Amazon, who hasn’t heard about the name; with it leading the global e-commerce platform, the opportunities offered to earn a fortune for oneself on it are multiple. There are various sellers who are selling a multitude of products on the website, which means people have a plethora of options to choose from for buying a single product, hence it implies that you as a seller have immense competition on hand and have to stand apart. To do that, you have to have an interesting and a well thought of marketing strategy in place and differentiate your business from others as well as create an identity for your brand.

Amazon serves as a benchmark marketplace and helps the customers make purchase decisions; this is so because of the mammoth size of the E-commerce giant, because of which it offers an endless variety of products, covering a huge spectrum, even bringing to notice of the customers those products which the consumer might initially be unaware of and because of this approach, which is holistic in nature, this results in them offering competitive rates as compared to many e-commerce platforms.

Let’s see some ways you can attract business for your product offering on Amazon-

1. What looks good, sells good- Undoubtedly, when it comes to purchasing a product based only on visual cues, having professional and clearer photos, covering all the aspects of your product is imperative. Avoid posting unclear and hazy pictures, because that would portray to the customer that your product is either of low or bad quality, thus, fueling the feeling of mistrust or lack of interest, this is so because there is no physical contact between you and the buyer. Your product’s efficiency and need of the customer have propelled this forthcoming transaction, therefore anything and everything you do shall maintain transparency and genuine trust and most importantly evince interest.
2. Advertize, Advertize, Advertise well- Advertising your Amazon Listings should be your prime focus and this you can do with the help of analytics. The external promotion will undoubtedly help you gain many visitors on your Amazon product listing page, this kind of advertising can be successful with the appropriate usage of SEO, back-links, and target advertising on various social media platforms. One more way of generating customer interest is by the way of content posting, which can happen with regular blog posting, where you can create a backlink between your blog and the product posting. External promotions help you stand apart from other competitors as well as, increase your sales.
3. Definitely own the Amazon buy box- What exactly is an Amazon buy box? So basically an Amazon buy box is a detailed page on your offerings. This page allows the customers to initiate their purchasing process by selecting and adding desired products to their shopping carts. Owning a buy box isn’t easy at all, because of the unknown Amazon algorithm at work, which determines the product included, but if you are successful in owning one, then your sales might have an incredible jump. It is important for each seller to have an Amazon buy box, to sell the same products as their competitors. The criteria for winning a buy box are many, for instance, paying attention to stock inventory, fulfillment options, positive customer reviews, seller ratings, lower price, etc.
4. Keywords make all the difference- Keywords can make or break your business, use of absolutely clear and indicative keywords can create magic for your business. Appropriate long-tailed keywords placed strategically in your product description, title and bullet points will enhance the visibility of your products, thus helping consumers find what they are exactly looking for.
5. Price Works- On one hand, Amazon offers you a platform to sell and market your products; on the other hand, this means that there would be immense competition amongst multiple sellers, selling the same product. So the best way to gain your market strength and presence is by offering competitive rates. People visit Amazon to find the best rates for any product they wish to buy and hence do proper research before-hand; pricing becomes a primary deciding factor before going ahead with a purchase. Until and unless, your product isn’t extra-ordinary or unique or caters to a niche audience, that means you are competing against a pool of sellers selling regular products. Hence, your research has to be on point regarding the pricing offered and with the low price policy of Amazon, you can and should match prices with it, on a continuous basis.
6. Test and Test, so that you are the best- You should pay detailed attention to product listings on your products listing page, and this can happen if you test everything on a continuous basis, this will help you in boosting your Best Seller Ranking (BSR), because let’s face it, who doesn’t like staying on top and be everyone’s apple of the eye!!! You can do split testing to shoot up your product listings, as this type of testing allows you to test two versions of listings with different titles and images, targeting different keywords. Hence, if done correctly and consistently, you can optimize your listing and spear ahead of your competitors.

 Amazon is truly synonymous with its counterpart, The Amazon Rainforest, with the presence of too many products, way too many buyers and sellers have made the platform competitive, but with the above-suggested strategies, you can maneuver your way to success. You can start off by optimizing your page so that your marketing efforts can bring traffic to your website, convert leads into final sales, enhance your profit, and most importantly your visibility amongst buyers.

 During and now Post- COVID 19, the entire manufacturing industry was dealt a huge blow, irrespective of the sector they belonged to. As the pandemic was unprecedented in nature, stringent measures had to be undertaken, wherein manufacturers had to cut down on production, save resources, more-over have a safe balance of funds, considering the fact that no one knew the timeline of this pandemic. With changes in the way, people looking up services, i.e. preferring to look up services and products online, having a positive and existing online presence isn’t a luxury but has become a necessity.

