COVID-19 & Commerce: How Digital Marketing is Helping Businesses Fight Back
In a COVID-19-stricken world, businesses are scrambling to act in one of the worst economic crises in history. While many aspects of the future are unknown, one thing is certain: the economic landscape has drastically changed and will continue to do so.
As once privileged terms such as “work from home” and “virtual conference” have entered our daily lexicon, store capacity cuts have resulted in lines pouring down sidewalks, and some businesses have seen their doors shuttered entirely. Despite the hardships endured and those to follow, many businesses have found a model capable of fighting these changes and prevailing through the crisis: e-commerce.
This is not to say that e-commerce is a new thing. In fact, most of the largest businesses throughout the world have managed to scale at unprecedented rates through its use and optimization, shifting with their audience base toward online purchases and rapid fulfillment. What we are now witnessing, however, is COVID-19 acting as a catalyst, propelling even more businesses to adopt e-commerce models.
With this, user expectations for what “good e-commerce” means has continued to expand, from suggested products and smooth online checkout flow to data security and rapid delivery. This is the time all companies need to look at their online footprint and understand the myriad tools available for e-commerce.
The digital market has become a haven for businesses large and small, offering online opportunities for customers to connect, purchase, and carry on.
For e-commerce professional Carlos Camacho and Kaman Distribution, e-commerce has allowed for a smooth transition into this new world. Using Google’s Merchant Center and Product Listing Ads, Kaman has been able to keep its products readily available to manufacturing plants around the world during their busiest times – products that are still being searched for and sought out despite regardless of the pandemic.
Product Listing Ads allow companies like Kaman to easily list their products through Google and their search partners. By combining Google’s expansive networks and the data from your custom Merchant Center, these advertisements are shown to customers searching for your products, resulting in better-qualified leads.
In a period where some industries are at an all-time sales low, e-commerce has allowed companies to maintain their market share, stay in front of customers, and even expand in ways never before considered.
But that’s not enough for Kaman. Beyond expanding their marketing channels, they have put tremendous time and attention into improving their onsite customer experience, pushing through changes that make a large impact, such as improving onsite search experiences for customers (with auto-fill fields now available) and improving image caching so pages load faster. These items – once nice to have-s’ are quickly becoming necessities during COVID-19 enforced quarantines, with longer-lasting implications as to customer expectations of what an e-commerce experience really is.
If getting started in this digital landscape seems like a tall task, Rebel is here. Our team of digital media specialists can help you and your business find your way, from creating your own online storefront to defining (or redefining) your brand and getting your message out through digital mediums. Let’s tackle this brave new world together.