Having delivered many training courses lately around Marketing, both for start-ups and existing, larger businesses I am keen to see what local businesses have found most effective in the current marketplace.
Google has done some fantastic research around the way consumers have been purchasing online over the last 6/9 months and in a recent report cited that consumers demands have obviously changed in response to the pandemic in both the way that consumers purchase and what they expect from businesses.
According to these Google reports the following trends have emerged; Consumers are forcing businesses to innovate, in that businesses need to adapt and be more flexible to satisfy their changing customer’s needs, and secondly that there is a heightened need for live information, an immediate response and faster delivery times.
Now as a marketer my overriding response would be that yes as business owners we always need to be ready to adapt and respond to changing situations, but how do we respond to a changing landscape without losing sight of our visions and values, and when we are clinging on in very challenging times ?
Firstly, our business vision, the one thing that keeps us true can be a guiding light in these difficult times. Remembering why you started out, or took on the role, can help support your work in many ways and just because we need to be flexible, we don’t need to lose this vision. Secondly, we must look to our customers for their views, and see how they need us to adapt. Do they need a change in products or services, or a change in the way we communicate? Knowing your target audience is key, and for those who’ve attended my workshops, you will know my love of creating customer personas! But on a serious note, by knowing our target audience and appreciating not only why they buy, but how they buy, i.e. their customer journey, will put us in a good place for success.
Thirdly, its all about their experience when trying to shop or work with you. Does your website give good information, can they immediately find what they are looking for, does your social connect with them, and can they see the reasons that they might want to work with you? And then last but never least, evaluations. With so many free digital platforms on offer these days, we really have no excuse now to be able to measure the effectiveness of our campaigns and see how we need to adapt them and potentially work harder in future.
So, what’s worked for you? How has your business adapted to meet customers needs, wouldn’t it be great to share some more success stories?