Every year teaches us a few new digital marketing lessons to help us grow our businesses, and this year did not disappoint. Here’s what we learned in 2020.
For future historians, the year 2020 is going to be a treasure trove. Hey, it’s not every year you get to witness political division wrapped inside a historic presidential election wrapped inside a global pandemic—a veritable Frankenstein’s turducken of an era.
For the rest of us still trapped inside this absurdist painting come to life, this year can’t end soon enough (please make it stop).
In the meantime: we’re here sitting in it, why not try to learn from the experience?
Here are some of the business and digital marketing lessons we learned this year at ZenChange Marketing.
Every Business Needs a Digital Presence
If the last 12 months has taught us anything as a digital marketing firm, it’s that every business can benefit from a digital presence. When news started coming in about how bad the pandemic was going to be, we were worried.
We are, after all, a digital marketing firm whose target client is the average small business. And when times get tough, it’s usually the small businesses that suffer most. While we have seen our share of challenges this year, business growth was not one of them. As the lockdowns began taking effect, we had many small businesses contact us to learn about our services.
The pandemic has definitely demonstrated just how important it is for every business to have a website and to create content.
You Never Know When You Will Need to Be Flexible
We had years to prepare for the possibility of a pandemic, and many of us were still caught off guard. Survival meant flexibility.
In our quest to help out our clients with valuable services, we decided to formalize some of our consulting with packaged services—in the end, we added a few new offerings, such as our podcasting service and our online academy service.
Standing for Something Is OK
When we look back on this year, I think one of the biggest takeaways for businesses is going to be that it is alright to stand up for something that might seem divisive. The unprecedented protests that we have seen spring up across the country calling for police accountability have inspired many people to show solidarity.
Businesses, which are usually hesitant to lend their voices to politics, showed up. We saw it up and down the board, from giants like Nike to the smallest of the small businesses, and they all said the same thing: Black Lives Matter.
Practice Empathy
Empathy is a critical human emotion. It communicates that when someone else is suffering we feel their pain. This year, with all the heartache and suffering going on, businesses that have been able to practice empathy have thrived. I’m not talking about pinning a feel-good talking point to your social media status (as important as that can be).
What I’m talking about is real empathy—putting yourself in your customers’ and clients’ shoes, seeing through their eyes. Sure, it’s just business, but it’s okay to show that you are a business made up of humans.
Want More Business and Digital Marketing Lessons?
If you have not done so already, now is the time to invest in your business. Do you have the know-how to succeed during these challenging times? We can help! Get in touch today to schedule a consultation.