The start of 2020 was the beginning of the New Era of Customer Experience. Undeniably, the world has turned upside down with the onset of the coronavirus pandemic. But who would’ve guessed that amidst the chaos, a new revolution of marketing will start? In an era of chaos and disruption, brands and marketers have already rethought their marketing strategies to give consumers a unique customer experience.
Businesses that embraced innovation and change already aimed at humanizing the customer experience which outperformed others in a global pandemic.
As the world resets to a new normal, businesses have to take time to understand what’s changing and why, as times and trends change, will miss their opportunity to earn relevance in today’s marketplace.
Out of touch, out of sight, but not out of mind
See what we did there? With strict protocol measures, a lot of businesses forced most of their employees from the comfort of their homes, as millions of people around the world.
People are stuck and bored. Because of that, people found a safe refuge online. And in the middle of 2020, a majority of purchase decisions are made based on customer experience, not price. This was the biggest shift in marketing history and bridged the gap between marketing and customer experience.
In other words, traditional marketing was diminished. For the past years, traditional marketing’s function has been to do what it takes to attract and acquire customers but it’s never been about retention.
Unfortunately, when brands focus more heavily on doing what it takes to bring new customers in the door, e.g., discounts, promotions, freebies, etc., they do different things and do things differently than when they focus on what it takes to keep the customer.
More P’s for better solutions
It’s not all about the 4P’s anymore which are Product, Price, Place, and Promotion. Now, with an online presence and strong brand awareness, marketing evolved more than the 4P’s which includes:
- Planning
- Presentation
- Passion
- Perception
- Process
- Promise
- Purpose
- Packaging
- Positioning
- Platform
- Productivity (efficiency and quality)
- People (employees, customers, vendors)
- Partnerships
- Physical evidence (touchpoints)
Marketing is knowing and understanding customers so well that the product or service fits and sells itself to the person.
As you can see, these factors have evolved and branched out over the years. This means that when traditional marketing is not working anymore, businesses have to look more closely with their teams to deliver a better experience from the moment the customer has a need and becomes aware of the brand!