(P.C.- GEP.com)

 After establishing your online presence, the main aim shall be to generate leads and drive sales opportunities, with the help of a strategically designed digital marketing strategy, one thing which has to be kept in mind is that ROI should be taken into account for every step you take because finances have become an issue post-pandemic. Let’s have a look at some of the digital marketing strategies for you:

1. Let’s binge on some content – Content creation is the king when it comes to ranking high on organic searches on various search engines like Bing or Google. Prior to starting, you need to focus on designing content as per the demands of your target audience, not only that, it has to be kept in mind, that consistency is the key, i.e. posting blogs on a regular basis, it can be 3-4 blogs per month or per week, as per the consistency demanded by your customers. As per a report by Content Marketing Institute’s report, 82% of marketers belonging to the manufacturing sector, say that their 82% of content-based marketing is moderately successful, whereas 13% said that it was highly successful.

Blogs can range from various topics, be it current news related to your sector, specific case studies, research related to your sector, white papers, any new product launches, etc.

2. Effective use of SEO for better outreach – Having strategic SEO practices in place, will ensure that you rank higher organically on search engines, and that doesn’t involve any monetary investment, all that is needed is the strategic placement of high traction-gaining words. The higher your website ranks on Google, the higher your website will garner views and result in you gaining potential clients, therefore should be having these keywords which shall make your business rank higher on search engines, for placing such words, you should have a detailed study and trend analysis to ensure the success of your digital marketing program, as well as ensure higher ROI.

3. Social Media Marketing- Social Media platforms have gained immense importance and have widespread use amongst audiences belonging to various countries and diverse profiles. Initially intended to facilitate communication, but now it has evolved as an e-commerce platform too, i.e. generating leads and sales. You can use social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn to market and sell your products, create a vibrant user engagement community, share virtual content, etc.

4. Focus on Re-marketing ads- These ads are designed to remind customers of the purpose of their visit to your website by tracking their virtual footprint and displaying ads of the product or service, they had surfed on your website. To promote a new product, these ads can be of high impact, by generating traffic on your website as well as bring back customers, who had shown interest in that particular product’s page on your website.

5. E-mail based marketing- The importance of e-mail based marketing can’t be stressed more. E-mails are still one of the most effective ways to reach out to your existing and potential clients, as well as informing them about any or every important change, product launches, etc. You can also do what many companies are doing these days, i.e. asking your clients to fill up a short survey, so as to get an idea as to what your clients are seeking of you.

These are just some of the starting points for you to get a head-start regarding your digital marketing strategies, to not reach out to older clients but also maintain your existing ones.

Digital Marketing is one such tool, which carries importance for any and every business, irrespective of the size, services offered. Digital Marketing offers abundant opportunities for all established businesses and not only new ones, but it also offers great opportunities for brick-and-mortar setups and not only for e-commerce or online-based business platforms, rather for the brick and mortar ones but it also throws open a plethora of opportunities, i.e. even the customers who weren’t aware of you can look up for you on web and contact you for services.

A well-designed marketing strategy and using targeted marketing techniques can help you in reaching out to a wider audience in your local area, grow your business exponentially by building inroads at the most times of the year, in terms of finances, be it at the end of Financial year or the tax season, etc., offering friendly services thus, making a lasting impact on your customers. Strategic placement of ads across different websites with the help of analytics, or making content relevant and easily searchable across different search engines with the use of appropriate SEO words, etc. all can help you reach your goal of growing your business day in and out.

(P.C.-Unsplash, @kellysikkema)

Let’s have a look at some of the ways you can optimize your digital marketing strategy:

