Monthly Archives: April 2021

Economic Consulting

Long Term Impact of Pandemic on Businesses

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Definitely, there ought to be some changes in the post-Covid world and for businesses to survive, it is imperative to adapt as per the requirements and needs of the modern world. It is of immense importance to gauge the needs of the audience and offer them value-based information or services. Digital Transformation has been the keyword for the past decade but it won’t be wrong to say that it has caught steam since the past year.

It’s been more than one year into the pandemic, then why is it that some companies are scaling up the chart, whereas others aren’t even able to sustain themselves. The reason being that some of the companies have or are successfully implementing digital transformation and have adapted platform-based business models, whereas others are left behind as they haven’t yet climbed onto the wagon and will eventually cease to exist. It has been a seesaw ride, where many companies lost out to low consumer demand which was a result of COVID-19, on the other hand, there are various companies that were successfully able to leverage digitalization and digital transformation and further solidified their position.

As per a report by McKinsey’s US Digital Sentiment Survey, the readiness in adopting digital transformation has been shown by the retail industry, especially grocery and apparel. These sectors were able to enhance their digital adoption rates by an impressive 100% and 40%, respectively.

Other industries like the beauty, banking and healthcare sectors have shown similar trends, where they too are adopting their practices in sync with the growing demands of technology adoption. Post Covid the shape of an organizations recovery will depend on how willing they are to undergo digital transformation and are successfully able to adopt platform-based business models. There are established guidelines and rules, as well as established best practice standards to ensure success in the said area.

Post discussing the impact of adopting digital transformation, we shall now see some areas where the pandemic has left an indelible mark.

Post Pandemic trends which are here to stay

  1. Sanitation- Definitely, a sector which has gained more attention post Covid-19 and that is rightly so. Clean businesses have always caught the attention of customers and post pandemic sanitation will be the hot topic of discussion, especially travel, hospitality and healthcare industries. These sectors will the ones which will have the maximum human interaction and therefore maintaining impeccable standards shall be the utmost priority.
  2. Go local- Going local has been of prime importance during the trends observed post Covid and rightly so. This is happening mainly because people are not too keen on exploring markets and would prefer items delivered at home and this is so because the pandemic has acted as a supply chain disruptor. It is here where the local manufacturers and suppliers have stepped into fulfilling the demands of the people. This will not only give a push to the local manufacturers and suppliers but also to the local economy, and most importantly it will let them scale up their operations as well as give competition to the established players, which is important for the economy to grow.
  3. Virtual events- Due to the pandemic, many in-person events have been canceled or postponed and many are conducting virtual events to plug-in the gap, for instance it includes the like of Salesforce and Microsoft. It won’t be wrong to say that the virtual events are the future, atleast in the near future. It’s not only big corporations but also smaller companies which are building infrastructure to scale up and conduct virtual events, their focus being to reach out to their customers.

These are just some of the facts that we have scratched the surface off with, the pandemic has brought in many changes, some good and some bad, some which were needed and some which could have been avoided. The way world used to function pre-COVID is definitely not how it will function now, it’s always best to stay ahead of the curve and be prepared for any eventuality in these unpredictable times.

Technology Solutions

Content Marketing Post Covid-19

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Content is the king, always stands true and there is no denying the fact especially post Covid-19. Content is what attracts the people to your website and makes them engaged with what you have to offer.

As per a report by the Content Marketing Institute (2019), there is some positive data regarding content marketing;

  • Content marketing is used by 68% of top performers, their aim is at creating a database and 83% is for lead enhancing activities,
  • 84% of the most productive and successful content marketing strategies are aimed at designing content to enhance customer loyalty towards the brand as well as strengthen the relationship they share with the public.

 

Due to the pandemic, it is for all to see how this crisis has impacted content marketing. The importance of using content marketing to its best as well as its relevance in situations like these becomes evident by just looking at the positive emerging witnessed in the first phase. The point to note here is that the campaigns which banked on content for their marketing activities grabbed the coveted spot.

The need to convince consumers doesn’t necessarily stem from advertisements created solely for selling and convincing. What matters here is how well the consumer is convinced regarding your offering and the content whether it justifies it or not. In today’s times since people are spending so much time more at home, this has led to success in the popularity and outreach of content marketing. Undoubtedly, this has emerged as an important way for companies to stay in touch with the people, at large.

