Introduction. Challenges for Marketers in the COVID-19 Era
- Rise of online shopping and delivery services.
- Growth of e-services sector.
- Home becomes a place for all activities.
- Restricted mobility and high hyperlocal activity.
- General privacy concerns and increased governments’ control.
- The demand for trust and transparency.
E-commerce Boom
- Stay-at-home orders demanded rapid adaptation.
- Growth in online consumers in all trade segments.
- New long-term consumer habits develop.
- Emergence of new e-commerce platforms and channels.
- Growing importance of data and data-science.
- Marketers need to adapt quickly and efficiently to the new digital environment.
The Rise of E-services
- People work, study, and buy online: demand for digital solutions.
- New activities in the new, isolated environment.
- New digital channels, equally important for clients and companies.
- New opportunities for businesses, partnerships and whole ecosystems to develop.
- Emergence of new long-term trends.
Home as a Multifunctional Hub
- Home as a place to live, work, study, play, shop, etc.
- General economic uncertainty and psychological pressures.
- High dependence on technology and digital channels.
- Marketers have to take into account long-term economic an psychological factors.
- Efficient communication can lead to successful long-term results for a brand.
Growing Importance of Community
- Restricted mobility made local communities more important.
- The rise of local businesses.
- Establishment of new community networks using digital channels.
- The emergence of aid groups, volunteers, and non-profit communities.
- For marketers: challenge to manage hyperlocal activity.
The Need for Trust
- General concerns about physical, psychological, and economic well-being.
- High privacy concerns and dealing with sensitive health data.
- Demand for transparent political actions.
- Necessity to create atmosphere of trust and safety.
- Shifting public behavior patterns and emergence of new activities.
- The ability to establish trusting relationships with clients will determine company’s future in the new normal.
- Long-term healthcare and economic crisis.
- Activism is on the rise.
- Public concerns about economy, capitalism, and its impact on nature.
- Publically stated purpose makes businesses more accountable.
- New socially-oriented enterprises, services, and communities emerge.
- Brand’s purpose as a new means of communication with customers.
New Challenges for Marketers
- How should the brand’s strategy be adapted to the new trends?
- Are there essential analytic capabilities to identify and act on the new opportunities?
- What are the new channels of communication and how to use them?
- How customer experience can be improved in the new borderless environment?
- How should company’s internal communication change under the new conditions?
Sources
Arora, A., Dahlstrom, P., Hazan, E., Khan, H., & Khanna, R. (2020). Reimagining marketing in the next normal. McKinsey & Company.
Remes, J., Manyika, J., Smit, S., Kohli, S., Fabius, V., Dixon-Fyle, S., & Nakaliuzhnyi, A. (2021). The consumer demand recovery and lasting effects of COVID-19. McKinsey & Company.