Blog

The last few months have been challenging for us in the marketing world. With the usual challenges we face as well as having to adapt to an always changing world, there are definitely some marketing lessons we have learnt and can take into 2022.

Some of these lessons include:

1. Keeping agility in your bag.

Change is indeed inescapable. What works now might not be the same tomorrow. So, it is truly crucial to be agile and fast enough to adapt.

As businesses continue to grapple with the effects of the pandemic, they also need to inform their clients right away about changing business conditions, COVID-19 protocols and responses, and necessary changes on the marketing approach and messaging needed to conform with today’s standards. That is essentially true, especially that 87% of consumers appreciate those brands who take some time to inform them about the changes during the pandemic.

You must also be quick when informing, should there be any changes introduced.

2. Trying and testing and doing it all again

Creating the right messaging that catches your audience’s attention and the reaches market demand has become the common goal for marketers. We also learned that we need to creatively tailor such messaging, test it out, and fine tune it to perfection.

For example, if marketers found their products crucially helpful during the pandemic, they need to channel the most effective messaging for that product. Frequent A/B testing, relying on product metrics, creative visuals, consistent social media marketing, and effective CTAs became commonplace to monitor the effectiveness of our message.

Using data to our advantage makes the process more reliable, thus resulting in a message that hits the target.

3. Website is king.

Store closures resulted in a huge shift towards doing business digitally. And, websites were in the forefront of that shift.

And, to better ensure we can attract and keep customers onboard, we optimised our websites to behave like salespeople inside screens. Chatbots, AI-powered communications, website navigation and personalisation became present in almost all websites, aiming to attract and retain visitors while answering their concerns and assisting them.

4. Improving communications across channels

We also realised that not all customers can be reached through just one channel. We needed to go omnichannel. We had to reach them through whatever means they were using.

Determining how our customers want their products to be bought and shipped and delivering streamlined customer experience to avoid tangling them on fragmented buying journeys were added to marketers’ assignments to serve them well. Selecting the best digital marketing channels became a crucial step too.

And it also turned out customers aren’t the only reasons for marketers to adjust. Their fellow team members too must be reached to ensure continued services during the pandemic. Different work arrangements became the answers to continue meeting the needs.

     5. Accessibility!

Digital experiences must be made accessible to everyone. And for marketers doing business online, we learned how timely it is to make our websites adaptable among different users.

It should be inclusive enough so users with disabilities can still check out our content and make purchases. Using title tags or alt texts in images, making your website keyboard-friendly, and smart use of colours are some accessibility techniques we integrated in our websites so everyone can visit and view it.

6. Being the master of your budget.

It seems doing more with less is not only applicable in our designs and creatives.

Our budget, heavily affected by the economic downturn during the pandemic, also followed that maxim.

Budget cuts allowed us to spend marketing on more effective and results-driven channels. Relying on metrics made our ad spending and social media marketing choices cost-effective.

These lessons will go a long way as we are now headed to another new year full of expectations to meet and surprises to anticipate.

Prepping up your digital marketing strategy for the year ahead? Turn to Elephant in the Boardroom, Australia’s leading digital marketing agency to get things done beautifully and effectively. Check out how we can help at www.elephantintheboardroom.com.au or call us at +61 37018 7620.