You can reach out to your audience and convey your message to them. The best part about content marketing is that you can reach out to various target groups by designing content as per their requirements and taste. You can design your content which adds and carries value to the people, this way you can capitalize it as an asset to get closer to your customers. It should be remembered that whatever content you display, should not look opportunistic or aimed for profit, rather something that makes a difference or creates an impact in the lives of the people. For instance,

  • A free online series on artificial ventilation was created by Harvard University made to prepare the medical staff towards tending for theCOVID-19 patients
  • An Instagram series called as ‘Wanna talk about it’ was created by Netflix, focusing on self-care during the pandemic.
  • A campaign was created by the Cookist, known as “#istayinthekitchen”, where ideas, tutorials and initiatives for the people to productively gain out of the lockdown were provided.

Points to take care of for your content strategy post Covid-19

  1. Being authentic and honest is the key- Post-Covid, people have become wary of any promises made by an organization, definitely because unlike in the past, the one-to-one interaction is missing, which did lend credibility to any transaction. Nowadays, only those brands or companies are successful who take efforts to maintain and carry transparency and most importantly win the trust of the people. Therefore, when you develop new content, you should make sure that not only it is engaging, sensible, authentic, and relevant to the users. What matters, in the long run, is that you should be able to carry on the promises made by you, because if the consumers feel that you won’t be delivered as promised, then they might shift to your competitor. Therefore, whatever it is, it boils down to the old adage, ‘Honesty is the best policy.
  2. Work upon your content calendar- It is time to rework your content calendar, nowadays, anywhere and everywhere you go, it’s all about the virus. It’s true as the situation is just like that, but undoubtedly it has become overwhelming for all. Therefore, all that people need is a dose of creativity and positivity; hence, you can share pictures or snippets showcasing happy stories or anecdotes from work from home schedules of the people, or any such thing which infuses joy and optimism in the current times. It is best to remove those posts or pictures which might create backlash or generate negativity against your organization…so go ahead and revamp if not done that yet.
  3. Request for surveys and genuine feedback- For any business entity it is very important to stay in regular touch with their audience and get to know their pulse on a timely basis. This is what acts as a foundation stone for their success and growth. Not only should the organizations rely on analytics to understand the behavior of the audience but getting responses on a personalized level shall not only bring them closer to the needs of the audience but also help them understand to how to cater to those needs. Surveys, feedback, questionnaires, etc. shall be shared on a regular basis as this will give the organizations an idea of whether their content is hitting the right note with their audience or not. If not, then it can be tweaked as per the requirements on a timely basis.

The pandemic has put a spotlight on the way content marketing was perceived. Nowadays, it has not only become relevant but also one of the most effective tools to get in touch with your customers and convey to them your message in the most effective and engaging manner. If used properly, it can act as a bridge between the customers and you, enhance your protect your reputation and deliver the best results in a limited budget.

Marketing Services

Entrepreneurs and Digital Marketing….. A Match Made in Heaven

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Being an entrepreneur isn’t an easy job at all. Period!! Not only does it take vision, relentless efforts and untiring steps to make an impact on the world but an unending desire and a burning desire to make a positive impact on the world in any way possible. Having said that, all these efforts will bear fruit only if, the right audience is aware about it and is in the know-how of your initiatives and its impact on them. This can happen if you follow and adopt a well thought of digital marketing strategy, which has become all the more important now due to the pandemic, as more and more people are on the web and that’s where you have to target them. With every company having a digital presence be it e-commerce websites like Amazon to smaller startups, it goes on to show the underlying importance of a digital marketing plan. One of the main advantages of incorporating digital marketing is that entrepreneurs have huge leverage to gain higher returns on investment (ROI).

So let’s have a look as to why Digital Marketing is important for all the ‘Toughies’ out there:

  1. It helps in building brand reputation- Digital marketing helps bring your brand to the fore and gains traction amongst your targeted audience. Since, digital marketing helps generate leads, therefore a natural outcome should be higher sales and resultant revenue, but all of this happens if the customers find your marketing efforts to be convincing enough and are satisfied with the quality and authenticity of your goods/services. This shall work both ways for you, one that if your marketing campaign is successful and hits a chord with your customers then not only will that make your business successful and profitable but also they shall spread positive feedback amongst others…so what is it!!! ‘Hitting two birds with one stones’!!!
  2. Targeting your audience and enabling conversation- A properly planned digital marketing strategy helps you in gaining leads, i.e. the ones who will invest in your products or services offered. With its help you can narrow down your search by focusing on the people who seem interested and one way to do is with the use of pay-per-click (PPC) advertizing. Since PPC ads tend to get displayed along with search results, they are placed so to entice the consumers to click on them and narrow their searches. This approach is targeted to attract a specific niche of consumers and enabling them to land on your webpage.

