2021 marketing strategy, digital strategy, marketing

4 Local Search Trends To Look Out For In 2021

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As we are in week two of this new year, myself and our marketing team at Successful Media, we’re delighted to share with you 4 Local Search Trends To Look Out For In 2021.

 

Google My Business (GMB)

Google My Business has grown into a very powerful business tool. No business can underestimate its control over potential new customers and the constant stream of business traffic. Google continues to invest in its business tools, constantly bringing updates to help consumers choose a business.

From safety information in light of Covid-19, highlight temporary closures, providing answers to give consumers new insights of business itself and of course google posts, events and offers. With yet another interface to update and stay on top of, we recommend you look for a service like www.successfulseo.ie that can manage it all for you.

 

Reviews

Reviews help consumers decide if they can trust a business and will become even more important to how Google ranks a business in 2021. As more and more people shop locally online, consumers will look at how a company responds to reviews on top review sites like Google and Facebook.

They will also look at the number of reviews a business has and their Google rating, with a higher Google rating leading to more conversions from local search.

Apple Maps

Apple Maps recently released a host of new features in Q4 of 2020. Apple Maps now offers users a more personalized guided experience of places and businesses using its service.

At Apple Maps core is privacy and this could be key in 2021 with consumers more vigilant than ever about what information they share online, you do not need to be logged in to use Apple Maps for example. Businesses should focus on claiming and optimizing their business on Apple Maps in 2021.

Worth a look www.successfulseo.ie works with many of Apple’s local data partners providing a solid path to updating and managing business information across Apple Maps.

Voice Search

Voice sales will continue to rise in 2021, 58% of consumers have used voice search to find local business information in the last year.

The accuracy and convenience of voice assistant devices like Alex, Amazon Echo and Google Home will help voice assistant sales reach over €30 billion in 2022. Similar to Apple Maps, it is difficult to add your business to these services directly, however www.successfulseo.ie network can do the job for you along with 30 other networks – http://successfulseo.ie/

MORE LOCK-DOWNS, NEW NORMAL, NEW WAYS TO PROMOTE YOUR BUSINESS

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As we head into another lock down this January 2021, this will not be the last one andin-fact we can expect many many more lock-downs to take place. This is part of one of the laws of nature, the law of Cause & Effect.Here is why & what you can do for your brand to thrive during periods of uncertainty and win more of the market-share in 2021!You see, these lock-down events are creating higher levels of uncertainty from our consumers your in marketplace but this is not an uncommon thing to happen.There are two marketing approach to take when marketing your brand during lock-downs.But before we look at these two marketing approaches, lets first consider one of natures laws: The of Cause & Effect:

‘The law of cause and effect states that: Every effect has a specific and predictable cause. Every cause or action has a specific and predictable effect. This means that everything that we currently have in our lives is an effect that is a result of a specific cause.’- Quantum Diaries.

And with the ‘feedback loop’ contained in this law, this feedback loop amplifies the initial cause and there for the result effect becomes greater.

This amplification chain of events thus becomes a viscous never ending cycle until a new cause outside the initial cause takes place.

Meaning from the one lock-down (the cause), the resulted effect is reduced COVID19 deaths (effect). Based on this result, the feedback loop repeats but at a gain this time. Meaning another lock-down or an extended lock-down period takes place much sever than the original lock-down to keep numbers down (the feedback loop), and this cycle is continuous, never ending until a new cause takes place. (for example the introduction of the new vaccine).

So what can we take from examining natures law of cause and effect is that, we must:

Expect further more lock-downs at extended periods for the next few years, post new vaccine treatments there will be new effects formed as a result of this product, causing a new cause to form, new levels of lock-downs or such similar new lock-down events introduced.

Why am I talking about a quantum physics formula when you are interested in marketing?

Here’s why and how you can use this to thrive when marketing your business in times of uncertainty.

Taking natures law of cause and effect, we can form the hypothesis that the consumers in our marketplace are experiences effects from each lock-down event at a greater effect each time round, causing them to react different each time.

These effects experienced by our consumers can mainly be grouped under the emotional feeling of ‘uncertainty’

The more lock-downs, the more people feel uncertain about making decisions, more confusion is thus formed from the chaos experienced as they struggle to make sense of the current circumstances, their inability to understand or predict their futures.