1. Appropriate use of Social Media Platforms- Use of social media as a platform has grown without any limitations, and it is being used by a multitude of businesses, the ones who are successful are the ones who know how and when to target their audience and adopting a mix of strategies, as per the demands of the sector. There are various ways for you to gain attention amongst your consumers, i.e. invest in promotional activities on Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, etc., as well as share some important snippets of trivia, knowledge on a regular basis, thus enhancing your customer outreach and subsequent retention. A golden rule to ensure the success of any social media strategy is, maintaining regular customer interaction, i.e. be active on all platforms, whether it is liking, sharing, or commenting on comments or queries, related to your business, this shows that you are active and available to your customers easily.
2. Work with Webinars- With the current pandemic, people have curtailed going out for availing many services, including meeting lawyers, accountants, even doctors, until it’s unavoidable. One highly effective to stay in touch with your consumers is via webinars, live Q&A videos, and pre-recorded videos/podcasts, which shall help in disseminating information to your consumers, but also provide you with an opportunity to tap into those customers, who are yet to know about your business. Webinars prove as an excellent source of customer engagement, help in establishing value and credibility for your business, and most importantly, helps in the generation of new business avenues, for your organization.
3. Use of Good old Paid Web Advertising- Effective use of social media and search engines like Google, Facebook, and/or LinkedIn to target your consumers, can go a long way to ensure popularity and success for your business. With the availability of many paid tools for ad advertising like banner ads, SERPS, etc. to effectively target your customers, be it existing or the potential ones, these tools if channeled productively, prove their worth of investment. Digital advertising isn’t only cheaper in comparison to the conventional modes of advertising but also help in building consciousness about your services amongst a wider range of audience. One very famous platform for displaying digital marketing ads is Google Ads, as this platform allows business owners and digital marketers to place classified ads on the most visible sections of the search engine; these are the ads that pop-up when a person searches for any relevant query related to your business, and if your ads have aptly placed SEO and other relevant keywords placed strategically, then it’s a win-win game for you.
4. The Trick that Never Get’s Old; E-mail Marketing- This is one strategy, which never gets old, undoubtedly the mode of the e-mail campaign has gotten old, but till today if planned out effectively, still remains an important and highly effective medium of reaching out to your consumers. Yes, unlike the earlier policy of one size, fits all; nowadays e-mail based marketing can turn in the most effective results for your marketing initiative if the content which is shared, is personalized and of relevance to the consumers.

 Getting desired response on your digital marketing ads isn’t going to happen over-night, but it shouldn’t deter you from waiting and investing in a good marketing plan, which can yield wondrous results for you; the key here is to learn from your mistakes and rectify them and as time goes by, not only should your business be famous but also there would be your ever so growing consumer base.

Being a dentist isn’t an easy job at all; it takes a lot of effort and patience, most importantly a major chunk of your time. Having said that, we truly understand that apart from servicing the clients, there is hardly any moment for you to focus on marketing your own-self, as it is truly said that time is a resource which is scarce, thus it has to be managed effectively, in such a way that it yields optimum results for your practice, i.e. spreading a word for your practice as well as getting more customers.

A balanced and a focused digital marketing strategy, especially post-pandemic, is the need of the hour, more-so because people and doctors both are cautious to avoid the spread of the virus, the genuine possibility is heightened in your field, as it involves close communication, thus, it’s important to dispel the unfounded fears, take full precautionary measures and focus on reviving or betterment of your current prospects.

1. Highlight the safety measures and protocols- Focusing and ensuring your customer’s safety, should be the priority, especially after COVID-19, where there is genuine fear amongst people regarding the transmission of the virus, therefore, the onus lies on you to alleviate their fears by providing a safe, well sanitized and a clean environment. You should emphasize by marketing the steps taken by you, for instance, maintaining proper distance in the waiting room, sanitizing the procedural room and yourself after every treatment, screening every customer prior to them entering the premises, every member present in your clinic wearing a PPE kit, etc. By focusing and building your marketing campaign on these points, not only will you build trust but also reflect a positive and responsible image of your practice.
2. Use of Facebook’s demographic targeting- With the wide range of population this channel caters to, it goes on to show the popularity level of Facebook. With people from across the globe, using this as a medium to interact with others, it will be a wise decision to use the data generated by them to your benefit. Here, you can use the demographic data generated by Facebook, based on profiling people as per various divisions, be it gender, language, employment status, interests, etc. to the best of your interests. For instance, you can target the consumers in your area and show them your ads at the forefront, the target audience and their interests can vary from area to area, thus, your ad display and design should be customized as per your business’s needs.
3. Remarketing Ads- Remarketing as a tool is highly effective and persistent, but care should be taken that it doesn’t become too intrusive, as that might then turn away the target audience from you. Re-marketing means reaching out to people who have already visited your website and showing them specific ads to re-capture them on various other websites. Therefore, if you have been collecting the email addresses of your customers, then bam!! You have an effective marketing tool at your hand, i.e. you can use them to your advantage via Google and Facebook ads. You can use the already existing email addresses to develop a remarketing audience and design such ads that would motivate your target audience to visit your clinic again, maybe as a reminder for cavity checkup for their children or just a regular tooth cleaning process…it can be anything, just that it targets the correct audience.
4. Highlighting emergency keywords- Dental pain is excruciating and most of the time, it flares unexpectedly, and therefore, people who search for emergency dental services should see your clinic’s name at the top. This means that you should use high Call-to-action words (CTA’s) related to your practice, for instance, words like ‘Emergency’, ‘Urgent’, ‘Urgency’ can provide your business the required footfall. Having said that, the success depends on various factors, for instance, you should highlight your CTA’s, make them personalized, and most importantly, be receptive to the customers who call you up for booking an appointment and Voila!!! You are good to go for welcoming more customers.
5. Using Google maps ads- Google Map Ads are an effective and highly efficient tool to help you in connecting directly with your clients. So how does this work? The basic idea here is that as soon as a potential customer enters terms like dentist or dental clinic into the search bar, results are automatically shown on the map and on the search results list, wherein a side column shows up the name and contact details of the listed doctors. While searching on mobile, you can also see directions and highlighted CTA’s.
6. Use of technology; tele-dentistry – With the pandemic on peak and people being unable to get out of their homes, solutions were to be found out and one such which was the need of the hour was telemedicine. Irrespective of the pandemic, people would fall ill and need doctor’s advice, but due to obvious restrictions, many doctors started offering their consultancy services via online mode, this is undoubtedly safer and cheaper, and the potential for it to grow is huge; though since it has just started, some teething troubles are bound to exist but with further evolution in technology and ease of adaptability, this shall definitely be a game-changer in the medical field.