Digital marketing gives an unparalleled advantage, i.e. it enables direct and live interaction between the buyer and the seller in real time. You can and should take ample advantage of platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to understand your audience and their reactions. This will not only help you in getting close to them but also receive their valuable feedback, which shall help you in better strategizing and giving quality customer service and experience.

  1. Higher ROI- Digital marketing offers various analytics metrics which will enable you in tracking your progress in a timely manner and re-route your strategy by making informed decisions. Once you get a hang of what exactly is happening and what should have happened you can map out the incongruencies and save on your precious monetary resources. This shall help you in gaining and saving more than the traditional forms of marketing, thus ensuring a higher ROI. With this in place you can market and position yourself better on other social media channels and forums which shall enable you to gain visibility and exposure. Digital marketing is one such resource which enables you to earn much higher ROI as compared to conventional marketing channels.
  2. Call to action- Being an entrepreneur, the onus solely lies on you to bring in creative and engaging strategies to attract and retain customers on your website. Once done that it is to be ensured that many of them actually invest in whatever services you are offering to them. Though, there are several ways to convert visitors into full fledged customers, CTA’s are one amongst them, these are of various kinds for instance sign up button, download button, subscribe button, email tab, buy tab etc., all these are dependent and varying on whatever services you offer. You should ensure the correct placement of proper ‘action keywords’, which have a different color coding and attract the customers, after all, these are those small details which set you apart and impress the users.

 Since the last decade, digital marketing has gained immense importance and has become a part of life for nearly every major business type and being an entrepreneur who is out in the field be it even if you are a seasoned one or a newbie, a proper digital marketing strategy should be your strong foundation, which shall propel you ahead. Not only you are able to build brand awareness but also generate higher profits in the future by giving an amazing customer service to your future leads.

Once you understand the dynamics of digital marketing, then there shall be no looking back for you and one day you too shall be counted amongst the giants like Amazon or Trivago….wishing you all the very best in your entrepreneurial journey.

Marketing Services

Digital Marketing for the Healthcare Industry

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Digital marketing has become imperative for all fields and all professions, gone are the days when word of mouth and traditional methods of marketing used to dominate the market. These days, digital marketing has evolved as an all-rounder and an effective way to promote your business/work that too in ways customized to suit your needs and cater to the demands of your audience.

The launch of the internet in the 90’s decade, has completely changed the landscape of conventional marketing and has opened a plethora of opportunities that give business owners access to creatively reach out to their potential customers and market their services or products.

Today, digital marketing has become a need for businesses to show to the clients the services they intend to offer, which can be anything, for instance like providing essential services like healthcare management, etc. Today being just good at what you are doing, won’t guarantee success, but if you have some awesome reviews to back it up and are present in the top search results, then you might have patients knocking up your door.

Let’s discuss some ways for you to target your audience and promote yourself:

  1. Local SEO search- Once upon a time, there were yellow pages to help people go through various listings but those days have now gone with the wind. The local SEO searches are modern-day yellow pages and need you to have a proper strategy in place before you plan to reach out to your target audience. This is a search-based way of finding local businesses online which stands true for healthcare practitioners. If you include your name or your clinic’s name, contact number, address, and other relevant details, then you can be found online with local healthcare SEO. A successful result shall be delivered if you productively channelize search engines like Google, Yahoo!, Bing, etc. Investing in local SEO is less costly and is a viable search option for people.
  2. Live consultation sessions- Telemedicine as a field has gained prominence in the past few years which has gained further importance in the current times of pandemic. This technology is definitely on the rise and with reasons known to everyone. It isn’t surprising that more than 71% of organizations offer two-way communications via webcams and videos. Though there are some challenges with regards to using this as a medium of consultation like bad internet quality, no trust by people, etc., all these can be met over a period of time and this shall evolve as a successful medium to reach out to people for diagnosing less serious and threatening diseases in a cost-effective manner.
  3. Mobile-based marketing- Mobile marketing is not only the most efficient and cost-effective way to reach out to their customers but also the most helpful mechanism which enables the people to reach out to you directly. Digital marketing over mobile can happen in various ways be it in-app marketing, location-based marketing, mobile search ads, mobile image ads, etc. With this, you can encourage users to reach out to you quickly as you can target a local audience with the help of mobile marketing.
  4. Content-based marketing-Content marketing has come a long way from being no one, which was only needed to fill empty spaces it has become an important thing that is needed to drive up the audiences on your website. Content writing isn’t simply putting up some random piece of information but involves a detailed strategy as to what is to be posted and shared. The main intention is that it attracts the attention of the customers, presents them with relevant information, and most importantly connects with them. Content has various formats be it E-books, blogs, infographics, articles, videos et al. With your expertise and sharing quality-focused content, you can connect with the audience.