Therefor when marketing your brand, focus on increasing your customers/clients uncertainty levels:

1) Increasing certainty – Tell them the truth, what is really happening as apposed to leaving your customers/clients forming their own hypothesis on the chain of events that are taking place in your business. This could mean simple visuals, videos, or messages about new updates taking place or sharing some behind the scenes developments. let them know that you are still in operation mode and will continue to do so based on what they value from your brand.

2) Increase communicate – Provide helpful useful information on how your customers can engage with your business during these Lock-down periods and what they can expect when the next lock-downs take place, will there be a change of service delivery or a halt in production for example?

Once you have this information in place, use your online and offline marketing channels to promote these messages to increase certainty with your existing and new customers.

Message us if you need help with your marketing -> https://successfulmedia.ie/contact/

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 7/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 5/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

7. Preparing for The Next and Tackling the Future

As I write my research findings, it is the middle of April 2020, a time when we are in the acknowledgement and adaptation phase of the Covid-19 pandemic. While we are adapting to the present it is just as important to adapt life after the crisis and beyond.

When we are in the depth (the present) of a crisis, if possible we should demonstrate how our company is going “above and beyond” in all possible ways that point to a silver lining of the pandemic experience. Here we want to make it evident that our company is well-positioned to maintain its revised business model until things return to normal, sending a signal out stating that the company is weathering the storm.

What is also important here is that we highlight how our company has learnt from the pandemic experience, as well these learnings might improve the way our company operates after the pandemic ends. Begin by establishing a timeline for when you will re-evaluate the changes to your company’s operations.

Tackling life after a crisis, Janet Balis, principal with Ernst & Young, from her piece on Harvard business review, Janet states that; as we navigate what we know, marketing leaders must work externally to keep their brands and customer journeys as whole as possible, while working internally to do three things:

  1. Understand the impact of business interruption and continue to triage the unexpected.
  2. Lean into digital ways of working and connecting with customers, knowing that this will likely have lasting effects.
  3. Mitigate risks to the customer experience by thinking realistically from the outside-in.

Unquestionably, there is a forced acceleration of the digital transformation agenda as we recognize how quickly customers and employees have embraced digitally enabled journeys and experiences.

While all brands are having to rethink, operate and lead in new ways during unprecedented circumstances, we will come out the other side stronger from what we have learnt.

When in a time such as the COVID-19 pandemic crisis or an economic downtime, this is the perfect time to try and reach more of your consumers in a new way. If you or your company have been planning or wanting to create a new social media channel, launch a new marketing campaign, start a podcast or any new activity that will engage the company to innovating how they are reaching existing and new customers, then there’s never been a better time than today. This is the time, today’s world brings is fulfilled with tremendous possibilities of endless opportunities, you just have to innovate.

In the next section, we will go through how you can deploy and test new ways to reaching your consumers online. We will cover the best tools to use and how to use these tools to deliver your marketing message covered in the above sections.

8. Top 7 Ways to Deliver Your Brand Message During an Economic Downtime Or Crisis– click here to continue reading.

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 6/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 5/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

6. Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Company

A mentor of mine and in my opinion, he is one of the greatest business leaders of our 21st century, Mr Daniel Steven Peña also known as Dan Peña, founder of The Guthrie Investments Group, created a company taking it from zero to $450 million in just 8 short years at the time of his exit, has consistently without fail re enforced the concept of “where there is chaos, there is order” throughout his business career.

I have found this statement to be such a true profound invaluable reminder of life, a vision statement that I use when creating marketing strategies both our clients and my own marketing campaigns. If we can understand the concept of chaos creates order and where there is order there is opportunity.  Sun Tzu, author of The Art of War, demonstrates that chaos presents opportunity for innovation.

Beyond the re assurance of customers that your company’s existing value propositions will remain the same, it is vitally important that your customers are aware of the innovations that are being put in place because of what has risen from dealing with the ongoing global crisis. As they say, necessity is the more of invention.

Share and let your existing customers know of how you are servicing them in new ways. Reach out to new potential customers by offering new products or services that solve a new problem. According to Ted Waldron’s publication on Harvard business review, “Ensure That Your Customer Relationships Outlast Coronavirus”, Ted provided a great example on how some liquor and food companies are changing how they are operating with the customers value proposition in hand. Fuddruckers the hamburger chain recently decided to address the bread shortages in grocery shops by baking their own loaves and selling these loves directly to the consumers.

Other examples include how liquor companies are now producing hand sanitiser from the alcohol that they distil, as a response to combating the global sanitiser shortages.

