We are no longer drifting into a digital world, we’ve landed.
Now What!
At BWCI, every year’s end, we take a look back at our industry to log the trends, celebrate the gains, and lick our wounds over the losses.
2021 was no different as we settled into the growing pains the pandemic in 2020 forced our industry to endure. I found our own BWCI marketing was put on hold to deal with the increased client and workload. This is not a complaint. I am grateful for the work and I dug in to do the best work for our clients in uncertain times. For both myself and my client's action was the best defense against the fear creeping in and becoming stuck in the crud.
Rolling into 2022 I find Big Water to be in the same position as all our clients. Navigating the new post COVID world. Yes, I’m not saying it’s over, but we are all coming to the realization that the first predictions were spot on. The effects will be with us for a decade.
So… It’s Time to:
Account, assess, adjust, and move forward.
Account: What we know
The move to online purchasing was accelerated.
Your online presence is key to your business’s survival.
Online marketing is diverse.
Micro and niche markets are possible and profitable with online marketing.
Assess:
Pandemic fatigue
What platforms performed for your business?
What Platforms did not?
What messaging worked or failed ( Elon Musk found the failures can tell you more than the successes)
Adjust
Pandemic fatigue
Dialing in the Customer Journey
Increasing your visibility
Finding your people online and connecting.
The Move Forward
Saying goodbye to the old ways and embracing the new.
The changes I have personally experienced. Start with what you know.
Dinning out - I will miss physical menus but being in tech I can see the advantage of connecting that last piece into the restaurant backend tech that has been in place for years.
Online shopping vs. The mall - That is a tough one to let go being the tactile, visual person that I am. But, I have to admit, I do not miss the hours of driving around it takes to shop.
If this old bird is learning new tricks, it’s safe to predict that there are millions like me who have adjusted too. Be aware of the changes around you.
What Next?
Take notice of the big players over the last two years.
Amazon came in like a lion and they did it with free shipping. Bezos did that for a reason. People want one searchable price with no ad-ons. The quick and clean purchasing approach was what they did to change online shopping forever.
Zoom was forced upon us and they rose to the occasion. Face to Face is a rare commodity now. Treat it as such, which means that you need to do business digitally 90% of the time. Build a digital system that works well.
Take notice of the little players.
This old bird is learning new tricks and there are a lot of people just like me. All purchasing habits HAVE changed with online deliveries of our weekly needs like food or coffee all the way up to cars delivered in days and even a major lifetime purchase, a new home. I pay attention to what my demographic is doing and I watch and learn from the people around me to gain knowledge of the demographics I may want to reach. Ask a lot of questions and listen to the answers.
What do you want to say and who do you need to say it to.
The beauty of online marketing is its ability to reach a focused group of people. Throwing a big net with outdated traditional marketing is expensive and ineffective. You don’t have to blitz people with a ton of emails and invasive ads. Find the people who want and need what you do and connect where they live work and play.
Launch
No time like the present.
It is time to stop languishing (so 2021), the wait and see approach will kill your business in 2022. Now is the time to get moving, create a plan, and put it into action. We do not know what lies in the future. We never did. But those that have thrived have one thing in common, they committed to moving forward, made a plan, and took action. Be consistent develop a daily ritual, a commitment to winning the marathon.
Time to flex those muscles and shed that weight you’ve piled on. Invest in your business future and reach out across your platforms to all those people you want to connect with. People who need what you do.
There is no better time to build up and out your business.
2022 is the year of the Launch
If it’s video content you need we at Big Water Ci. can help.
We create, post, and track video for online marketing.
Get to the Surface - Mobile - Desktop - Tablet.
Trina Gold
Master Creator