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We’re seeing a shift in everyone’s mindset in the past few weeks, and we’re all searching for the new “normal” – or as Emily & Kumail discuss in their podcast #StayingIn, Fumbling for Normalcy.
COVID-19 pandemic has thrown everyone off their game. We as consumers have changed, and as marketers, we have to reflect on that change, and change as well. It’s a balance of being available for customers, listening with an empathic ear and taking into context the world we’re living in today and speaking with an authentic and relevant voice.
Marketers have to determine how the new mindset impacts perceptions and needs for their product or service, and act accordingly. And by accordingly, it’s more than just a bunch of emails declaring how they are “handling” COVID-19. While I laud the efforts of companies to tell me how they are keeping employees safe, or getting ready to open, it’s not addressing me as a customer or my needs.
The real question is what does your overall marketing look like now? Are you changing your website? Campaigns? You can’t afford, not to.
The perceptions and attitudes toward many products and services changed in the blink of an eye: online deliveries, travel and tourism products and services, and even home improvement and toilet paper! Whether bad or good, it is critical to understand where your customer is and where they perceive their future going – in order to better serve and market to them. By understanding their hopes and fears relative to your service, and seeing how they respond to different marketing examples, you can create and launch new campaigns and messaging that works for the…from the start.
At WEVO, we find ourselves busier than ever, testing new campaigns for our customers, who are looking to understand how their visitors’ mindset has changed and to test out new “post COVID” websites and marketing before they risk launching them live and being perceived as tone-deaf or out of touch. We’ve always thought that it’s better to understand what your customer truly thinks before unleashing a campaign on them, wasting time and resources.
This belief we have long held is being validated by our customers in the feedback we’re receiving. They view WEVO as an essential tool for businesses in this economic environment. WEVO developed the only marketing technology platform that blends artificial intelligence and customer feedback to provide actionable recommendations for marketers before launching a campaign or web page. WEVO provides a way better to understand your visitors (evolving) expectations, current needs and perceptions. It helps tell you what isn’t working, or missing, or just in the way. Essentially, it’s a roadmap to do it right.
As marketers dive into listening to their customers, here are four tips for business growth in the current economic environment:
Listen with your ears and the right data
Stop guessing. For too long, digital marketers have been guessing at what works and what doesn’t. They’ve been listening to executive opinions, not customers. Now is the time to stop this guesswork and leverage real data to test concepts before launching marketing campaigns. While behavioral data is very useful, it doesn’t answer the “why.” Marketers can answer the “why” by listening.
Digital marketing has never been as competitive as it is today. Everyone is fighting for eyeballs across multiple platforms and only gaining a split second of time for a customer to look. We can’t waste that opportunity by not listening.
Pinpoint why customers aren’t converting
Marketers have long been frustrated by the challenges to uncover why more people do not convert to customers on their website. As the needs and expectations of consumers and businesses are rapidly changing, businesses need to identify those elements that may have been good enough weeks ago but are not working today.
For example, a certain image or message that worked earlier this year may have changed in perception and doesn’t resonate today. It may be a quote from a customer that just doesn’t jive well. WEVO can provide customer feedback in 3-7 days on offers, online experiences, and products, pinpointing the elements that are not meeting new expectations. We’re able to highlight a message that is resonating very well with the target audience and saying, ‘This is why I’m going to sign up for the product.’
Reduce Risk
Businesses have much less appetite for risk in this environment. They simply can’t afford to get a new initiative wrong or have any tone-deaf messaging or marketing flops. So there must be prudent risk-taking. Innovation that is pre-proven. Dramatic changes backed by customer-centric, pre-live data that removes the risk.
We’re working with closely with our customers to make sure they are reducing their risk before they go live and testing their message to be accurate and on point and ensuring they are addressing new customer needs, sensitivities, and expectations.
Maximize revenue, faster
Page views, trial signups and social media “likes” are great, but they don’t really count. They’re all means to a single end: revenue. Revenue is declining across the board. Revenue is what drives KPIs, and is the primary indicator of how digital marketers are being measured.
Today, marketers need to maximize more revenue even faster by saving months of traditional website A|B testing and iterations. WEVO accomplishes this by optimizing websites and new offers BEFORE going live.
Your customers are telling you about themselves and their experience of your business. It is critical to use this knowledge to inform your marketing and reach your customers where they are.