(P.C- Gigadocs)

With the pandemic now easing out and life getting back to normalcy, albeit at a slower rate, it’s time to go out and re-capture the lost ground with the help of the above-mentioned ideas, because at the end of the day, the services offered by you aren’t for earning profits but to help people, at large.

(P.C.- Unsplash, @ragojose)

Why You Should Consider Digital Marketing For Your Coffee Shop?

The finding of coffee beans dates back to at least 11^th century, as per popular beliefs, but who said that your digital marketing strategies have to be that old!!! I know you would say hey that’s an exaggeration, we know, but with the speed, the Coffee related industry has evolved and diversified, in the past few decades has been tremendous; so has the competition. This calls for you to actively adapt your digital marketing strategies, so as to keep yourself abreast as per the changing trends as well as, staying two steps ahead of your competitor, irrespective of the size of your business. Let’s see some digital marketing strategies to aid your business to ramp up the game since now businesses are slowly but steadily opening up after the pandemic:

1. Focus on Customer Engagement, Ramp up Your Mail List – The first step in successful customer engagement is maintaining a continuous and healthy communication link with your existing customers, not only is this essential to maintain customer loyalty but also for you to assess how your business is being viewed by your existing customers. E-mails though belong to an old way of promotion but still continues to be an effective way to generate and gather leads, as well as enabling more opportunities for your business. Well strategized and targeted emails shall help your customers in knowing about your business more often, as well as, you can collect more information about them and with the use of data analytics, create customized target strategies focused on consumer retention and enhancement of consumer base. You can use your mails to disseminate information regarding your business to the consumers at large, for instance, you can share the measures taken by your business post-COVID ensuring customer safety, initiatives are taken by your organization to help your community during such strenuous times, etc. Thus, careful mail targeting shall be your priority of to-do things.

(@christinhumephoto)

2. Have a Slogan or Photo Contest – Contests are always an exciting way to retain and enhance consumer interest, not only do they generate interest in consumers, encourage and motivate them, as well as they are not only economical for your business but also are an effective yet efficient way to promote your brand. With such contests, you can encourage customers to grow an organic relationship with your business, in here you can come up with such competitions maybe twice or thrice a year, wherein you can reward the idea which shall prove to be most innovative and aligns with your business goals and at the same time rewarding the winner consumer, shall encourage feelings of mutual growth and appreciation. For example, you can ask your visitors to upload some innovative photos of your shop, products, etc. or come up with a catchy slogan to boost your business, and share the same on their social media handles like Facebook, Instagram, etc., this shall not only help in spreading your brand name to a wider range of audience but at the same time, prove to be one of the most economical channels of digital promotion. There is one more aspect which you can focus on, i.e. bring customer attention to your customized products, be it coffee mugs or a bag of your freshly grounded coffee or maybe T-shirts carrying your brand logo, this way you can award the contest winners with your in-house products and also highlight them to others.

3. Work on Visuals – An appealing and eye-catching visual presentation, always carry a deeper impact on the viewers, as that has a better impact on the retention capacity of the customer as well as enhances their ability to recall it. There are various mediums to share interactive, quirky, and engaging visual content, be it Facebook Live, Twitter, Pinterest and the most effective platform for such purpose is Instagram, where you can share your Insta stories on a regular basis; sharing live feeds and videos will help in creating brand awareness and forging relationships on Social Media and the above-mentioned channels will capture the attention of your audience and connect more with your brand. There are many ways to promote your brand, for instance, you can show live feed of any small contest held at your café or behind the scene visuals of preparing your famous coffee flavor or the work culture at your café, etc…the list is long, but the takeaway is to show curated content, designed keeping in mind your audiences taste and preferences, as well as at the same time not being too much into the face, as that might irritate them. To design a well-researched marketing strategy, you can use data analytics to help you target the audience in a systematic manner.