Companies that take the necessary measures and promote these changes to let the consumers become more aware of the changes, doing so will inject hope into their consumers worries and fears. The more that consumers can see how companies are developing ways to making their lives better, the stronger the bond between the consumer and the company becomes.

7. Preparing for The Next and Tackling the Future– click here to continue reading.

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 5/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 4/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

5. Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue.

Companies should promote as often as they can on how they’re going the extra mile to continue honouring the company values.

Tell and show consumers, despite the upheaval in how you operate, you will continue to provide the things that your consumers have come to know and love the most about your company, the defining reasons why they patronise your business instead of others.

By understanding that what your consumers value the most,  and by value, we mean the little details about your service, this could simply translate to what your consumers valuing the most is the thoughtful nature of your customer service being one of the most important reasons why they continue to buy from you, if this is true, then tell them how you are going to maintain the fulfilment of these value propositions.

For example, Hans Wittlers Automotive, a North American, vehicle repair service based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Hans Wittlers Automotive prides itself on the company’s convenience and safety.

Hans Wittlers have recently implemented a home pick up service, this is where the staff at the company are picking up vehicles for repair at customers’ homes and return them later once the repair has been completed, which by offering this service, it shouts out to the consumers; dedication, hard work, commitment but above all convenience and safety.

This is the exact reason why companies like Hans Wittlers will continue to prevail in difficult circumstances by winning the support and loyalty of its consumers.

When elaborating on the key points of assurance, it is vitally important to remind consumers that your company’s value propositions, e.g. what your consumers value the most about your company, will transcend the obstacles imposed by this or any future crisis.

6. Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business – click here to continue reading.

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 4/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 3/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

4. Educate Customers on Service Changes

When marketing and advertising, another important campaign to deploy is an educational based campaign.

Your customers are in a state of worry and distract, your goal for running  educational campaigns is to tell about all the changes to your operations and how they can interact with your business, including information, from as basic as new hours of operations, facility closures, staff reductions, customer service availability, ordering options and any other service that is of importance to those whom your business serves.

This is also a great opportunity to test new ways of delivering your service.

While you can reference the emergency government regulations that necessitated these changes, your brand should be viewed as being proactive and motivated by the company’s customer’s best interests.

As an example, Apple Inc, anticipated that the forced store closing was coming, and they closed their stores before the government ordered it.

Apple proactively acted by reaching out to their entire customer list to encourage online shopping, focusing their marketing message to emphasis on their convenient return policies and responsive call services that could help customers with problems and questions.

My views here have been derived from Ted Waldron, associate professor of management at Texas Tech University’s Rawls College of Business. Harvard business review article.

5. Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue.  – click here to continue reading. https://successfulmedia.ie/part-5-14-surviving-and-thriving-during-a-slow-economy-howto-market-your-company-during-an-economical-crisis/

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 3/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 2/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

3. Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing

People remember how they are made feel, similarly to brands, people will remember brands for their acts of good in a time of crisis, especially if the act is done from the heart and generosity.

This can be achieved from donations to the community, continuing to pay employees even when the business is shut or providing time or products for medical personnel/organisations fighting against Coronavirus.

Consumers will likely remember how companies like Ford and 3M partnered to repurpose manufacturing capacity, putting their workforce back to work to make respirators and ventilators that help fight Coronavirus.

So, what can you do for your brand?

Create Feel-good content that will help ease the anxiety of your customers and those yet to become customers of your brand by sharing positive messages.

While it is important to show positivity, this must be ethnic, companies must show their contributions are material and not solely for commercial benefits.

Humans recognise authenticity and connect with those that display a true purpose.

3. Educate Customers on Service Changes – click here to continue reading.

marketing, digital marketing, ngalinda mrmarketing, virgin media, tv, ireland

Part 2/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy – HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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Summary:

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

To read our previous article, part 1/14: Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy, click here.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

2. Use Social Media in More Agile Ways

When circumstances change, so must brand messages. Nothing shuts out louder in your industry than ‘outdated’ marketing messages. i.e. companies that continue to promote the same brand message that worked a few days, weeks or months back must change their approach, quickly pivot to a message that best reflects on what consumers are currently feeling, otherwise, the brand message paints a brand image being ‘outdated’ and empathic.

This causes consumers to think that if the brand is not up to speed with what is happening, how good is their service delivery?

Nike, for example, immediately moved to adopt a new message: “Play inside, play for the world.” And to promote social distancing and show a commitment to public safety, Chiquita Brands removed Miss Chiquita from their logo. “I’m already home. Please do the same and protect yourself,” its Instagram caption read.

