What a year! From lockdowns and quarantine to remote learning and working from home, COVID-19 has changed our world in ways that we’re still adjusting to. As we come to the end of this crazy year, it’s time to make our predictions, create our strategies, and allocate our marketing budgets for the coming year.
We’ve all seen the articles predicting “what to expect in the coming year.” They always seem to say “this year will be different,” well, this year REALLY was different! Just a couple of months ago we were adjusting our plans and thinking… what now?
Well, the “good” news is, nothing will be different in 2021. Marketing fundamentals are as valid today as they were last year, and will be in the coming year… and the years after that!
Remember, Marketing’s Goal Hasn’t Changed!
While COVID has changed many aspects of daily life, marketing’s goal is still the same. Your job is to educate and convince consumers to consider, evaluate, and buy your products or services. While it may be more difficult in 2021, the end goal hasn’t changed.
You’ll still need to examine the ways that your target market interacts with the various platforms and online channels and then invest in the right ones to grow your revenue. You’ll still need to show value, and offer a solution!
Stay Customer-Centric
It might seem obvious, but it’s always amazing how many companies don’t do this! Don’t make the mistake of coming with a product-first POV, for example. Good marketing always begins with the customer. What do they want? What are their pain points? What keeps them loyal to a brand? Know your customer, and cater to their needs.
While your goals will stay the same, how you achieve them will need some adjustment. As competition has increased, creativity in your marketing becomes as critical as planning, ROI, or metrics. The best marketing we’ve seen during these past few crazy months had a bit of an edge or used humour to stand out.
The Bottom Line?
The more things change, the more they stay the same! Even during this pandemic, marketing fundamentals haven’t changed. We should always be striving to improve and tweak our efforts and the teams and companies that recognize this truth and focus on it in the coming year will be just fine!
