2020 was a year in which the spread of the new coronavirus had a major impact on our lives and work. Under such circumstances, how have corporate marketing activities been affected?
Innova Co., Ltd. conducted a “survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection.” As a result, the following points were clarified.
- Many companies believe that the new coronavirus has had a negative impact on marketing activities.
- As measures to prevent the spread of the new coronavirus infection, many companies have taken measures such as “using online seminars” and “introducing and strengthening online business negotiations,” which were judged to be effective.
- There were companies that achieved certain results even with non-face-to-face marketing activities.
- Some companies were unable to measure the effectiveness of the measures because not enough time had passed since they started the measures.
- Many companies are thinking of using their homepages to acquire inquiries (SEO, content marketing) in the future.
Reference source:
Survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection
75.5% of companies believe that the spread of the new coronavirus has had a negative impact on marketing activities.
The graph below shows the results of a survey on the degree of impact caused by the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
Source:
Survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection
The most common response was “I had a large negative impact” at 45.3%, followed by “I had some negative impact” at 30.2%, for a total of 75.5%. It can be seen that many companies view the impact of the new coronavirus as “negative.”
Next, we asked respondents about specific negative impacts, and the results are shown in the graph below.
Source:
Survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection
In terms of “others,” there were comments such as “customers’ desire to invest has declined or their investment decisions have been postponed,” and “there is no longer any use for sales materials provided in paper format.”
The positive impact is “changes in the awareness of each department towards digital marketing shift”
The spread of the new coronavirus infection has not only had a negative impact. Some of them were seen as positive impacts. When asked to freely describe the positive impact on marketing activities, the following responses were received.
- The digital marketing shift of companies has accelerated (my experience from the perspective of supporting companies’ marketing activities).
- Sales started inside sales. I started to get interested in the data I got from marketing activities.
- Executives’ awareness of using the Web for marketing and expanding sales channels has changed.
- Awareness of web and digitalization has increased. The need for marketing and promotion was reaffirmed. Budgeting is now possible.
- It gave me the opportunity to become “serious” about online marketing activities.
From the perspective of promoting marketing, and especially from the perspective of promoting the digitalization of marketing, it seems that the spread of the new coronavirus has brought a change in mindset to each department that will serve as a tailwind.
Representative measures that were effective were “utilization of online seminars” and “introducing and strengthening online business negotiations.”
Many companies judged that the spread of the new coronavirus was having a negative impact on their business activities. So, what measures have companies taken in terms of marketing? The results of the investigation are as follows.
Source:
Survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection
Next, a survey was conducted to find out which measures were effective.
Source:
Survey on the impact of the new coronavirus on marketing activities after the spread of infection
The most common responses were “utilizing online seminars” and “introducing and strengthening online business negotiations.”
On the other hand, the following comments were made regarding measures that did not seem to be effective.
- Listing advertisement
- Acquire inquiries by strengthening the homepage
Regarding “listing ads,” analysis suggests that this is due to a sharp increase in ad placements, resulting in higher cost-per-click and lower conversion rates.
Regarding “acquiring inquiries by strengthening the homepage”, there were apparently complaints that the quantity and quality of content was insufficient and it was not possible to continue until the results were seen. There were also reports that the effects had not been measurable because it took time to see them.
The survey also asked respondents how long they think the effects of the new coronavirus will last. As a result, more than 80% of respondents answered “more than a year”. It seems likely that the pursuit of effective measures will continue under the influence of the new coronavirus.
Reference source:
https://innova-jp.com/covid-19-research-report-20201217/