While it is important to alternative your brand message within your advertising, avoid over mentioning the situation, reframe from having over-exposure of the same frequent message reflecting on the environmental change i.e. do not over push marketing messages with the current challenge of in mind (Coronavirus), as these creatives can damage brand equity.

3.. Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing – click here to continue reading.

digital marketing agency ireland, ngalinda, marketing, uk

Surviving And Thriving During A Slow Economy: HowTo Market Your Company During An Economical Crisis

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We are going through some very strange times in today’s world, while everyone is being affected from the side effects that the Coronavirus has caused to the world, from a health level to an economical level, as we must use this time in life and business to prepare for the future.

Top 7 Best Marketing Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Business During an Economic Downtime or Crisis

We are experiencing uncertainty in the marketplace as I write this on the 8th of April 2020. The Coronavirus has ushered in some strange times for all of us. Companies of all sizes, large and small have sent their employees to work from home, schools and universities have even had to shut their doors from students attending onsite classes, with some small local businesses in my town being been forced to close down due to financial constraints.

While we are experiencing some difficult and uncertain times, we must remember that this isn’t here for life! It has not come to stay, but it has come to pass. What we’re now experiencing is temporary. It might not be easy, but we’ll come out the other end stronger. As we head into a global recession in 2020, with a soon to come slow economy, now is the perfect time to act on the preparation of our business should we want to survive and thrive life post CoronaVirus.

I believe that preparation is the major key ingredient to any individual or organization that’s looking to achieve their set targets.

There has never been a time to strategically build your business and focus on the strength of your connections then there is today.

As a digital marketer, in the last few weeks, I have been busy researching from thought leaders, to the opinions of some of the industries top fortunate 500 CEOs and all the way to reviews from Harvard business school and other such publications, compiling the best marketing strategies for our clients and others alike to use for surviving and thriving life after COVID19, not to mention that soon after COVID19 as mentioned earlier, we will be entering a slowing economy (a recession), this slow economy will require you to change your marketing approach, so let’s get prepared in advance.

Here is my take on the top 7 key marketing points that companies should consider when adapting their marketing efforts during this crisis and a slowing economy. These points are derived from the top industry articles covering marketing tactics during the Coronavirus crisis.

In my book new book ” Best Marketing Strategies for Surviving and Thriving in Business During an Economic Downtime or Crisis.”, we take a look at the research I have conducted for you to highlighting the best approaches that your business should take when marketing during a slow economy or a global crisis. This is the best time to build stronger relationships that lead to a higher life time value of our consumers, repeat business and referrals overload.

Throughout this blog series, together we will be covering the following topics below at a more in depth, including the tactics, marketing tools/software to use and the plans for you to deploy within your marketing campaigns during these unprecedented times ahead, we will cover:

  • HowTo Communication with Empathy & Transparency
  • HowTo Use Social Media in More Agile Ways
  • HowTo Promote Positivity & Goodwill in Your Marketing
  • HowTo Educate Customers on Service Changes
  • HowTo Tell and Show Consumers How the Company’s Values Will Continue
  • HowTo Innovate What Your Customers Value About Your Business
  • HowTo Prepare for The Next and Tackling the Future

Bonus: we will also cover the ‘Top 7 Ways to Deliver Your Brand Message During an Economic Downtime Or Crisis’ and much more.

So let us begin with the first key point:

  1. Communication with Empathy & Transparency

These uncertain times bring a lot of uncertainty, uncertainty causes us, humans, to develop emotions of worry. People are worried and this worry is causing us all to feel a greater sense of vulnerability. Therefore, Empathy in our marketing is critical now at a time of crisis. We must connect with the changing world and the emotions of the buyers in our marketplace.

Presenting empathy can be achieved in many ways, for example, many banks have moved to waive overdraft fees, recognising the hardship on their customers. With other organisations like SAP, have made it’s Qualtrics Remote Work Pulse platform free to companies who might be rapidly transitioning to new ways of working mentions Janet Balis, a principal with Ernst & Young, Harvard business review, April 2020 article.

In times of uncertainty, we don’t have all the answers, but we must recognise this and admit this to the public. Honesty builds trust and trust is the foundation of any successful relationship.

The ideation of, my views have been derived from an article researched from Harvard Business Review, “Brand marketing through coronavirus crisis”, Hbr.org

2. Use Social Media in More Agile Ways – click here to continue reading.

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