Impact of COVID-19: How Marketers Must Rethink Their Relationship With Data

In the first few months of 2020, before the coronavirus became a global pandemic, no one could have imagined its impact. However, it is clear that COVID-19 is now changing the world and will alter our daily reality for the foreseeable future.

Businesses, communities, and entire nations are seeing their economies change before their very eyes. As a marketer, you must adjust to serve your customers according to their “new normality.” The best way to position yourself for growth is to leverage data and analytics. Of course, this means rethinking your relationship with this data.

In this blog, we will explore the impact of COVID-19 on businesses and the ways to use data creatively and intelligently. Instead of dealing with falling revenues and conversions, you can increase critical metrics in the face of this pandemic and beyond.

What is the Main Difference for Marketers Before and After COVID-19 Regarding Data?

There has never been more data available about your target audience than there is right now. There are no excuses not to increase the personalization of your advertisements.

In general, personalized brand messaging is always preferable. With so many segments of society being forgotten, now is an even better time to make your market feel special and appreciated.

Do your best to create marketing messages that cater to the needs of your specific niche audience. This personalized focus will help increase engagement with your ads, ultimately pushing more prospects further down in your funnel. According to a recent study, social media analytics also play a huge factor for marketers going forward, as usage across platforms has surged an impressive 61%.

How Will the Impact of COVID-19 Change What Data You Should Extract?

The impact of COVID-19 should not be understated. It is changing the behavior of people drastically, including that of your prospects.

If you wait until it’s too late to change the kind of data you focus on, you might miss incredible growth opportunities. You might even find that your market has passed you by while your competitors dominate the industry.

Here are some key tenets to keep in mind as you manage this crisis from a business perspective:

1. Look at the Past, Present, and Future

Your ability to navigate the impact of COVID-19 depends on your assessment of your market from three timeline perspectives: past, present, and future. Your historical data is still important. This will give you insights into your market’s traditional behaviors, alongside the instincts you have developed.

Still, you need to view the pandemic in stages. Right now, wrestle with the necessities of maintaining profitability by cutting unnecessary costs or underperforming advertisements. But always keep one eye on the future. The world might never be the same again. However, the worst of the pandemic will pass, and that means economic activity will pick back up again. And you want to be ready for digital advertisement when that time comes.

2. Keep Your Finger on Shifting Market Priorities

The impact of COVID-19 will cause people to reevaluate their priorities. Certain expenses, luxuries, and investments will shrink in importance while others grow.

For instance, if you sell an entertainment product or service, you might expect your market to grow in the short term. On the other hand, a luxury item like high-end jewelry could become more difficult to drive sales as consumers lose their income, job mobility, and savings.

3. Virtualize Your Products and Services Where Possible

With many people living under restrictions, physical products and services are less feasible than before. Marketers are running into problems in many locations, as the services they provide are suddenly banned for the time being.

There is a clear need to adapt your business tactics to become more virtual in response to your audience’s new habits. With more people turning to the internet for shopping and communicating, virtualization is an obvious next step.

Take an in-depth look at your business operations and identify where you might be able to create digital alternatives to existing business systems. For instance, sales calls, training products, and customer service are just some aspects of your business that can and should have 100% virtual options going forward.

What Does the Data Say About the Economic Impact of COVID-19?

The rapid spread of the coronavirus has effects on the economy, health, and social well-being of populations around the globe. Some major industries are taking critical damage.

For instance:

• Travel and tourism has taken a massive hit due to coronavirus. This is due mostly to the large number of countries enacting travel restrictions and outright bans. The United Nations World Tourism Organization has estimated that tourist arrivals could plummet by as much as 30% globally in 2020. The result would be a loss of up to $50 billion. In some regions, the numbers are even worse, with tourism dipping by as much as 90%.
• The food industry is also being significantly affected. The service industry, such as bars and restaurants, is virtually nonexistent still in many parts of the world. And where they are allowed to stay open, occupancy restrictions often apply. The drop in traffic and revenue has caused many of these establishments to close their doors for good.

How Can Enhanced Data Collection Help You Make Better Decisions in the Future?

You now have the opportunity to use data like never before. First and third-party data services exist to allow you to glean key insights into the pandemic and your market’s reaction to this new reality. Here are some benefits to more data collection in this unique time:

• You can speak to your audience in a way that genuinely empathizes with their situation. This will build trust, likability, and credibility. All of these contribute to brand affinity and conversions.
• Uncover new customers and segments that are interested in your services with social data analysis.
• You can create a clearer picture of your ideal customer via analytics metrics such as age, location, device, and behavior.
• With people spending more time online, there will be an uptick in searches across the board. Use this time to discover new trends and keywords that you can target with your advertising to increase traffic to your funnels. You could even stumble upon an untapped opportunity with a significantly lower cost-per-click (CPC) rate than you’re currently paying.

Key Activities to Turn the Pandemic in Your Favor

You don’t want to sit patiently until the coronavirus is over. The impact of COVID-19 will extend beyond the next few years, so you should look to innovate by taking action on some of the following ideas:

• Brainstorm how to make a data-driven approach a part of your organizational “DNA”.
• Fine-tune your data discovery to tap into specific markets that may not have been adequately served before or during this pandemic by your competitors.
• Reframe the benefits and features of your products and services. Due to the pandemic, what was previously a flaw could now be viewed as an advantage.
• Use your social media, email, and other communication platforms to keep your audience engaged so that you are top-of-mind when they need your product or service.
• Review the technical side of your search engine optimization (SEO) and sales funnel. There is always a way to increase site speed, optimize your tags, or explore new content ideas around long-tail keywords.
• Remove inefficiencies in your sales cycles and business systems to reduce overhead while increasing revenue.

Wrap Up

The impact of COVID-19 affects virtually every location in the world. As people are moving around less and (in many cases) spending less due to poor economic factors, smart marketers must adapt.

The good news is that recreating your approach to data can be a powerful way to gain new insights into your market. You can study your customers, their behaviors, and the competition. So, rethink how you view the coronavirus pandemic. Treat it as an opportunity to grow your conversions by utilizing data with the advice above. That way, you can profit more now, and well into the future.