Marketing leaders that have been guiding their teams through the pandemic have had to continue to shift and adjust based on what is happening as consumers react to the stay-at-home orders and varying levels of re-opening. A shift is happening once again as many states’ vaccination numbers are on the rise and as some restrictions become lifted. As we move to cautious optimism, what does that mean for brands and their marketing goals and strategies? Here are a few things to examine as the pandemic situation shifts again.
Are your buyer personas still the same?
Consumer habits have drastically changed throughout the pandemic, going through multiple twists and turns. This might mean that your buyer personas, or your target market, may have changed as well. Take a look at the data and see if your target market is the same as it was previously. You may have found a new audience during this time, and you won’t want to ignore them in your marketing moving forward. If you have had any target market shifts, make sure to create personas for any changes, and update personas for target markets that have remained.
Do you need more lead generation to get things back and booming?
So many brands took hits during the pandemic and are still trying to bring revenue back to pre-closure levels. If this is you, you might need to revisit some lead generation campaigns to expand your customer base. Lead generation campaigns will help you connect with new customers and enroll them in your other marketing efforts such as email blasts, newsletters or even SMS marketing. Ideally these new leads will continue to work their way through the sales funnel and make a purchase (or even become a brand promoter) and help your business bounce back to pre-pandemic revenues.
Has your brand awareness faded?
Look, we get it. You might have reduced your marketing efforts during all of these shifts, as we didn’t really know how long closures would last and some companies had to choose between paying employees and marketing. However, that lapse in marketing may have caused your brand awareness to fade. Especially as people have developed new habits over these past 16 months, you might need to step up your game with some brand awareness campaigns.
Don’t lead with old strategy.
You’ll most likely need to re-evaluate marketing plans you laid in place before and during the height of the pandemic. These old plans will not help you stay in touch with the current consumer sentiment, so an update is definitely in order. It will certainly take some time to research, but will be well worth it in the end when your marketing speaks to today’s consumer, who is trying to navigate yet another shift in a world altered by the pandemic.
Marketing shift
As you lead your marketing team through yet another shift in the pandemic, it’s important to take stock of where you brand is now, and where you want it to be. By reviewing your buyer personas, re-engaging with lead generation campaigns, boosting your brand awareness and updating old strategy, you’ll be sure to find success.
Contact the team at BeyondFifteen to learn how our skilled strategists can help you and your brand navigate this next stage in pandemic marketing.