Why 2021 will be the year of building customer relationships

While the pandemic wreaked havoc on 2020’s best-laid plans, the real question is that will we pick up steam from where we left in the pre-COVID-19 era? As the pandemic edition shows little sign of ebbing away, marketing has emerged as the linchpin of a brands’ pandemic response, writes Shubhra Sinha, AVP - Marketing Communication & Digital Strategy, Denave.

Marketers, are you ready to put 2020 behind you? Are you psyched up to put on something snazzy? Without pretending that we can see the future, let’s zero in on the B2B Digital Marketing Trends that are likely matter the most in 2021.

Let’s catch up to the Great Digital Migration to expand our Digital Horizons

What is the post-COVID-19 world going to mean for the B2B ecosystem? Now is the time to make decisions that leverages our reliance on technology to our advantage. This is where we witnessed the rise of digital marketing, as one of the key measures to survive in the new normal. While the consumers have shifted their spending habits from in-person to more of online, 2021 is likely to bring the corresponding shift in the digital marketing trends. As per a recent McKinsey survey report, B2B companies see digital interactions as two to three times more important for their customers as traditional sales interactions. The role of the Chief Marketing Officer has been wholly rekindled. As we crystal gaze into 2021, here are some digital marketing trends that are supposed to be a promise of a marketer’s paradise.

Well-defined Customer Outreach Strategies

That same old customer connect strategy is a catch-22. It’s time to reignite. Businesses today are getting creative to stay afloat- and that includes reaching out to customers and in new ways and building relationships virtually. Today, virtual outreach methods have become a popular medium to reach large audiences faster, with high connectivity to grow brand awareness, generate more leads, and develop authority as an industry leader, both now and after the end of the pandemic. Being virtual is no longer a choice, but a default practice. Whether it is one-to-one, or one-to-many; whether it is a small-scale or large-scale webinar, a fireside chat format or a large virtual event – customer outreach through virtual medium needs a campaign-driven methodical approach. It has varied advantages – reaching out to relevant prospects quicker and effectively, getting them together on one platform, improving the chances of uniform messaging over a planned series of interventions, ability to maximise reach – both in terms of geography as well as industries, and more.

Forming Symbiotic Partnerships

As brands gear up to turn the tide virtually, many businesses would look up to forming symbiotic partnerships where they come together and concord with other brands. This would prove to be a shot in the arm for small to medium enterprises running into higher demands for which they aren’t psyched up. As a result, being in cahoots and sharing costs, a lot more money can be raised and eventually invested in marketing. Linking up into a larger entity would also give you an upper hand in being able to access a broader consumer base with specialised needs that a small or medium brand might not be able to meet alone.

Make ROI the Cynosure

This colossal shift in the market has compelled organisations to invest more on tools and digital channels to increase brand awareness, demand in the market. And the good news is that it’s not all doom and gloom. The cost per lead with digital is 61% less expensive than traditional marketing. Businesses advertising on social media, use paid search and incorporate other digital strategies spend considerably less on their campaigns. This is because many organisations deploy pay-per-click strategies to drive down their costs and target specific audiences. Today, brands are using different digital channels like SEO, programmatic ads, social media advertisement, which will increase investments in the post-COVID-19 era to achieve both a greater and faster ROI.

Influencer Marketing shows no sign of slowing down

Influencer marketing is heading to become a $15 billion dollar industry by 2022 and 63% of marketers intend to augment their influencer marketing budget in 2021. Video content is exploding and it continues to be a relentless trend in the influencer marketing space, considering more and more people are going online every day. The inception of Instagram Reels is expected to be more collaborative and creative than ever. As a result, micro-influencers with small but targeted follower bases are likely to become important for brands. AI and machine learning are already being leveraged to garner detailed insights about the influencers, and these insights will continue to refine over time, providing greater transparency for marketers.

Increased focus on user-generated content

There is a rise of user-generated content to engage with the potential customers. User-generated content is important as it helps brand to understand the pain points of their target audience. This type of content can be generated through social media campaigns, media interviews, etc. It helps the brand to connect themselves directly with their target audience. At the same time, it makes the consumers happy as it makes them feel important and part of the conversation.

Experiment is a must to survive in the New Normal

We are living in a time when technology marketing is moving at the speed of light and customer behaviour is hard to predict. All pre-COVID-19 data points/ scenarios and insights do not probably hold true in the post- COVID-19 world. It’s time to gear up for the real change. Hence, marketers can no longer stick their heads in the sand. No more educated guesses. Make no mistake because the Black Swan of 2020 created a paradigm shift in the consumer behaviour. New tactics and channels can help businesses expand their reach. Every organisation wants new audiences, and the best possible way to find them is to try new tools, formats and methods. Starting with what you know is a good bet for growing your audience and then examining your customers’ priorities, engagement habits, buying behaviours and other details can help you refresh your outreach.

Your competition is already incorporating these trends to spur ahead. While the pandemic has rattled some cages, it’s time to be agile enough to catch up. Embark on a human-centered approach that fosters a relationship with customers and fulfils their needs continually. 2021 undoubtedly will be the year of ‘Building Customer Relationships’.