaced initially. Every company was just looking for a way to help tide them over the social restrictions and consequent commercial fallout of COVID-19.
However, as time has passed, more and more companies have started relying on data sources to not only maintain daily operations, but also guide their creative processes and executions. With business activities being massively disrupted on a day-to-day basis, data has proved to be a guiding light for companies to navigate through all the market uncertainties and upheavals.
- Flexibility is the key to continued success
The old marketing mantra of, ‘Be prepared, or be prepared to fail’ has worked well for most digital marketers in the past. However, COVID-19 has brought a whole new challenge altogether – how can you be prepared if you do not know what to prepare for?
Customer needs are always changing and digital marketers have had to keep up with them. Now, with a pandemic being thrown in the mix, the need for a reactive strategy has become even more pronounced. Constantly changing social rules and restrictions means that even if one is prepared in advance, plans can always change and ideas can become outdated at the drop of a hat. In such a situation, business flexibility has become the defining factor to differentiate success from failure.
Conclusion
Times are tough for a lot of businesses, but the silver lining to all of these hardships is that many lessons have been learnt along the way. Hopefully, this learning will help prepare us well for any future obstacles that may come our way.
