Immersive experience will help brands chart new growth

The COVID-19 pandemic has stirred the global business landscape. The pandemic pushed the world to remain locked to curb the virus from spreading through human contact. Incurring heavy losses and a standstill in sales, many businesses across industries closed down. 

Unemployment was at its peak during 2020-21. There was a stark demand-supply fiasco regarding the availability of essential goods and healthcare supplies due to a disrupted global supply chain. All this integrally dented the consumption pattern of the masses, paving the way for a new normal.

Digitalisation of services, though growing before the pandemic, saw a drastic increase in application across industries during the nationwide lockdowns. The revolution paved its way as most consumers remained confined to their homes and relied on touchless online services. 

With consumers' growing dependence on ecommerce, brands have been looking at going the extra mile to not just bag a customer for selling their product once but to build a community to keep engaging with them with varied, immersive services linked to their products.

Brands need to up their game in marketing their services and products by not just being mere materialistic gains but an experience that the consumers kept longing for, which will build a community of like-minded people. Some trends will rule and transform how brands are built in the coming age.

Age for Socially Conscious brands 

Who doesn't like to be part of a cause? Consumers get attracted to brands that address social issues. Consumers willingly buy products and services, from firms providing free meals to marginalized citizens during the pandemic to companies supporting needy children's educational and nutritional needs.

Looking at the bigger picture, consumers prefer companies that give back to society and not just here for capital gains.

Sustainability being at the centre

As countries pledge to reduce their carbon emissions to arrest climate change, companies are conscious of optimising their operations by reducing waste products and practicing increased recyclability. 

Also, with the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacting human carelessness and animal abuse, people have become conscious about their consumption. Veganism has kicked in not only in diet but also in skincare products, wherein consumers look at cruelty-free products. With the rising vegan and environmentally conscious community, brands must abide by these standards to align with the consumer's consumption trend.

Importance of ecommerce

The world of global consumers is now online. Brands influence and connect with audience geographies through the many digital channels, thanks to the ever-evolving internet. Web1, wherein businesses had their static websites placed on the internet; the Web2 era allowed 2-way conversations between companies and users. 

This was introduced by social media channels which accentuated the founding of e-marketplaces that allowed transparent business practices to be conducted online with many customer-friendly policies like hassle-free returns, door-step delivery, and discount on desired products.

There's still potential for e-commerce to break the barrier and let consumers immerse themselves into the products with a more realistic feel. A popular online eyewear aggregator has introduced a concept wherein the consumer can upload their picture on the app to test if a frame would suit their face or not. There's more that businesses can do to grow their loyal customer base.

Virtual Reality and Metaverse for futuristic marketing

Notably, while the pandemic stalled the global travel business, many destination-marketing companies and hotel brands came up with ground-breaking ideas to present their brand value virtually. They are designing a virtual walkthrough for a destination or how a hotel room looks from a first-person viewpoint with the help of a VR headset. These companies intrigued consumers with the experience of nominal fees followed by attractive coupons and discounted packages to let the consumers immerse themselves in the background when the world would open post the lockdown. The consumers who availed of the offers are probably enjoying their vacation today. That's how marketing breaks all barriers and becomes more immersive.

The concept of Metaverse and Web3 is picking pace, wherein businesses are looking at a way to create real-time interactions between people in the virtual world in the form of avatars. Many international singers have already held concerts in Metaverse, while luxury fashion brands like GUCCI have sold their limited-edition virtual bags at a surprisingly higher price than in person. 

India has also been seeing hybrid events that showcase virtual exhibition spaces for online visitors to attend individual stalls and converse with relevant businesses through near real-life experiences.

With that said, marketing has blurred lines regarding engaging with the audience. Knowing the consumer's pulse has become imperative to be relevant in the new age. The consumer in the new normal gives very little time for a brand to grab their attention. The content needs to be crisp and relevant to the individualistic user case. 

Marketing has moved beyond just branding and advertising. As said earlier, brands are looking at ways to remain in touch with and constantly engage their customers with something or other to stay the first name when it comes to brand recall. 

A brand's marketers should dive deeper into understanding the various departments and their USPs to build intense customer experiences at all the touchpoints for a genuinely immersive customer journey that will guarantee a long-term relationship.