The pandemic has changed many aspects of everyone’s lives, and consumer behavior has been affected as a result. This article states that four main factors have driven the shift in consumer behavior.
Shift to digital buying
Virtual selling replacing in-person
Slower sales cycle
Covid market dynamics
At the beginning of the pandemic, when only critical businesses remained open for in-person shopping, consumers were forced online. This quickly and drastically shifted the way that customers interacted with businesses. We are now two years into the pandemic and this is clearly a long-term shift, and it’s unlikely that we will return to pre-pandemic levels of in-person shopping.
As a result of this shift to virtual commerce, businesses need to increase digital marketing efforts to compete and to provide their customers with the engagement and level of service that they expect. This article mentions several ways to engage with customers in the covid world.
The first is through the company’s website. The article discusses the importance of companies’ websites and its role as a virtual storefront. I strongly agree with this assessment. I rely on a company’s website to answer any questions I may have about their products. In the absence of an in-person sales experience, through which customers can ask salespeople questions and experience products first-hand, consumers need to have as much product information available through the web as possible. Any missing information or unanswered questions could lead to missed opportunities for businesses, ultimately hurting their brands and bottom lines.
Another suggestion from this article is for companies to focus on customer touch points through the use of social media. I think it’s important for a company’s social media strategy to be aligned with their website messaging and other marketing campaigns, I think I would deprioritize social media and put a higher emphasis on customer service.
Customer service was another aspect that this article recommended as a focus point for companies given the covid effect. It’s critical that companies can provide reliable customer service and support. Since consumers are engaging less with in-person salespeople, online or telephone customer service representatives have become the primary customer-facing employees for many businesses. It’s critical that the customer service representatives are knowledgeable, aligned with the company’s values, and empowered to truly help solve customers’ problems.
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