Get Your Brand Ready for 2022

With over 75% of people vaccinated, Australia is prepared for life after the pandemic. The last 20 months bouncing in and out lockdown has changed the way people carry out their daily activities - be it managing office related work through video conference apps such as Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, etc., shopping online, learning new activities or simply wanting to watch entertainment on streaming services. Now that people have the choice to carry out these activities, here are some things that brands need to think about for 2022:

• Omnichannel Presence
• Build and Strengthen Digital Conversion paths
• Connect Digital and In-store Experience
• Adaptive Marketing Strategy

Omnichannel Presence
‍People move between online, offline and across different platforms while researching and/or looking for things they want or need to buy. For a new service sign up, 91% of Australians interacted with brands via two or more different channels, such as in-store, website, and app.

With a non-linear path to purchase, consumers rely on navigators like search engines, videos, maps and reviews. It is critical for brands to be present and in front of potential customers when users consumers are in the decision phase.

‍Build and Strengthen Digital Conversion Paths
‍76% of the Australians use the internet as a primary way to shop. 1 out of 3 consumers will select their second-choice brand over the first simply because it showed up when they were researching online. Once the marketing channels have done their part of appearing in front of the customers and getting them to the website, building a seamless path from product/service finding on the website all the way to checkout is crucial. Every business should prioritise website Search Engine Optimisation (SEO), analytics tools such as Google or Facebook Analytics to analyse traffic coming to the website along with other tools such as Google Search Console to identify the right audience.

‍Connect Digital and In-Store Experience Being present across channels, will give brands a better reach and better brand recall. That said, brands need to ensure there is seamless shopping experience for consumers who visit their website or in-store. Brands have consumer first party data now and should use the information along with the website analytics to create a friction free and consistent brand experience.

Using methods such as ‘purchase online’ and ‘click and collect’ can help brands address the gap between the online and offline experience.

‍Adaptive Marketing Strategy
‍Brands need to have a dynamic strategy and brand messaging. With new platforms and ad formats available in the market, consumers are experimenting it all. So why should brands stop at only Google, Facebook and Instagram. Only those that will continue to experiment will grow in the market. The pandemic has emphasised why brands need to be adaptable to the new ways of shopping. Sillyfish was launched during the pandemic and lockdown. We knew the same old school media marketing strategy wouldn’t work for our clients and now we work with clients to come up with a custom solution that drove business results.