The demand for digital: the new normal?

By Liniar’s Simone Sangha.

The growth of digital marketing is an inevitable reality as more consumers move online and businesses reap far more rewards with online marketing than ever before.

However, the Covid-19 pandemic has left individuals and companies needing to ‘get digital’ at a much faster rate than they may have anticipated in 2020. With giants like Primark losing 75% of revenue due to no or little exposure online, we’ve seen how much of an impact a strong digital presence can have – both positive and negative. This seems to be the case across most industries, including ours, as we understand more about the demand for digital.

So, what should you be doing to seize digital opportunities and not get left behind?

Start to see marketing not as a cost for a business, but as more of an investment, especially in areas that are measurable, such as digital. We have seen online campaigns give as much as a 10x return, and there’s often a strong correlation between website traffic, enquiries and sales.

I’d recommend investing some time in an omnichannel marketing strategy for the year ahead; ultimately this means synchronising your multiple platforms so that they work in harmony. Consider using a mix of platforms, including social media (your demographics will depend on which platforms you use as some will not work for you), email marketing, apps and content marketing. This approach will not only set a consistent tone of voice, it offers more digital touchpoint opportunities and ultimately a better customer journey for the long term.

Additionally, set some time aside every week or month to educate yourself on new trends, ideally having a dedicated person to focus on this. Although this isn’t always feasible, marketing is so broadly defined that no one person can be an expert in every area (even if they tell you they are), so having an individual who can dedicate their time and effort to digital marketing will help you reap the rewards at a much quicker rate.

The digital world is moving at exponential speed. In 2020 we’ve seen the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR), video, voice and even more interactive content than ever before. Virtual showroom tours have paid huge dividends for installation companies throughout the pandemic, and this looks set to continue as consumers are still nervous about venturing out. There is no time for businesses to be stagnant, with customer expectations much higher than ever before. Ultimately, get involved or get left behind.

Get started by looking into arguably the most complicated but also the lowest cost digital funnel: search engine optimisation (SEO). Here’s a great crash course by Moz to get you started: https://moz.com/beginners-guide-to-seo. Driving organic traffic to your website through SEO is a long-term goal that you will need to understand if you want a fighting chance in the digital age.

If you have any questions or would like me to cover a specific topic in the next digital column then get in touch at: marketing@liniar.co.uk.