Those in the marketing world felt the immediate impact of the pandemic as everyone was now at home and online. This change in consumer behavior led to an increased demand for content and an uptick in expectations for new dynamic experiences across platforms. And while there are different tools and unique approaches available for marketers to connect and engage with their audiences, the pandemic has taught us that it can be impossible to tackle everything at once when complexity arises.
One of the best lessons learned over the past two years has been prioritizing the tasks that have the greatest impact. The ability to better leverage your current capabilities and investing in technology that can adapt as you adapt are also major takeaways coming out of the pandemic.
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With the above in mind, let’s dive in.
Lesson #1: Move Quickly To Meet Demands and Expectations
Every industry shifted from a proactive to reactive mindset at the start of the pandemic, with most companies assessing how they could change as quickly and efficiently as possible to maintain their business. With people spending more time online than ever before, there was an intense urgency within the marketing world to adjust thinking and every tactic quickly. Marketers learned the importance of accelerating and prioritizing the right products, solutions, and services to meet new consumer demands. Those who could pinpoint which projects and tasks would make the biggest impact and could be done quickly were successful.Â
One of the biggest examples of this (that nearly everyone felt the impact of) was the food service industry. Restaurant owners needed to immediately ramp up their online presence as they relied on take-out orders to keep their businesses afloat while also leaning on reduced staff to make it all happen. An optimized online experience for their loyal customers and their staff was the key to success for most restaurants during this time and will be an absolute necessity for the food service industry from now on.
Lesson #2: Seek Out Efficiencies in Unexpected Places
For some marketers, rather than undergoing a tech stack overhaul to connect with their audience, the pandemic forced them to reassess how they’re leveraging the tools they already had in their toolkits and/or implement seemingly small efficiencies within their processes that make a big difference.
One example is incorporating segmentation and modular content capabilities, which entails breaking content down to the smallest usable component and reassembling the components as needed for different audiences and channels. Without modular content capabilities, publishers, editors, and marketers have to create content for each medium or audience from scratch, which is time and resource-intensive.Â
But because borders are disappearing with our distributed workforce and consumer demand for content has skyrocketed, the expectation today is that content will be available across all mediums (print, desktop, mobile, apps, wearables) and cater to all locations and languages. To that, those that implemented (or fine-tuned) segmentation and a modular content strategy within their content management system better positioned themselves to deliver on consumer demands through a simplified approach, one that also saves time and money.
This is digital transformation, but it’s working with what you have and refining what’s most important.Â
Lesson #3: Invest in Technology That Can Adapt Alongside You
With everyone spending more time on digital devices and platforms, we’ve all come to expect to receive relevant content across all our channels. Otherwise, we’ll find a new source for information that better meets our needs. With this, it became a “must†to create a digital environment that allowed marketing teams to collaborate remotely while continuing to execute efficiently for their customers.Â
An API-first CMS solution does exactly that; it removes back-end dependencies and frees up teams to work in parallel on projects that bring the quickest value to both customers and the business. Furthermore, a headless approach can help teams distribute content across channels quickly while collecting customer data from those touchpoints that then feed into the 360-degree customer view. It also offers the flexibility to adapt in the future to changing customer needs and business priorities.
Having the right tools and technology to ensure teams can continue to be successful from anywhere — while also meeting and exceeding customer expectations — is essential today and moving forward and will always be worth the investment.
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A Leadership Lesson To Carry With You
The leaders that went into the pandemic focusing on the top priorities that would allow them to keep delivering for stakeholders while accelerating those projects in tandem to improve stakeholder and audience experiences are those that found success.
But of course, we must acknowledge that this period won’t be our last “turbulent time.†So as a leader, it’s essential always to be forward-thinking and have a keen awareness of what’s best for the business, your employees, and your audiences. Those who keep a pulse on the most important things to accomplish each day, week, and month and ensure they can pivot as needed will be in a solid position to handle future crises gracefully. As we look ahead toward an ever-changing future, this perhaps will be what is most important in the long run.Â
What are some of the lessons from the pandemic you intend to implement to continue to succeed? Let us know on FacebookOpens a new window , TwitterOpens a new window , and LinkedInOpens a new window .