By Jessica Wong
Stewards, champions, advocates, and builders. These are some of the new archetypes marketers are embodying. We’re doing far more than sales, promotion, and brand building. We’re driving innovation, bolstering capabilities and assuming responsibility for company growth.The Current State of Affairs
As always, everything begins and ends with the customer. Knowing the customer is the key to understanding the general state of things.My company, Valux, has a definite edge here since we have enough collective experience to form an intuitive connection with our market. We’re completely tuned in to their hopes, fears, and emotions. We’ve been able to pick out emerging values, behaviors, moods, and trends. You can’t get that level of understanding from tools alone.
Datasets and marketing tools are great for verifying and validating these instincts. However, they don’t provide the magic spark needed to go beyond the edge.
- Feelings of loss, fear, separation, anxiety, and economic uncertainty.
- A deep hungering for closeness, authentic bonding, and human connection.
The Ethical Consumer
Quarantine gave us time to think. Social restrictions, political tension, and racial conflicts gave us things to think about. We’re now more socially conscious, value-oriented, and aware of our personal impact on the world. The most prominent concerns are based on racial equity, inclusivity, and sustainability.Shoppers are looking for the ethical choice. They want to purchase from brands that share their values. Brands that are value-aligned create trust and customer loyalty.
Price Sensitivity
Of course, 2020 was an economic disaster. Millions of Americans visited food banks for the first time. Almost 100,000 businesses shut down. And almost 10,000,000 jobs were lost.Hype Is Dead
We’ve reached a point of innovation maturity for upcoming technologies. The novelty factor is down. And many applications are disappointments. At the same time, we’ve shifted our focus away from shiny new objects and back onto the fundamentals of life: staying healthy, maintaining relationships, and daily work.Our interest in technology is related to its human value, not the thing in itself.
From Digital to “Phygital”
COVID-19 gave the digital transformation an unexpected acceleration. Not all brands were ready. Those offering poor digital customer experience are experiencing customer losses.We’re already seeing peak digital penetration. People retain the desire for human connection and physical interactions. This can be for security, convenience, or ease of access.
Thriving in a Crisis
Every crisis has its own set of winners and losers. Our company was uniquely positioned to thrive during COVID-19 because we’ve always operated as a nimble, tech-forward firm. We were able to adjust quickly and give our clients clear directions.There are around 8,000 MarTech tools available. You need to begin with a well-considered MOps (marketing operations) strategy.
We prefer to work with next-gen tools that incorporate AI, automation, and robotics in an elegant and seamless way, always with the intent of forming closer customer relationships.
Conversational Marketing
Conversational marketing is interactive, personalized, and engaging. Customers who participate in meaningful, self-directed interactions develop feelings of investment and brand loyalty.Automated conversational marketing is omnichannel. It doesn’t live on websites alone. These interactions can take place via SMS or be integrated into a company app.
And you can integrate it into your entire customer lifecycle.
This isn’t the clunky, time-wasting chatbots of the past. As AI capabilities improve, conversational marketing becomes even more natural, intuitive, and insightful.
Tools like this deliver real value. This form of low-pressure engagement brings brands and customers together more naturally.
The Next Normal
We’ve barely settled into the so-called “new normal” and the “next normal” is already here.It’s a digitally integrated world, one that eliminates technological siloes and physical barriers while roping individuals off into like-minded clusters.
Digitally Borderless
The digitally borderless brand is omnipresent. It knows which podcasts its customers listen to, influencers they follow, and physical retailers they prefer.This brand offers automated service across devices and tracks the details. It offers white-glove personal service and self-directed options. It forms partnerships with other companies to extend its reach and value.
Hyperlocal Community
Brands need to integrate themselves micro-regionally. People are still moving around less. There’s concern around the safety of the direct physical environment and appreciation for personalized connection.Digital Experiences
Virtual events and augmented reality (AR) experiences should be in every marketer’s arsenal. These compensate for in-person restrictions.Virtual reality makes our brand experience personal and far more accessible.
We can expect more tech that integrates directly into our lives. These technologies are personalized in ways we haven’t experienced before, and this empathetic connection gives them lasting power.