This can happen if you write in your niche areas, for instance, if you are a cardiac specialist then you can write articles on maintaining a healthy heart, precautions to be taken to avoid heart ailments, etc. or if you are a dietician, then you can write amazing articles on healthy eating tips, diet maintenance, and various such related topics. Writing content related to your field not only gives you clarity on what and how to write but also your command over the subject results in gaining trust from the audience, because of the authenticity factor. The deal in writing content upon health-related topics is, that it should be easily understandable to your customers and not sound self-propagating, as that can create a negative impact on them.

Gaining and maintain clients is essential for your business to survive, and that can only happen via a properly planned and well-strategized marketing strategy. Since people these days tend to look up online for nearly everything, therefore if your presence is low or virtually non-existent, then you really need to rev up your game. Have a look at the above-suggested points and embark on your journey towards achieving your target goals.

Economic Consulting

Customer Retention Strategies Post Covid-19

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The pandemic has been a game-changer of sorts, having said that not only it has brought new practices into perspective but also re-emphasized upon our basic values, i.e. Customer is the king. Any business in any field has to focus on not only developing but also retaining their existing clients; it is because of these existing and loyal that your business can stay in the long haul.

Returning customers always tend to spend more than the newer ones, the reason being trust and loyalty. It is important to channelize your team efforts into the right direction to sustain over your existing clients; yes it is indeed a team effort because it needs persistent efforts, new strategies, and ideas to be able to do so, successfully.  Why are returning customers important? Simple, as per a report by SignalMind, the probability of a sale from a new customer lies between 5%-20%, whereas for a loyal customer it lies somewhere between 60%-70%, you can see the massive jump here. This doesn’t mean that you should put in fewer efforts to acquire newer customers because otherwise it will lead to stagnancy but simultaneously you ought to put efforts to retain your older customers too. Discussed below are some ways for you to retain your older clients:

  1. Communicate the values of your company- You can retain your consumers only when you both are in sync with your organization’s value, as that was what had initially pulled them to you. Instead of spamming their mailbox with generic and not so useful mails, especially during the current times, you can send them valuable emails sharing some productive insights and offering help if feasible to overcome such strenuous times. The deal here is to promote and provide valuable resources to them, assuring them that you all are in there, together.
  2. Offering E-services or products- Revolving around your products or services, you can offer them virtually to your consumers. For instance, in today’s time’s technology has made it possible for businesses to stay in touch with their customers, for instance, if you run a hospital or a clinic then you can offer telemedicine or others can stay in touch with the help of video-conferencing. Many businesses offering a varied range of services have come up with innovative ways of staying in touch with their existing clients, for instance, fashion houses are giving their clients a virtual walk-through of their clothes as well as virtual trial sessions. Therefore, it’s totally your call as to how to use modern technology to give benefits to your clients.
  3. Productive use of social media- Social media is one channel that encompasses a huge sect of various virtual platforms, and the use of which has multiplied in the current pandemic times. In today’s times, it is hardly a possibility that your existing clients won’t be present on social media, be it on Instagram, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn, Twitter, etc., this is where you ought to target them by displaying curated content and thought engaging posts, which should be reflected at the top of their feed. Businesses should ensure that their target audience is engaged with these posts and that can happen if the posts are shared on a regular basis and are of value to the clients and most importantly, a channel of open communication is maintained from the company’s side, ensuring doubt clarity and responding to other client requests.
  4. Play with discounts and gift cards- Discounts and gift cards aren’t only a strong attractive point for the customers, which they believe is a reward for their loyalty but also ensures that the businesses too stay afloat and at the same time have a great relationship with their existing clients. You can offer discounts to the customers if your business model allows you to do so or offer new services and facilities to your existing clients, for instance, if you run a Spa and Wellness center, then you can offer discounts to acquire new customers and offer additional packages of massage or therapies to your older clients.

