Businesses must adapt to survive a post-pandemic future in 2022
Over the past two years, the economic landscape has changed dramatically because of the Covid-19 pandemic. As the global economy is preparing for a — hopefully — post-pandemic future in 2022, businesses need to adapt to the changing landscape to survive and thrive.
Stay up-to-date on where small business marketing efforts are headed next year.
Marketing strategies turn into customer journeys
Businesses may still talk about marketing strategies, but they are really trying to understand customer journeys.
This holistic view of the business means taking into account all interactions customers have with you. From the first advert someone sees to searching for information on your website, making a purchase and navigating after-sales service — all are crucial parts of the customer journey.
Customers having a bad experience with one step in their customer journey are less likely to become repeat customers or recommend your business.
The pandemic has elevated marketing from one of many cost centers of the organization to the heart of everything your company does. To secure the organization’s growth and prosperity, marketing needs to be firmly at the center of your growth strategy.
Over the past two years, most organizations integrated marketing at the senior leadership level. Forward-thinking businesses now have the opportunity to ensure marketing remains at the heart of the company to ensure its growth.
Harness the power of social network marketing
Most customers are no strangers to social media apps. In 2022, the same social media platform we use to communicate with friends and family can be used for building strategic marketing plans. The marketing trend of social media is one of the most cost-effective ways to reach customers and make long-lasting connections online and in the real world.
Many of our clients saw the direct results of using social media to promote their online stores. Lerato explains how a local social media network, curated to bring her business to center stage, helped to increase foot traffic in her brick-and-mortar shop.
There are several ways to implement social media marketing in 2022, including:
- Building your brand – Social media is a fantastic place to show off your brand’s personality, goals, and ideas. A well-curated post can implement your brand messaging effectively and appeal to a wide customer base.
- Connecting locally – While social media can bring your business to a national audience, it can also be a way to connect locally with your community. Consider our Google MyBusiness services to interact with your network and the local community.
Your social media marketing should highlight every aspect of your company that you want to share with your audience in order to increase your visibility, generate leads, and promote your business.
Digital transformation is everything
If your business has not yet started embracing digital technology, wait no longer. Utilizing technology allows you to understand the touchpoints of your customer journey better. It will also enable you to create truly personalized experiences for your customers.
Rather than removing the human element from your interaction with your customers, digital tools allow you to make interactions more personal. Depending on your product or service, you may even be able to deliver personalized products.
Find ways to automate marketing
Have you been staying up late trying to perfect your messaging? While crafting a message that captures your business’s many layers in only a handful of words can be difficult, what’s even more difficult is keeping your marketing materials consistent and reliable.
That’s where marketing automation comes in.
While email service providers offer an easy way to send out your digital materials, today, there are plenty of options to use a more powerful automated marketing software. Now you can create and automate every aspect of your email marketing, with top-notch SEO and customer-focused messaging to make the biggest possible impact.
There are a plethora of possibilities when it comes to automated marketing, and your business can see benefits including:
- Strong nurture strategy – Start showing potential customers you’re paying attention by tracking how they’re interacting with your products and following up in the form of an automatically generated email. If someone clicks on a product but doesn’t complete the purchase, an automated follow-up email can help complete the sale.
- Refine your materials – Unsure when the best time to send an email is or about what terms specifically appeal to your customer base? Automated marketing is all about using the data to back up your email campaigns, making it easy to track what’s working and explore ways to improve your marketing materials.
- Personalized messaging – Automated marketing services can interact with your customers’ existing social media profiles to generate messages that appeal directly to their interests. Forget about spam—these are thoughtful messages looking to fulfill individual needs.
It doesn’t take a computer whiz to implement automated marketing. Whether you’re interested in learning the ropes yourself, hiring a team member, or consulting with an outside marketing service, your business can leap into the future with automation.
Offer cashless payments
Let your customers know that in 2022, they can pay any way they please. While standard methods of payment aren’t going anywhere, it certainly pays to update your tech for the multitude of cashless transactions consumers are going to be completing.
If your small business is based online, you’re probably intimately familiar with advertising your cashless payment options. But if you’re operating a brick-and-mortar business, it could be time for a payment system upgrade.
Consider adding the following cashless payment options to your business:
- Modern card readers – Credit and debit payments have come a long way from the simple “swipe.” Today, with security chips and tap functions, modern card payments can be processed faster and more securely. What’s more, you can even implement mobile card readers to take payments anywhere—increasing convenience both for you and your customers.
- Payment apps – Another contactless option, payment apps can be an easy way for your small business to collect payments without investing in complex hardware or software. While this payment method may not be as quick or seamless as others, it is cost-effective and easily implemented.
- Mobile wallets – Customers no longer need a physical wallet or card to make purchases. With mobile wallets, all their information can be stored on their phone and easily scanned with a designated mobile wallet reader.
After you’ve implemented these options, let your customers know that you’re taking cashless payments with clear messaging on all of your physical and digital marketing materials.
Norman, the owner of a local bakery, found unexpected success when implementing cashless payments, saying, “I had my menu printed out, and the QR code was just right there on it for customers to scan while they decided what they wanted”
Simplicity and convenience are the names of the game when it comes to purchases, so by encouraging your customers to pay how they want, they can feel free to make more purchases with you in 2022.
Stay ahead of the game
Following these small business digital marketing trends can help pave the way for a successful and lucrative year ahead.
In addition to the trends listed above, one more thing you can do to keep your business on top of customers’ minds is to consult us about our Google MyBusniess services. A cost effective way to make real connections with the people in your community. Share business updates and plans, get recommendations from your most loyal customer base, and offer special promotions.