The coronavirus has presented countless challenges, putting both large and small businesses to the test, requiring them to unexpectedly shift their communication strategies with clients and potential consumers.

The evolution of the digital market since the pandemic began is reflected in multiple statistics that highlight the effectiveness of companies emphasizing their commitment to society and users. New techniques have emerged during this transition, contributing to the growth of the quality-price relationship. Some of these include the customer journey, the sales funnel, and the development of a profile that ensures your connection with potential consumers.

In this blog, we’ll review the main trends that emerged during the pandemic, the growth of users who have embraced new communication channels, the opportunities brands currently have, and some techniques they can implement in their marketing strategies to attract new customers.

Growth of Online Shopping (2020-2021)

The graph above, published by Datareportal, shows the growth of online shopping from early 2020 to the second quarter of 2021. The total growth in users was 147,000, which represents a 1.5% increase compared to 2020.

The Opportunity for Businesses

According to a study by GWI, 24% of consumers across 18 markets discover brands on social media, with 55% of them approving of brands that maintain organic communication and approval.

Marketing experts are encouraged to leverage the constant growth and change of these trends. One of the attractions for brands during the pandemic has been highlighting the quality-price relationship. Brands that position themselves as financial aids are approved by 81% of users, particularly if they offer flexible payment options.

Brands that focus on offers and promotions can receive 84% approval.

With the arrival of COVID, brands can use social media to highlight their commitment to society, creating not only noise on social media but also having a positive impact on the growing digital landscape.

Building Strong Relationships Through Dialogue

In times of crisis and recession, brands have learned that communication is not just about advertising. Long-lasting relationships are built through direct, human, and simple dialogues.

The essential role of businesses is to focus on branding and corporate social responsibility. The core task of digital marketing is to highlight a brand as a supporter of both the user and society.

Opportunities on social media can be seized through specific actions, such as:

• Asking users about their perspective on the current situation through stories.
• Creating content that encourages users to invest as much time as it would take to complete a task or follow a set of steps.
• Promoting healthy habits that help users take care of their health, showing that brands care about their safety.
• Offering plans and free access to content or products during the confinement period to help users financially.
• Communicating with users in a friendly, humorous tone that shows flexibility and adaptability to current events.
• Testing new channels and formats, like YouTube, infographics, memes, webinars, etc.

Digital Marketing Strategies During a Crisis

The Importance of Buyer Persona

Digital marketing’s job is to align products or services with the market, which is why understanding the buyer persona (also known as the potential client or prospect) is crucial. This knowledge allows for the development of actions aimed at the ideal customer.

To implement this, you need to understand the demographic profile of the potential customer, their goals, challenges, aspirations, and the most effective channels to contact them.

During the pandemic, it’s important to ensure that companies convey understanding towards the user and speak their language.

Creating the Customer Journey

The customer journey refers to the process a user goes through from being a stranger to the brand to becoming a promoter or loyal customer. This process, from the customer’s perspective, consists of three stages: Awareness, Consideration, and Decision.

• Awareness: The user recognizes the current problem (e.g., the pandemic) and the specific needs that arise from the situation. The brand’s role is to present its values and gain recognition from the target audience.
• Consideration: The lead or potential customer is fully informed about the product and the solution it offers. This stage is crucial, especially during the pandemic, as users will explore all possible options that could solve their problems.
• Decision: The lead starts considering the price and shows interest in the product. In the context of COVID, the user will likely hesitate to spend the limited money they have, making this stage extremely important. The key is offering payment flexibility or a differentiated experience during and after the sale.

Knowing these phases enables businesses and SMEs to tailor their digital marketing strategies to each stage the user goes through.

Conversion Funnels

The conversion funnel is the process by which a prospect becomes a loyal customer. During the pandemic, this has become one of the most used strategies in email marketing and blogs as it structures the user’s journey.

According to a study by Inboundcycle, this technique is divided into five stages:

1. Acquisition: Introduce the brand or service through strategies like content creation or SEO.
2. Activation: Earn the audience’s trust and interest.
3. Retention: Ensure users spend as much time as possible on the website, fostering brand loyalty.
4. Sale: The stage where leads turn into customers.
5. Referral: Achieve customer satisfaction so they can recommend the brand.

One of the key aspects of adapting your marketing strategy to the pandemic is transforming content into information that solves immediate needs. Additionally, identifying users’ main objections and addressing them with sales enablement content is essential.

Conclusion

The recent pandemic situation has posed a challenge for many sectors in the digital marketing and advertising industry. However, when marketing teams implement the right strategies and focus on the types of content users are paying attention to during the pandemic, crises can turn into opportunities to reach more users and even generate more sales.

The key to effectively managing digital marketing strategies during the pandemic is understanding the process the user will go through, using tools and strategies like the customer journey, the sales funnel, or the buyer persona, as well as the importance of incorporating social media fully into the strategy.