4. Make Gains out of User Generated Content – Organic user-generated content always brings in more positive reviews and enhanced customer traction for your café. It is one of the most effective forms of marketing, for instance, if your users tag your business in their Instagram or Facebook stories, provide feedback, leave reviews on your Google My Business page and other such activities, all these lead to better customer engagement as well as boost your rankings on search engines.

Nowadays, people trust more on what others have to say about their experience regarding a particular service or product, as that is not manipulated in comparison to traditional marketing, this was validated by a survey which was conducted by Nielsen Consumer Trust Index.

As a business house, you should encourage your customers to review your services over different portals like your Facebook, Instagram, Zomato, or Yelp page, many businesses these days also reward customers by providing a discount or additional services at lesser rates if they share their reviews, this strategy can be adopted by your business too. This way, your customers will help create a positive image for your brand, without you spending too much on direct marketing. Here, you should focus on collecting as much user-generated content to enhance your digital marketing strategy.

With the changing times, it’s always a better idea to continuously evolve your digital marketing strategy, because post-pandemic, not only have consumer preferences changed but the way the businesses operated earlier, has undergone major changes. Therefore, to always stay ahead in the game, knowing how to effectively target your consumers is the need of the hour. A well-devised marketing strategy will not only keep your customers happy but your business happy too.

Your firm is your brand and your identity; hence the need of a proper, deliberate, and effective brand positioning is of utmost necessity. Management Consulting firms, which stand out are able to do so because of proper and clear marketing, on the other hand, hasty and unclear marketing can result in a poor reputation for you, thus impacting your credibility, and subsequently, your consumer interaction will take a hit.

Marketing as an activity never stops; rather it evolves continuously, i.e. even if you are an established firm, a continuous assessment of your marketing strategy and its alignment with your organizations’ goals and demands of the industry should be undertaken. It’s best to always know what your industry needs, what your consumers are seeking, and how effectively you are able to build a genuine relationship with them. A bit of slackness can negatively impact your standing and previous hard-work, therefore, brand creation, sustaining it, and maintaining your ground are all important aspects.

Let’s see what marketing strategies you can undertake to enhance your firms business:

1. Know what your brand stands for- The first step in defining any marketing strategy is to know and understand what your brand is and what values does it signify. Until and unless, you lack clarity and are unable to quantify your brand value, the entire process of creating a successful digital marketing plan won’t ever take off. It’s imperative to know that your brand isn’t something vague or undefined, and if it is so, that raises a huge doubt to start off with. Having a brand name and crystallized thoughts about the same, ensure enhanced visibility, reputation and consumer trust.

     If you have a positive reputation, which you can build providing excellent client service, every time and be apt with trouble-shooting client issues and this has to be a universal approach of yours while dealing with every client of yours. This will help in creating a positive buzz for your business, wherein people will regard you as a firm of high level expertise or a firm offering great value based services, either way, it suits you and your firm; this might also help you in getting actual referrals and enhancing your business.

2. Use of different Social Media channels to enhance your firms visibility- Effective use of different social media channels and consistent working in the marketplace organically to ensure that your customers view your content to get an experience of your brand, is essential. Proper usage of SEO to use targeted keywords to gain viewer traction and engagement. Social media offers you a great opportunity to interact with you audience and convey what your brand stands for.

You can even promote audience engagement by using your website productively, where you can involve people directly via online seminars, webinars, promotional activities and free counseling sessions, this way you can also boost presence of your website on search engines as there will be enhanced consumer traffic on your website. By posting creative, engaging, interactive and informative posts can enhance your consumer outreach as well as when they share it with their friends and followers.

If your customers are happy with your services, then you can request them to leave a genuine feedback for your business on your Google page, this shall not only create a genuine trust based relationship with other new customers but also push you up the ranking via organic method on Google search engine.

