Despite some restrictions being lifted, we are still in the thick of it, and while it has only been a few months, the world is already working very differently.

As a business, it is important to understand how customer behaviour has and will change amidst the global pandemic and how the repercussions will not only affect your business, but could actually benefit from it.

Here are four marketing trends we expect to see more of in the not-too-distant future.

1: Expect to see more e-commerce

It is an incredibly sad reality that many businesses have had to close due to the financial pressures of COVID-19. Even before this, we were gradually saying our goodbyes to many brick-and-mortar businesses thanks to a persistent shift towards online shopping.

These days, more people are spending time in their homes and, therefore, more time online. To maintain social distancing, big names like Bunnings are dealing with longer and longer queues, contributing to a continual decline when it comes to in-store traffic.

That said, people are spending more of their money online, negating the need to visit a store. If you sell goods (and even services) to customers, but they cannot spend money with you online, then now is the time to consider introducing e-commerce capabilities through your website.

2: Expect to see more printed marketing material in your mailbox

With remote working becoming the norm, we are all spending more time at home.

Businesses are taking advantage of this by increasing their expenditure on letterbox marketing. Whether it is the local pizza shop blanket-dropping unaddressed mail in their area, or a pet store delivering direct mail catalogues to everyone in their database, you can expect to see more print landing in your letterbox.

3: Expect to see more augmented reality

With people consuming both online media and printed material in larger doses, more marketers are likely to adopt augmented reality (AR) as time goes on.

In a nutshell, AR is an upgrade from the 2D QR codes, which are limited to providing instant links to websites, text, or images.

Not only is AR a more engaging, adaptable, and exciting tool, but it also has the ability to track and measure the audience reach, engagement, and location.

In the world of AR marketing, a homeowner could scan an image from a furniture catalogue and be shown how that leather sofa might look like in their living room – virtually.

4: Expect to see more marketing automation

Smart marketers need to take advantage of the current climate.

As businesses feel the effect of the crisis, there is a mounting need for more efficient marketing. Some businesses simply cannot afford human resources and the cost of lost opportunities; hence, there is a growing requirement for marketing automation solutions.

Marketing automation allows businesses to automate many of their marketing, operational, and transactional initiatives.

For example, a potential customer might visit your website and leave without making a purchase or lodging an enquiry, but that does not have to be the end of their engagement.

With a robust marketing automation strategy, you can continue nurturing customers in the hopes of eventually converting them through targeted and sophisticated automated campaigns that include special offers, birthday discounts, relevant product information, and much more.

At The Station, we provide a full suite of marketing services. Talk to our team of experts today to start your journey.