When it comes to COVID-normal hospitality, tailored marketing has never been more important
Following a year of social distancing, SevenRooms senior vice-president of marketing Marybeth Sheppard argues now is the time for personalisation to assist in bringing customers back.
January 22, 2021 10:57
by MARYBETH SHEPPARD
Australia’s well-renowned hospitality sector has boomed over the past decade with a growing ‘foodie’ culture, an increasing population, and innovative operators willing to evolve to meet changing consumer demands. In 2020, the industry was hit hard as a result of COVID-19. However, the sector – as resilient as it is innovative – is poised to bounce back.
According to recent reports, there are over 85,000 places for Australians to eat out – including 22,000 restaurants and nearly 7,000 pubs and bars. So, in a market in which diners are spoilt for choice, how can restaurants differentiate themselves and stand out from the crowd? The answer lies in data.
Predictions: 10 Customer experience trends for 2021
CMO asks the experts about the customer experience trends heading towards marketers and CX professionals in 2021
In 2021, brands will need to go further than ever with CX to attract and retain customers and incentivise loyalty. Coming to grips with the newly digital consumer while also finding purpose and empathy to connect with those consumers looking for authentic brands are just some of the challenges. Finding the tools to bridge offline and online will create new challenges, while rising demands for privacy willneed to be balance against the benefits of personalisation.
Indeed, the very relationship between marketing and CX teams will come into firmer focus in 2021 as brands look to innovate and create memorable, lasting connections with savvy consumers. And with customer acquisition more expensive than customer retention, loyalty will be crucial, according to Zoho chief strategy officer, Vijay Sundaram.
Predictions: 14 digital marketing predictions for 2021
From the demise of third-party cookies and privacy-first marketing, to the reinvention of email and the reign of content, CMO asks the experts about what digital marketing will hold in 2021
In 2021 savvy marketers will continue to embrace creative ways of connecting with consumers to build awareness and drive demand through online touchpoints and digital insights in their campaigns. And with the absence of large events and in-person gatherings, restricted, by year’s end we could have smaller events with much richer digital integrations based on the learnings from 2020, says Cohesity CMO, Lynn Lucas.
In everything, digital must be the channel, according to Capacity Digital CEO, David Karandish. “The traditional workplace is dead. We can’t assume business will be done in person, in the same location anymore. The definition of ‘availability’ is also shifting and people are unplugging from the matrix a bit,” says Kara