The whole world has united in its efforts to thwart this disease. Lives across the world have changed and our working life is completely different to the way it was before the outbreak.

With more people working from home and face-to-face interaction all but disappeared – how will marketing and sales function differently in the future? No one knows for sure, but these are a few theories on how marketing will change in the immediate future.

Marketing will be approached cautiously but could be a company’s saving grace

Latest figures reveal that digital advertising spend is down, understandable in the current climate. Everyone is being more cautious and this will continue over the next few months. If you’re a marketer, now is the time to act. As we move into the next phase of ‘normality’, it’s time to start ploughing ahead with your marketing efforts.

Digital marketing is where it’s at

The emphasis currently is on digital marketing; websites and social media. With limited social interaction, these methods of communication are vital, particularly in retail. Ensuring you’re prepared to manage the changes in demand is essential and a robust website is an absolute must!

Consider investing in SEO and Google Adwords if you haven’t done so before – it can help your business to reach more customers.

Keeping your social media feeds up to date is reassuring for customers, as it shows you’re operational and can answer questions quickly. Using these channels to regularly communicate will create trust with your audience.

Zoom meetings not Board Room meetings

For many, the fact meeting face-to-face meetings haven’t been possible will have affected their communication with customers and stakeholders. Some will have come into their own! Attending meetings can be too much for some, but the familiar location of a living room or home study promotes confidence to be more vocal about opinions and projects.

Love it or loathe it, this element of lockdown may be here to stay, so it’s important to interact positively during video meetings. Pick a quiet room, with good light and a decent internet connection to prevent embarrassing mid-call issues occurring!

If you’re working from home long term, ensure you find out what kind of reimbursement you’re entitled to for things such as internet and electricity allowance.

We’ve overcome adversity and learnt to adapt

Lockdown and social distancing has spawned a new way of working. There’s a new army of experts who have pioneered during the crisis, finding their own ways to overcome adversity. Adapting to the rules and regulations in place is essential during this time and it pays to think outside the box.

Independent restaurants have found ways to offer delivery and collection of food, engineering their infrastructure to accommodate the changes. Estate Agents are now offering virtual house viewings and outdoor working spaces are springing up to promote safer working environments.

You may need to rethink the processes involved in running your business to adhere to social distancing rules – make sure you keep your customers updated.

Drastic changes to marketing plans

Working from home is the new norm and video conferencing is a way of life. Any plans for exhibitions, seminar attendance, workshops and conferences have now come into question. You may have found certain product promotions could now be redundant under the current circumstances.

For some companies, this means a complete rethink of marketing opportunities over the coming months. Email marketing will most likely play a bigger factor in customer communication as consumers look forward to offers that will entice them into parting with their money.

To overcome this, it’s important to have an efficient website, social media and email marketing strategy with sufficient product demand. If your original plans fall short of the mark – don’t write them off completely, just think differently.

Supporting local

Many are looking forward to the opening of non essential stores in their area, but if there’s one thing we’ll take away from this; it’s ‘shop local’. We’ve come together to support local businesses and that looks set to continue long after the world starts to return to normal. New habits are being formed, changing how we shop and who we are marketing to.

So many companies have made donations to charities tackling the crisis and are giving away things to frontline workers to show appreciation. If there’s one thing the pandemic has brought out in the UK, it’s a sense of camaraderie.

If you’ve had to start from scratch on your marketing plans for 2020, or need help managing an increasingly popular website or social media feed – get in touch with The Copy by emailing howdy@thecopy.uk.