The use of digital platforms has grown drastically during this pandemic time, as customers rely heavily on online channels for information, entertainment, services, and connections. Customers become more digitally connected than ever by exploring different service touchpoints. As the trend continues to develop, CMOs will remain bullish in using online channels as they plan to further increase digital spend in 2021i.
Travel restrictions and social distancing forced a lot of changes in physical interactions. The economic impact of physical event cancellations had surpassed US$1.1 billionii as of March 2020. In response, 67% of organisations are moving to digital conferencesiii and 54% are organising webinarsiv. Companies also leverage on-demand video contents that can be easily shared to reach target audiences.
As organisations embrace virtual event strategy, the biggest challenges will be making these events just as meaningful as in-person events. To successfully host virtual events, organisations will need to explore live-streaming and immersive technology not only to connect remote audiences but also increase customer engagement.
Global total number of social media users are growing rapidly and jumped past the 4 billion milestone at 4.14 billion in October 2020. This already accounts for roughly 53% of the global populationv. Moreover, social media is increasingly becoming an important channel used for brand dissemination. Globally, customers are shifting to social networking platforms to learn more about products and services they want to buy, second only to search engines.
Social media channels offer an huge opportunity for businesses to innovatively engage customers. Developing interactive contents with targeted messaging in these networks can help champion different business goals: reach a larger audience; drive traffic to your website; generate new leads; boost brand engagement, as well as keeping track of social media metrics. This will define digital marketing success and will allow for improved campaign initiatives.
Digitising offerings in multiple platforms is just part of the digital journey. A large part of the success will rely on the right messaging, engagement, and consistent experience for customers, made seamlessly across all touchpoints. Optimising apps and websites will enable differentiated user experience for customers who are always online and rely heavily on mobile devices to access the services they need.
Businesses should keep abreast of customer trends and patterns to optimise their digital strategies and drive digital customer experience excellence in the new normal. Organisations that adapt to the changing needs of customers will recover more rapidly and be better positioned than competitors.
