The COVID-19 pandemic has changed and affected every single sector around us. You name it and that sector is affected by the pandemic or a great loss is suffered by that sector. Businesses then it doesn’t matter if it is a small-scale business or a multinational company, the pandemic has affected this sector on a larger scale.
The biggest challenge that has been faced by the businesses is to keep their customers engaged with the business, retain the customers, and also get the new ones if possible. But as we say there is always a silver lining to a dark cloud, similarly businesses have also grabbed the opportunity! Now, one might think what is the exact opportunity that is being talked about? The opportunity that is being talked about is about retaining and engaging customers with the business through digital platforms.
Digital platforms have proven to be a messiah for businesses. Digital marketing has been trending since the 2000s but has not been considered many times. Due to the pandemic, people are stuck in their respective houses which led to sitting in front of the screens most of the time. This increased their time spent on digital platforms and also increased the traffic on the platforms. Also, digitalization that was expected to happen in the upcoming years happened in just a fraction of a second. Fortunately, or unfortunately, all thanks to a pandemic that increased the importance of digitalization.
When everything was shut down, even popular brands were helpless, Digital Marketing Services like SEO, PPC, social media advertisement campaigns, and many more came into the scenario. Let’s have a look at how these digital platforms have shown businesses the right path during tough times
1) Engaging and retaining customers
Due to the lockdown, people are left with no option other than to sit at home in front of their screens and spend most of their time on the same. If you build a strong digital presence where it becomes possible for your customer to reach you easily then it becomes easy to be a word of mouth!
Being available 24*7 has made it easy for customers to reach you and get your products or service at their doorstep without even getting up from their place. In-person, no one can be available 24*7 but digital platforms have made it possible to serve customers 24*7. This has made it easier to retain customers and also keep them engaged with your business.
2) Ad budgeting leads to an increase in your customer
Traditional ad campaigns vs. Digital ad campaigns have always been a reason for an intense debate. Traditional methods for ad campaigns were to put ads in newspapers, billboards, television, radio, pamphlets, etc. These methods cost businesses a whopping amount.
Digital platforms like social media, podcasts, websites, and many more can help to target audiences that are a perfect fit for your business. Different marketing strategies can run on social media platforms like Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc. These platforms also have options for paid advertisement promotions that target audiences who are a perfect fit for your business.
3) Branding and making aware of your business
Digital platforms are more interactive with the customers than any other platform could be. When a blog or an advertisement is posted on any digital platform, it becomes easy for customers to interact with the business via comments, likes, shares, saving posts or they just become aware of the services provided by you.
The more you are active on digital platforms more the brand visibility and awareness among the people about your brand. Giveaways, podcasts, and webinars augment the process of visibility to the customers. Internet traffic generated by PPC is used by brands to increase their visibility and awareness.
4) Digital way of events and networking
Social distancing resulted in the cancellation of the event and also no one was allowed to attend the event physically. The way out chosen by the businesses was to conduct these same events digitally. All the events and collaborations were held online on apps like Zoom, Google Meets, etc.
Social media expanded the networking of businesses. Small businesses that went unnoticed gained positive growth at this time because of going digital.
5) Handy Promotions
It becomes costly for small businesses to go door-to-door for promoting their products or services, also there is no need for physical copies of pamphlets, newspaper ads, banners, etc. Small business owners or anyone can just opt for a targeted digital marketing channel and kick-start their promotional activities.
6) New additions
The digital world is all about networking, once you make a strong network there is no looking back. Through digital platforms the process of connecting and communicating with the potential customers and the existing ones becomes easy. Engaging content and a strong digital presence will attract new customers and will gratify the existing ones. Many brands have gained popularity on social media just because they have a creative and interactive digital platform.
7) The most cost-effective way
An extra benefit gained by the business with the help digital platform is that they get an insight into how their campaign is running, what is it reach is, and many more. This feature helps businesses attract the right audience and also target the right one. Measuring ROI can decide further actions. Some of the cost-effective digital marketing strategies are E-mail Marketing, SEO, PPC, Content marketing, and social media marketing.
8) Maximized reach
Physical advertising can be reached only to the people who are living nearby or high budget physical advertising can go to other districts. But with the help of digital platforms, it has become easy to reach the remotest part of the world. Your product or service can reach and gain an audience globally.
These are some of the benefits that have been experienced by businesses in this tough time like the pandemic. Also, make sure that you upgrade your business strategies over time so that you get the maximum traffic on your digital platform. The pandemic has changed everything but it is our responsibility to look on the positive side and grow!
