Posted on by

2 years to the pandemic: How to surf through the new normal

The new normal, a word that for long was limited to textbooks and history, is now something that’s part of our everyday lives.

Guess none of us had envisioned what happened in this past couple of years. But here we are, having been through it all. A special tribute to the people having heavenly abode in the pandemic before starting my speech.

When the pandemic swept through our societies, our critical structures, communities, and everyday life suffered. It also seriously dented our economy.

Being a business leader, it was a tough period, waiting for the situation to normalise, seeking ways to emerge from the said pandemic. Did we all learn something from it? I speak for all here that we all learned something from it.

Key takeaways

  • The way pandemic swept through our lives critical structures was a devastating blow.
  • It severely dented our economy causing businesses to think differently and out of the box to resolve that. That led to the new normal.
  • The entire journey of ‘surfing through the new normal’ started with Anurag, my dear colleague and founder of Expoodle and me intending to touch on companies’ pain points and help them market better.
  • Our basis started with understanding the market enablers and validating the prominent issues faced by brands across the world.
  • Our core findings led us to understand the changes in consumer behaviour in the new normal. This gives us a ground-level understanding of the reality and allows us to find key drivers for the rapid growth of the brands.
  • That rapid growth part is where immersive reality can come forth. Innovative and immersive experiences are at the heart of modern-day customer behaviour, and improving your brand practices by the same is much warranted.
  • Immersive reality is the abode that ushers the experience economy, providing transparency and creating a deeper connection with prospects. It’s in line with the needs of the modern-day user who focuses not just on being the end-user but being part of the entire journey.

The build-up

Businesses and organisations have had to do with the precarious time and lean on innovative ways. It’s how the business landscape and even humankind have operated over the years, i.e. evolve.

This very instinct helped businesses find a way, capitalise on the scenario, and test new wayfinding systems transforming the moment of crisis and business peril into an opportunity to improve.

The willingness to embrace experimentation didn’t just happen overnight. My colleague and esteemed leader, Anurag, had been in the exhibition industry for over two and half decades, wherein he had experienced how the business world has evolved.

Also Read: How can female founders become the new normal in Asia?

For years, Anurag had seen how technology had penetrated the brand’s marketing with hybrid and digital aspects becoming a mainstream stay. The next step was immersive technology. Pioneering the ideology of incorporating new-age experience into existing solutions.

And that’s where I came in, with my years of experience in the tech field and the idea of solving clientele issues via the cloud, cognitive and creative solutions.

Understanding the market enablers

The first time we came together, we discussed the who’s and how’s of immersive technology. We identified four key opportunities for understanding the market enablers and providing customised solutions to mitigate them.

  • Challenges and changing consumer patterns

The pandemic has impacted virtually every aspect of our lives, and thinking that business would allude to it is a mere misconception. The changes in consumer behaviour have become more complex with all the restrictions and limits.

People and consumers alike have been forced to remodel their traditional behavioural conscience. Count in the exposure to the newer realities and environment, you can understand the challenges faced by the brands.

“Customers’ digital experiences across industries create expectations that brands must meet to gain engagement.”

  • Finding key drivers for rapid brand growth and awareness

As businesses look for new ways to streamline their processes and create safer and more productive business models, immersive tech has become a new flagbearer for brands to indulge in.

The potential impact of virtual, augmented, and mixed reality is vastly immense, allowing you to increase your brand growth and awareness rapidly.

Brands these days need to cater to generating awareness and attention, which will lead to understanding the buyer’s persona correctly.

Also Read: What can we do about mass unemployment amidst the pandemic?

When a brand understands the buyer personas and prioritises delivering the experience coupled with the optimum service, this is where brands can get the most out of their campaign.

  • Creative, flexible marketing solutions to react to market dynamics

Underlying the issues and developing intricate solutions to mitigate the same is extremely important for marketers to create improved conversions and higher engagements. Where previous marketing techniques had sufficed to provide brands with enough leverage, with time, they are dwindling.

Over 58 per cent of the CMOs have identified modern technology as a key factor in building a differentiated customer experience. Innovative and immersive experiences are at the heart of modern-day customer behaviour, and improving your brand practises by the same is much warranted.

Immersive reality solutions are a customisable marketing medium rather than a standalone tool. It can be easily integrated with the existing marketing campaigns of the brand to increase conversions and scale the reach.

Immersive-based marketing is more about increasing the immersive experience, improving the digital quotient of the user, and providing the trendsetting experience for a personalised brand approach.

  • Ushering the experience economy 

Immersive marketing solutions aim to provide transparency and connect deeper with prospects. It’s in line with the needs of the modern-day user who focuses not just on being the end-user but being part of the entire journey.

Users these days are streamlined to follow brands that can provide a calling and experience. This is where immersive reality can help provide that final boost in generating awareness and accelerating understanding.

With the user’s attention span declining with time, brands need to capitalise on the first impression, and AR/VR/MR marketing solutions are best placed to handle it.

This can also pave the way for brands to tap into the broader spectrum of the user base and generate marketable opportunities among Gen Z and the new age population. They are well versed in digital technology transformation.

Immersive Tech here can act that bridge to bring forth the new normal for the brands and make it customer-centric whilst also keeping them in good stead.

–

Editor’s note: e27 aims to foster thought leadership by publishing views from the community. Share your opinion by submitting an article, video, podcast, or infographic.

Join our e27 Telegram group, FB community, or like the e27 Facebook page

Image Credit: amenic181

The post 2 years to the pandemic: How to surf through the new normal appeared first on e27.