By Farris Rivers
In this article, we will take a look at how the face of marketing has changed with the rise of the current pandemic. What was directly affected by the pandemic? With marketing being a field that is ever-changing, how have marketing professionals adjusted to said changes?
Pre-pandemic Marketing
How was marketing being done before the rise of covid-19? Looking back at traditional marketing and how the consumer was reached, traditional marketing was the way to go if you wanted to make a solid investment. This form of marketing used channels such as Billboards, Broadcasting, Print, Direct Mail, Telemarketing, Window displays, etc. To some this type of marketing may seem a bit outdated, but it really depends on the target market and the type of business that is being promoted. With that being said, marketing is one career that is ever-changing and evolving. With the rise of social media, marketing has become more digital than the traditional way of doing things.
Marketing in a pandemic
Marketing was taking more of a digital approach before the pandemic. After the pandemic started, people have been spending more time online. The change in the amount of time that is spent online can be contributed to jobs that have gone from the office to remotely working at home. For some time at the beginning of the pandemic, most of the country was on lockdown. With this came an influx in online shopping and at this point the way customers were reached changed. Marketers have taken advantage of the online platform to give the customer more of a personal view of who they are and what they do. One of the main goals in marketing has always been to be innovative and to meet the customers where they are.
Where do we go from here?
Now that just about every form of shopping is done online, how does one level up and reach their target market? There are a few ways to approach marketing in today’s climate, but the key thing to remember is that the traditional rules of marketing will always apply. These rules include making yourself known (networking), taking the potential competition seriously, keeping up with the movement of the consumer in your market, and pleasing the customer. The only difference is that this is mainly done online due to the pandemic. This can be compared to that of online dating, which has been a thing for quite some time now.
Conclusion
This article gives a breakdown of the changes that have come about after the start of the pandemic. When looking at how marketing has evolved from traditional to the vast majority of marketing being digital, it is clear to see the adjustments that needed to be made in order for the marketer to stay relevant and to continue to reach their target market. Online shopping has been the way of shopping for many that enjoyed the convenience of it, but it has grown due to the pandemic and restrictions that were enforced at the beginning. The real question is, would this change have come about without the pandemic being a factor?
