Key Insights: CXO is the new hero of 2020, UK consumer trends, and local SEO strategy

The COVID-19 waves have brought upon a unique fashion of ebb and flow in the marketing sea. Our key insights continue to reflect the new developments in the face of marketing as 2020 progresses.

Pessimism continues to eclipse UK consumers

Consumer behavior is a mosaic that has continued to shape up a new abstract in recent months. McKinsey & Company have continually been observing consumer thoughts and trends and their latest UK Pulse survey showed a 46% growth in pessimism about their economic recovery post-COVID-19. As pessimism continues to eclipse in the UK, here are some other crucial findings:

• 62% of UK consumers are very or extremely concerned about the UK economy 
• 56% are anxious about the uncertainty of the situation’s longevity
• 52% are concerned about the safety and healthy of themselves and their loved ones
• 23% are extremely concerned about the negative impact on their business
• 33% concerned about the negative impact on their job or income

The futuristic, fantastic five that are here to stay

The McKinsey & Company survey also identified some positive shifts and here are the five most impactful ones that are here for the long haul:

1. Remote learning (Read more...) Grew by 44% and showed a 60% intent to continue
2. Telemedicine (Mental) – Grew by 64% and showed a 43% intent to continue
3. Buying online for in-store pickup – Grew by 56% and showed a 52% intent to continue
4. Video content consumption – Grew by 27% and showed a 13% intent to continue
5. Online streaming – Grew by 5% and showed a 58% intent to continue

The local SEO puzzle has new pieces to fill

Nearly 71% of businesses were quick to think on their feet and these were some new methods and practices that local as well as global brands implemented, the latest Moz survey states:

• Ecommerce
• Delivery
• Curbside pickup
• Takeout
• Teleservices

In fact, more than half of the businesses intended to continue these offerings post-COVID-19 as well.

Some other key findings from the report were: 

• 74% of marketing professionals believed that BAU will return in a year
• Majority of marketers (81%) agreed that COVID-19 has slashed their marketing budgets
• Majority of marketers use two-to-five SEO tools
• 12% use more than six SEO tools

The Moz research also detected an increasing interest in offline local marketing as it saw a 9% YoY increase in marketers getting involved with offline marketing.

Unusual times call for a hybrid SEO strategy

People have been increasingly resorting to local brands and as this shift has shown an effect, many of these businesses are trying to tighten their grip on local SEO. Sarah Bird, CEO of Moz. said,

“There are new challenges, but there are also new opportunities for success. Brands can synthesize both traditional strategies with new techniques to ensure their businesses stay top-of-mind and accessible.” 

However, one-third of local marketers feel their companies are not prepared with the hybrid set of skills needed for local SEO strategies to succeed. Businesses are increasingly outsourcing for SEO capabilities. There is also an increasing room of opportunity for online SEO resources as 57% of marketers are confident that there’s an abundance of quality SEO resources available. 

Customer experience optimization will be the hero of 2020

Be it local or big label brands, 2020 is becoming the year of “perfect vision” for mastering the customer experience. Businesses are using this time to identify how they can understand their consumers and optimize their methods to deliver happy experiences.

These are a few indicative stats from Moz that reinstate the fact – customer feedback will be driving force:

• 78% of respondents agree that Google has become the new homepage for local businesses
• 51% of businesses will continue to invest in the new methods they’ve launched for getting products and services to customers due to COVID-19

Interestingly, marketers aren’t the only ones involved in local SEO efforts and strategic planning. It also includes these departments:

ClickZ readers’ choice for the week

Our readers are keen on uncovering what the new normal holds for their business, while there’s a continued appetite for our key insights articles. As we run AI month, readers have continued to show increasing interest in AI-based content.

1. Three steps to prepare for the post-COVID-19 business world
2. Key Insights: Marketers reveal their confidence, fears, and marketing technology inclinations
3. Five examples that demonstrate the value of AI for B2B marketers
4. Marketing strategies during – and after – Coronavirus
5. What leading consultants say about the usage of AI in marketing?

ClickZ AI Summit 2020: The golden gate to AI success

Our AI Virtual Summit 2020 is a cost-free, half-day, experts-driven event that aims to equip marketers with the much-needed knowledge to adopt AI, realize AI’s true power, and know how to create strategies that can create huge competitive advantages.

With headline speakers from IBM Watson, Adobe, and Brian Solis, this is a golden opportunity you don’t want to miss.

Three great reasons to sign up

Bridge the AI knowledge gap to achieve:

1. Better customer experiences
2. Lower CPAs
3. More profitable and customer-focused business

It’s round the corner, book your seat for the ClickZ AI Virtual Summit on June 25, sign up free of charge here.