3. Understanding your fields’ challenges- Like every field has its own unique set of opportunities and challenges, so does the field of Consulting. The biggest challenge regarding the field of management consulting is making the general public aware as to what your services are and how can your services be helpful to them. In general, it becomes easy for the people to identify what a law or taxation firm does, but the services covered under the umbrella of management consulting are many and belong to various genres. Therefore, it becomes compulsory for the management consulting firms to spend a higher percentage of their revenue on advertisement and marketing as compared to others, so as to make people aware of their expert advisory services and how it can prove to be beneficial for them.
4. Focus on Networking- Management consulting is one field, which is niche and limited, therefore the more you network freely and inform people about your services offered, the higher and brighter are the chances of you earning genuine referrals and growing your business and also strengthen your position in the industry. One way to do this can be either by inviting industry experts regularly to write blogs, white papers, articles etc. on your website, this shall bring higher traffic to your website and capitalize on the trust factor or you yourself can also author content for different businesses, either way this shall create a healthy symbiotic relationship for your and other business.

 These are just some starter points to help you get started with creating and sustaining your online presence and as management consulting firms this has become all the more important because the world is virtually online now, it is as easy and as difficult for you to capture the audience, easy if you follow a proper marketing strategy to disseminate information regarding your services and tough if you still haven’t thought about as to why and how to get ahead.

With a timeline of sorts emerging and bringing a visible paradigm shift, comparisons an differences are bound to crop up, i.e. how things were and are pre and post COVID, respectively. Though, seemingly nothing obvious has changed on the surface, yet everything has, be it our day-to-day normal lifestyle or how businesses used to function, things aren’t going to be the way they were for a long time now, at-least.

Having said that, even the way digital marketing was done earlier, isn’t the same anymore, the way things have shaped up, has made people more self-aware and conscious of their surroundings, thus, the accountability of the organizations has increased dramatically and so creating and maintaining a positive perception about themselves, should be the utmost and sincere priority of any business organization. Though, unfortunately in any crisis, it is the marketing budget which takes a hit, but it should be kept in mind that the resources invested in marketing aren’t a frivolous expenditure, but a prudent investment, to create and maintain your brand identity, as well as, creating a trust-worthy bond with your customers, assuring them that all is well and things shall look up soon.

Here are some aspects which shall demand more focus in digital marketing post COVID-19:

1. Cultivating an integrated approach – Digital marketing isn’t an activity that can be pursued in isolation, marketing has seen a paradigm shift, and the use of analytics is being seen on a widespread basis. Integrated marketing is the need of the hour, where the behavior of the consumers can be understood and predicted well before-hand. With the change in times, traditional style of marketing doesn’t fit the bill anymore; not the focus is on creating a ‘personalized’ and ‘relevant’ digital marketing model instead of a generic experience.

          As per Diaz Nesamoney, “Marketers in the post-COVID-19 era will have to rethink what technologies they really need, which ones can help them save money, and which ones can help them transform their businesses that have been altered by this crisis. Marketing technology that helps with the above business needs will therefore be considered essential and the rest may end up in the garbage heap of tech-driven promises that never delivered true Marketing ROI”.

Nowadays, careful and strategic placement of ads on social media, frequently visited websites by the consumers, relevant e-commerce websites are used to pique the interest of the consumers. Here is where Zivanta Analytics can help you gain traction and competitive advantage by the use of our data analytic tools to target your consumer base. Hence, the use of traditional marketing tools won’t be a great idea, but incorporating modern analytical tools to track consumer behavior and convert the leads into final sales, successfully, is the focal point.

2. Increased Focus on ROI – With the pandemic hitting across, the shopping patterns of the people have changed, wherein people prefer more of online shopping rather than going out. This implies that, definitely the marketing strategies too shall have to go undergo changes, wherein companies will have to invest in building and strengthening their online presence. This means that ROI generating tools like SEO, programmatic advertizing, conversational and interactive marketing shall be witnessing an investment jump. Because, this is where the future of digital and social marketing lies.
3. Enhanced attention on direct consumer based marketing – Companies operating in the sphere of Consumer Packaged goods had and to a certain extent, are still bearing the brunt of the pandemic. This was bound to happen because of their over-reliance on the brick-and-mortar stores, where in they were due to obvious reasons unable to create a bond with the consumers, this negatively impacted their business, but now the lesson has been learnt, hence they are now driving their focus on building consumer relations and concentrating on 1:1 B2C marketing strategy.

     Since the lockdown was announced, people had stopped going out to buy goods, which obviously resulted in them buying the same goods over online portals, thus, those businesses which had already established themselves in the e-business sphere, gained a lot, in comparison to those who lacked an online presence. Marketing via traditional methods like TV ads, Print media, OOH, have taken a backseat and an enhanced focus is being channelized towards digital marketing, more-so, because it is cheaper, direct, targeted and offers the use of analytics to customize the ads and offer the marketer the flexibility to customize the ads as per the customers’ preference.

