Digital Transformation has become a way of life for all of us. I am sure you have heard about the smart factories, industry 4.0, and the connected world that one can imagine.
Similarly, you can see the digital technology impact in our daily life’s as well. Whether it is ordering vegetables from BigBasket/Grofers, booking movie tickets on Bookmyshow, planning a foreign trip through TripAdvisor, everything happens with just a click of a button today.
Now with Covid 19 crisis in the world, the need for digital transformation has become essential to survive in these situations.
CORONAVIRUS (COVID 19). A new major pandemic of the year 2020 with some untraceable origin in Wuhan, China has been spotted & vigorously spreading in Europe, America, Middle East, Asia, in short, it has now clinched the whole world with almost 143 countries. This pandemic has turned out to be a disaster for the world economy but incredulous brunt on the marketing landscape. The only safety measures to be taken is social distancing. So, most of the countries have declared a Lockdown. India’s lockdown is harsher than in other countries.
What is Digital Transformation?
The term “Digitalization” has been around longer. Say about 300 years in history.
In 1703 Gottfried Wilhelm von Leibniz explained and envisioned the concept that would be known as “digitalization” in his publication Explication de l’Arithmétique Binaire.
Initially developed as a base-2 numerical system, using only two values, 0 and 1, the system was further developed and complemented by scholars such as George Boole (1854), Claude Shannon (1938), and George Stibitz during the 1940s. You can read more about this here; source Wikipedia:
After that, the process of digitalization enhanced with the development of personal computers with Apple II in 1977, IBM PC in 1981.
In the year 2000, digitalization was more widely used as a concept as an overall introduction of IT, increased usage of the internet on all levels. I am not talking about social media, Google, or apps as that has nothing to do with digitization.
As per Wikipedia, “Digital transformation is the change associated with the application of digital technology in all aspects of human society.”
In today’s context; now that everyone is mostly spending time at home due to lockdowns in various countries. Digital technology has become part of our daily lives even more than before. We are looking at a cultural change that requires organizations to use digital technology to change the way they do business radically.
Insights on Covid 19 effects on businesses
During these times, let us look at how a coronavirus has impacted different industries. With the spread of the virus globally, countries have shut borders. Travel restrictions for holidays or business have impacted industries like air travel, car bookings, hotel bookings, etc. Look at the below data closely to see the magnitude of the coronavirus’ impact.
On the brighter side, some industries have seen growth in their business, which was struggling before.
Impact on consumer behaviour
Let us see how COVID 19 has flicked the marketing impact & trends in consumer behaviour. Now the customers are anguished about new things.
- Consumer deviation will stay for long. Consumer’s income will descend directly affecting on reduced spending. They are now back to their discretionary expenditure. Although people have redirected towards digital mediums but product & services of almost all categories has dropped down in spending.
- Country lockdown at large is a project lockdown for the entrepreneurs. All the projects are on hold today, and nobody knows till when. Consumers’ sentiments have dropped down entirely. Their optimism has taken a back seat across the world. Despite this global pessimism, Asian countries at large have maintained with their confidence. Due to this significant lockdown, where the world is disconnected socially, fortuitously, we are now even more connected digitally. So that situation after lockdown can be aligned towards the businesses.
Marketing strategies during covid 19
Here are the points you can consider while planning a Digital marketing plan as an entrepreneur.
- Momentous switch in people’s shift & their habit. Earlier, significant time which was going in commuting, travel & hospitality, bars, restaurants, relaxation activities & outings have been replaced by time spent digitally. People are online on social platforms, e-commerce sites, online games, etc. Though the causative bounce of COVID 19 is still unknown in the coming few months globally, yet you can’t run your campaigns & projects on robotic mode. Today when the whole world is battling with the uncertainties of COVID 19, companies should replan their marketing activities considering the changing behaviour of their target audience. Hence the campaign should now uncover the opportunities which leave the customer with a long-term impact. During this lockdown period, digital advertising cost has decreased, thus an apparent time to take the audience’s leverage of strong waves on digital platforms like on social media or news sites.
- Alteration in Marketing endeavour. Wavering habits of customers & their timings have shown a real effect on marketing strategies, which has pushed marketers to revise their campaigns strategies. Due to Work from Home facilities, personal online time has increased. Also, all the companies have switched to their online platform. Outdoor advertisement expenses have declined significantly, and now businesses can take a lot of benefit from Digital Marketing. Try interacting with your target audience by some online live events. Utilize social media platform to engage your customer. Things insight will stay in mind.
- Revaluate the business need. This uncertainty is not controllable but one thing you can well plan to bridge a gap going to be visible after a COVID 19 effect. If you can do this, then you will know how to respond to this pandemic. Utmost important to Propose your marketing mechanism online. If it is not possible to shift online, then also you should project at least a brand presence online aligning with the changing trends in consumer behaviour.
Conclusion
Although the digital transformation was in its full swing even before this pandemic, hence we need to reassess our business and marketing strategies.
Now that we are following social distancing, our online behaviour of ordering foods, essential items, shopping has changed. We are all getting adapted to these new changes.
By looking at the above graph with an increase in activities on social networks, shopping on e-commerce, online streaming has given businesses direction to explore new marketing opportunities.
Need guidance on how you can transform your organization or business with digital technology. Contact me now for digital transformation consultancy.