Local Digital Marketing in 2021: What to Expect

Consumer Behavior Has Changed and Chances Are, It’s Permanent 

Now, perhaps more than ever before, consumers want options when it comes to doing business. “Visit our showroom” or “stop by for a consultation” is not always feasible and some customers are simply no longer comfortable in these situations. 

Instead, consumers want choices. Feel comfortable visiting our showroom? Great, come on in. Prefer a virtual consultation? Awesome, let’s set it up. Don’t want people inside your home unnecessarily? No problem, let’s do a video walk through. 

And this change in consumer behavior is not likely to go away anytime soon. 

So, marketing your local business in 2021 will not be the same as years past.  Where do you go from here?  How do you plan for the upcoming year?  Here are a few points to keep in mind. 

Focus on Google My Business Listings 

We regularly mention the importance of optimizing your Google My Business (GMB) listing and you’ll find plenty of posts in our blog on the subject. That’s because a GMB listing has long since been an integral part of successful local marketing. 

This year, more than ever before, consumers needed a way to find information about local businesses. Regulations were constantly changing, which meant customers were looking to find out if a business was open, what the operating hours were, and how business was being handled. These consumers overwhelmingly turned to Google My Business for information. 

Calls originating from GMB increased 61% from January to July of this year.  Source 

This focus on Google My Business is not likely to go away anytime soon. If your GMB listing isn’t up-to-date (or worse yet, if you haven’t claimed it) make it a priority now. If your competitor’s GMB listing is fully optimized and yours is not, you can imagine where your potential customer’s mouse click will go. 

Embrace Digital Transformation 

For some companies, this year’s health crisis caused no drastic changes in the way they handled day-to-day business. They were already offering virtual appointments, online quote requests, and other web-based communication channels. But for many companies, this was a big change in their business model. 

In order to keep up with their competitors and, in some cases, in order to stay in business, companies had to quickly adapt to this new way of interacting with customers.  Meeting each client in person, scheduling face-to-face meetings, and hosting conference rooms full of people is no longer the norm, and we can expect this trend to continue well into 2021 and beyond.   

In fact, embracing digital transformation, modifying the way we connect with customers, and adopting new technology to best serve our clients is likely not a trend at all, but an actual shift in the way business is done from now on. 

Heading into next year, don’t assume you’ll be back to the way you “used to do things” once the health crisis is under control. Expect that your customers will continue to want alternative ways to do business with you and plan your marketing and communication strategy accordingly. 

Adopt Retention and Loyalty Marketing 

Let’s face it, the average person had a lot of time on their hands for the better part of 2020. Many of us spent more time at home this year than ever before. And during these days at home, consumers had the opportunity to spend plenty of time online, shopping, comparing, researching, and learning. This created a whole new breed of shrewd shoppers. 

The best price and the highest quality are no longer enough to entice the savvy consumer who has endless amounts of time to read reviews and research your competitors. In this environment, it’s all about giving your customers a reason to come back to you again and to share their experience with others. 

Customer retention and loyalty should be a focal point of your marketing plans heading into 2021. Remember, consumers want to stay loyal to a brand, but they won’t if you give them no reason to stick around.   

Looking Forward 

This isn’t the normal “what to expect next year” sort of wrap up. Instead, it’s more about “what to expect from now on.” The business world has changed; consumer behavior is different than it used to be and the way we do business has been altered. 

Planning your business model and marketing strategy for 2021 should be less about following strict rules and more about rolling with the punches, being flexible enough to meet your customers’ needs, and embracing change as a natural part of doing business.