With established businesses across different verticals, experiencing a slump, they all are quickly moving towards digital marketing, for instance brands like McDonalds and local businesses etc have strengthened their online food and other products delivery mechanism, because that is what the time demands and the looming uncertainty whether and when things will shift back to the olden times, have propelled them to go ahead. Hence, this implies, that in the coming near future, a lot of investment will be directed towards platforms focusing on personalized digital marketing, which shall help to create and manage content, automate messages, deliver personalized messages and respond to queries, design specific offers etc. This shows that there has been a considerable shift in the marketing style, and now the theory of One Size, Fits All, doesn’t work anymore, to that effect.

4. Effective use of PPC – In the times of the pandemic, the supply of goods and services got limited due to obvious reasons, therefore, the ads being shown on different leading marketing channels like Facebook Ads, Google Ads, etc. were lesser, hence it meant that utilizing PPC in an effective manner, would yield amazing results for your company, and this had happened precisely during the COVID times.

     Due to the fact that people were staying at home, there was an enhanced surge in traffic and online searches, but the competition along-with the cost of paid ads, has seen a downward spiral. This means you could use this opportunity to effectively enhance your brand visibility and gain traction, therefore increasing your sales and traffic. A well thought of and a strategized marketing strategy by combining SEO, SMO and PPC etc can give your business the much desired boost.

With people avoiding market places, the digital footprint of people across digital media has enhanced exponentially. This tremendous increase which has happened has been unprecedented, therefore, it is always a great idea to stay of the game, not only you can effectively target your customers for increasing your sales, but you can use these social media channels to create a responsible and positive image of your brand, one which works to uplift the humanity, thus, further deepening your bond with the audience, especially in times like these, where the world needs many helping hands.

The moment to act and jump on to the ship of digital revolution has arrived, so the sooner you act, the better.

(P.C.- Unsplash, @yuni_ladyday2)

As the popular saying goes, ‘Time and Tide, wait for none’, this is applicable for everyone and every sector across the globe, not only in general parlance but also in practical observation, especially after battling a pandemic on such a huge scale. COVID-19, was unexpected for many of us, and had caught us unawares, but unfortunately, despite knowing the fact that the virus is wreaking havoc, nothing substantial could be done to offset that, unfortunately, not only business but personal lives of people was the worst affected, with many people being rendered jobless, homeless and many losing their family members.

The Hotel, Travel and Tourism industry is one of the largest employers worldwide, but the pandemic has dealt a huge blow to the industry per se, and USA being no different, but as they say, ‘When the going gets tough, the tough get going’; the hotel and travel sector is no different, though it has suffered comparatively bad as compared to other industries but all hope’s not lost, as per a report by Statista, ‘Revenue is expected to show an annual growth rate (CAGR 2020-2025) of 21.8%, resulting in a projected market volume of US$113,367m by 2025.

Below is a graph represented by Neil Patel indicating the impact of COVID-19 on the traffic across various industries:

So here are some of the steps, that you as hoteliers, irrespective of the size of your business can take to market yourself prudently and emerge successful out of this pandemic; but one thing which has to be kept in mind, before progressing forward is, that you need to keep a healthy budget allocated specifically for the purpose of marketing, though undoubtedly the times are hard and the near possibility of the sector picking up the same pace as pre-COVID levels seems a little tough, but it should be kept in mind that this is an investment for your business’s future, once when normalcy starts trickling in, that is when you can reap benefits of your wise decision:

1. First and foremost, work and assess your current Digital Marketing strategy- Before taking any step, it is important to evaluate your current digital marketing strategy. Having a good digital marketing strategy is the need of the hour, especially during such times when people are hardly venturing out of their homes and have whole and sole access to the digital world, thus, building a strong online presence and subsequent visibility should be your priority. In times like these, when finances are tight, digital marketing has and visibly taken precedence over other forms of marketing, because it is economical, faster and effective than others. A well thought of and planned e-mail marketing campaign and a social media campaign if directed to the right audience, shall fetch the optimum results. It is best to get hyper-segmented with your target audience; here you should think creatively by not only using the already famous social media platforms, but also use other channels productively by reaching out to new customer base.
2. Update your Google My Business Page, with immediate effect- It is important to let your customers know if there has been any change in your business operations after re-opening of your business, post COVID, i.e. the timings, business description, any updated contact numbers, etc. Since, customers are your priority, they should be the first to know about any such changes, this shall be convenient for them and also improve your Google rankings significantly.
3. Optimizing your website and SEO strategy – As they say, ‘It’s better to be safe than sorry’, once the pandemic slows down, the demand will slowly but surely pick up and it is best to be prepared for the incoming surge. Although hotels, be it big, small or boutique have some or the other kind of online presence and many have a dedicated website, but now you can directly tap into the customers who are approaching you for making a reservation at your property. The main factor here is to offer a valuable and a clear proposition to your potential audience and the extra benefits, they shall have access to if they book directly from your portal.

