Customer Centric Marketing in Unprecedented Times with MoEngage and Adjust

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic has proved to be a very challenging time for the world. It has changed our outlook toward everything, be it personal life or business. Speaking of business, the pandemic has made people rethink their strategies as the demands and preferences of customers seem to have changed drastically. This trend is especially challenging for marketers who now have to come up with unique, out-of-the-box strategies not only to attract new customers but also to retain the existing ones by keeping them engaged with the brand.

Several companies have devised many unique and clever ideas to ensure customer engagement and boost sales even during these trying times. While some have succeeded and surpassed expectations, others are struggling. But one thing is for sure. This pandemic period has taught marketers to think differently for the benefit of their customers as well as the company without sidelining the human aspect.

An informative webinar by Kshitij Hastu, Senior Director of Growth at Moengage and Michael Paxman, Global Product Communications Manager at Adjust, shed light on how customer-centric marketing strategies can help businesses grow in these unprecedented and challenging times.

Trends in Customer Engagement Metrics During the Pandemic

Moengage compiled metrics relating to some customer engagement data points from Australian and Southeast Asian markets to get an idea about how the entire landscape looks right now when the world is fighting the pandemic. These metrics made it clear that restrictions and worldwide impact due to COVID-19 are responsible for downward trends in major industrial sectors. For instance, in the Travel and Hospitality sector, a dip in Daily Active Users (DAUs) and Monthly Active Users (MAUs) could be seen from as early as February 2020, and by early March, the drop became even steeper. Similarly, in the Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) sector, the conversion rates have been falling gradually from February 2020 without much recovery. The Mobility sector has been impacted, too, with a sharp decline in app downloads and a subsequent decrease in DAUs. The Real Estate and Rentals sector has been hit hard as well.

Looking at these trends, the question one needs to ask is why. Why are all customer engagement metrics showing a decline? The answer is both simple and complex, and the reasons are multiple. To start with, the entire economic future of the global industry has become very uncertain, thanks to all the restrictions forced on the world by the pandemic. With many businesses shut down and millions losing their jobs, the world seems to be on the verge of recession. The consumer expenditure landscape has shown a rapid shift from luxury & recreational products to essential & functional products.

It is also worth noting that due to imposed restrictions such as social distancing, lockdowns, and work from home, people are now spending more time online rather than physically visiting retail brand outlets. It is needless to say that everyone is concerned about the health and safety of their loved ones. Taking a cue from this, online marketers took to volunteering and CSR initiatives and shared them with their customers, which was taken very well as a gesture of humanity in these trying times. Such brands earned more customer support rather than others that stuck with their older strategies.

So, at the time of COVID-19, online marketers need to devise more customer-centric strategies to establish healthier and more effective communication with their clients. Such an interaction would not only build positive relationships but also help retain them in the long run. And it is obvious that retaining current customers is always more cost-effective than acquiring new ones.

Retaining Customers and Bouncing Back

So then, how do you retain your customers in these challenging times? A deep thought needs to be given to this while devising an effective customer-centric strategy for your online buyers. Marketers can do a couple of things to make them feel good about the brand and gain their loyalty.

Considering the overall atmosphere of economic stability, customers can be given free access to services for a limited period of time. Identifying and offering what the customer wants by understanding his/her online behaviour is another thing that can be done. This will help create brand goodwill in the mind of a customer. Offering attractive deals and discounts and providing flexible and easy payment options also goes a long way in ensuring customer engagement on online platforms. Lastly, considering the sheer quantity of online content being consumed by customers since lockdown, posting free informative content in the form of blogs, updates, reviews, etc., would also prove to be extremely helpful in educating customers.

Personalisation has proven its worth in the past, and even now, this online marketing strategy is expected to hit the bull’s eye. However, now, marketers need to do something above and beyond what they did previously. Do whatever they may, the important thing for marketers to remember is that they need to be empathetic toward their customers while maintaining brand authenticity.

The Path Forward

Although some industries like Travel and Tourism have shown a decline with respect to online customer behaviour, some others like Healthcare and FMCGs have actually shown an upward trend. The key to keeping customers engaged and gaining their loyalty is to study user behaviour carefully and identify their needs and demands. But it doesn’t stop there. Ensuring that the online user experience is easy and convenient is vital too. For instance, deep linking users so that they are directly taken to a page that shows their preferences can go a long way.

But to do all this, it is critical to shortlist the right metrics, which can give a fair idea of customer behaviour. Moreover, automation would play an important part to organise the entire process of gathering and analysing essential metrics so that marketers can focus on their main job – marketing.