 Another way of maintaining customers can be via issuing gift cards or vouchers or coupons to the customers, not only does it bring in liquid cash immediately but also ensures customer repetition; it is important to note here that the consistency and value of services provided have to be maintained at great standards, because if the customers feel cheated then no amount of discounts or freebies can get them back to you. Remember the deal here is to be trustworthy, loyal, and yet remain successfully afloat in the post-pandemic market.

 We really hope that these points can give you a header into how to retain your existing clients successfully, many of you would have been doing that and many would yet have to start, but the deal here is to start doing that because post-Covid-19, the market has become highly competitive and if you don’t offer any value-based experience to your customers then there will be no incentive for them to carry on with you. It need not be always something extravagant but even small personal gestures can go a long way to help you retain them. Therefore, it’s important to always value and keeps your priorities at the top of your mind.

Uncategorized

Tools To Be On the Lookout for Digital Marketing in 2021

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With 2020 throwing a curveball, coping with so many unknown variables at such an unexpected speed was a challenge, but it presented an untapped opportunity for Digital Marketing experts to come up with an interesting array of tools to optimize the marketing approach for the current year. These tools are like a lifeline for digital marketers, as their work requires them to don many hats at once, be it information mining or updating social media profiles, or customizing your ad reach…..Whew!!! The list is never-ending and this is exactly where these tools come in handy, so let’s have a look:

  1. Woobox– It is a social engagement platform designed to promote interactive content. The platform is known as the one which promotes turnkey solutions for running social media competitions, social media giveaways with a special focus on Instagram competitions. They help in designing and floating dedicated #hashtags, determining those hashtag entries, deciding giveaway winners on a purely random basis. Therefore, it helps in removing the backend work from any social media giveaway or competition and eases your entire process.
  2. Nanigans– It is amongst a designated marketing partner for Facebook, which is multi-channel advertising software that focuses on Facebook marketing. It has software designed which helps in retargeting and various other tools which make target marketing more effective, efficient and productive, this is more so because it has access to Facebook Exchange (FBX). It is not only limited to Facebook remarketing but also focuses on the growth of other social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter ads. It is because of its wide-ranging services that it is a preferred tool amongst various web-based companies.
  3. GetResponse– This is one platform that is attuned with the growing trends of automation. So how does this work?? Basically, this software shall analyze specific user behavior and trends from your list to generate specific messages and automatic responders instantly. This results in you having a more specific, smarter, and detailed email marketing presence and most importantly an engagement worthy list.
  4. Simpli.fi– This tool offers a unique experience, i.e. it helps in extracting information from completely unstructured audience data. Unlike other tools existing in the market which rely on existing audience segments to distinguish and categorize audience data, there’s no such requirement with Simpli.fi, which is a big bonus when it comes to working and sorting huge chunks of unstructured data.
  5. Unbounce–This is a handy tool that is amazing for newcomers to experienced designers. It helps in quickly building, changing, and publishing new landing pages to test. The USP of this exciting platform is that enables you to create brand new pages, irrespective of the fact whether you are a designer or not, you can always select a template and build your own pages by customizing the designs as per your convenience.
  6. Feedly–This platform enables you to choose from a varied range of blogs, varied topics, articles, and publications that suit your interest, as well as it collates all of the recent content from many sites into your feed which can be monitored by you. Thereby, you can integrate feed from this website onto social media tool to share these articles with your targeted audience on a continuous basis.
  7. CJ Affiliate–It is one of the most popular choices available in the market which helps advertisers to aid in their products being picked and sold by relevant publishers. This platform has one of the largest presence of bloggers and the presence of its self-service platform makes it easier to scale one’s affiliate marketing efforts.

New tools mean a better facilitative experience for your digital marketing initiatives, who knows you might find your gem amongst this treasure trove. These tools will not only save on your time, efforts and resources but offer your audience and you a great experience in the long run… so what are you waiting for? Let’s go and create a wonderful story.