 You can discuss some strategies with your finance guys and other stakeholders, who can suggest some novel ways to entice people who book directly from your website. Not only that, your website should be high on aesthetic value, ease of navigation and apt description, because since you are operating in the leisure industry vertical, thus, here looks, feel and ease of your services visual presentation, go a long way. You can also capture audience with the help of lead generation, wherein every e-mail id entered or any other contact detail shared, shall act as a way to capture potential customer.

If there’s a provision for loyalty points for your hotel business, then even that should be mentioned and highlighted on your website, this is to encourage and motivate the consumers and make them feel a sense of privilege; in here you can optimize your loyalty program further, based on the spending capacity and profile of the existing customers.

Not only this, you can track those customers, who left their booking incomplete on your portal, by sending them reminder mails as well as targeting them with ads on their frequently visited website, this is called as cart abandonment re-marketing.

Having a proper SEO strategy can boost your website’s ranking on various search engines, therefore using proper long-tailed keywords in your content, can enhance your performance and enhance customer footfall on your website due to better visibility.

4. Maintaining a continuous communication channel with your customers- People, per se aren’t able to undertake travel due to obvious reasons, but still it would be a great idea to share your offerings with them on a regular basis, especially in times like these, where everyone is looking for a positive change and needs a break from the monotonous life pattern. Therefore, it is a wise decision to communicate frequently with your consumers, you can tell them about:

• Steps taken to protect your hotel staff and property
• Any discounts, packages and offerings
• COVID and its impact on the local area, nearby to the hotel
• How do they plan to ensure a safe experience for the guests, etc

It is imperative for you to maintain a continuous, effective and an affable line of communication with your customers, because the hotel industry is all about maintain a healthy lasting bond with the people, at large. Here you can use multiple social media channels to reach out to people, be it Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Pinterest, etc. because every platform caters largely to a different sector of audience, thus your marketing strategy has to crafted specifically for each platform and a consistent outreach has to be there.

Then of course, there can be direct communication from your end, be it via your blogs or the traditional yet most effective way of e-mail marketing.

5. Get the best out of OTA’s- Having an online presence, especially during the COVID-19 is of utmost necessity, because you have to be there where your audience is, not only this helps in generating revenues for your business, but also helps in expanding your consumer base. Therefore, having many OTA connections, will always yield the best results for your business, presuming that your business is already enlisted on many OTA’s, engaging with other OTA’s shall open your brand to many new customers, who might access newer OTA’s instead of the older ones. While you do enlist yourself on OTA’s, it is important to mention and draw attention to the services provided at your property, the star rating, room types, cancellation policy, check-in and check-out times, etc.

 It is also important to continuously track and analyze your performance on the OTA’s, it’s not a one-step process, because having a continuous positive ranking on the OTA’s shall not only boost customer perception about you, but also ensure more bookings for your property.

6. Ensure best use of Meta-search engines- So as we know Meta-search engines like Trivago, Google Hotel Ads, Trip Advisor etc., help customers compare hotel property prices reflected across different OTA’s and aid people in making a booking and this trend won’t come down, but might just go up. Therefore, it’s a good idea to enroll yourself with a couple of popular meta-search engines, if not already there, not only shall they help you enhancing your customer base, drive more of direct bookings, increase your revenue, improve your brand visibility as well as improve your brand value and reputation, amongst other benefits.
7. Make best use of Analytics to drive up your reach – Analytics is the best tool to help you drive up outreach and know more about your existing customer preferences and predict nearly accurately regarding the behavior of your potential customers. You can compare past and present trends to know and prep up yourself regarding the anticipated changes, what matters here is how pro-active you are, and here is where a digital marketing agency can help you in preparing a solid base by focusing on the detailed micro-aspects like data analysis, frequent A/B webpage testing for CTA tabs, A/B testing for your e-mail based marketing campaign, etc. so that you can easily focus on building a macro plan to strategize and optimize your marketing plan to make the best use of this time and are able to bide the tide by wisely investing your time and resources to capture the lost ground due to the pandemic.

We really hope that these above-mentioned strategies shall help you in kick-starting your journey on the way to recovery of your business, the times have been challenging for all and still, there’s a lot of unpredictability still looming around us, but if you take certain pro-active measures, then undoubtedly you can successfully overcome the challenges and see the business bouncing with more vigor.  Do reach out to us and we shall be more than happy to help your business grow to abound.