Age Of New World Marketing Post-Pandemic

By: Suma Nair, AVP & Head - Corporate Marketing, Birlasoft

She Has Been Awarded ‘Most Influential Martech Leader’ By World Marketing Congress, Two Times In A Row And She Also Ranked Among ‘Top 50 Content Marketers In India’, And Among ‘Top 100 Digital Marketing Professionals In India By Paul Writer’.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused a huge shift in how businesses operate. Everything needs to be looked at with a new lens and a new approach. Like others, marketers have also been impacted, as now they are focusing on creating and delivering newer customer experiences. The dynamic changes in the market onset due to the pandemic have dominated the mind-space of marketers. The changes ranging from consumer buying habits to the accelerated adaption of technology, significant increase in user demand for digital and digital consumption have forced marketers to adapt and evolve in order to not only fit but also thrive in the new normal. The focus of marketers remains the same but gaining the trust of the consumer has become more challenging due to the pandemic. Digital-centric marketing strategies are the norm of the day!

Content and digital marketing are the most crucial pillars of any integrated marketing campaign depending on the brand’s offerings. The pandemic has disrupted consumer lives and behavior in such a manner that the content consumed is majorly - online. Digital marketing will be considered by many more businesses to retain current customers, generate more revenue, and result in larger amount of sales. The Covid era has changed the way businesses used to function and has shaped a new marketing framework for them.

Having said that, the biggest challenges that digital marketers will face apart from shrinking budgets is complying with privacy and data-sharing regulations, generating qualified leads, justifying Content ROI, building engaging content to break the digital clutter, an increased focus on being a responsible brand and finally speed of execution of campaigns. Leveraging new-age technology such as AI-based Marketing, Video content, Voice search, and of all this powered by analytics will close the gap to getting the potential ROI for marketing spends.

“Increased usage of connected and smart devices is changing consumption patterns further and this will help derive the most suitable marketing campaigns targeted for specific consumers”

Technology and automation are playing a major role in reshaping marketing strategy and campaigns. With automation significantly reducing the cost of doing business and analytical software providing key insights that help marketers study and understand prospects’ behavior, improve digital experiences and content customization, the whole marketing paradigm is being redefined.

Adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI), virtual reality, Video content(interactive) Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) are changing the way brands communicate, across industries. Exciting launch events, virtual conferences are some of the examples of how consumer brands and B2Bs are changing the game.

Increased usage of connected and smart devices is changing consumption patterns further and this will help derive the most suitable marketing campaigns targeted for specific consumers.

As per the Google KPMG report, the Indian internet user base will increase to 735 million by 2021. Indian language internet users are expected to grow at a CAGR of 18% to reach 536 million by 2021, while English users are expected to grow at only 3% reaching 199 million within the same period. This is a clear indication of the immense growth opportunity for brands in regional markets. The exponential increase in creation and distribution of regional language content has led to an explosion for content consumption. Technology will play a crucial role in empowering marketers, to accomplish newer strategies targeted at customers sitting in various regions and consuming content in various languages. Vernacular-based digital advertising, regional video content will continue to attract large segments of the burgeoning regional population. Next-gen marketers will need to have the right mix of technology, analytics and content to ensure they get their strategy right, across myriad audiences!