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Image: Microsoft
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October 27, 2020 – German industry has experienced a real digital jolt as a result of the Corona crisis. The digital changes present industrial companies as well as service providers and agencies as well as exhibition companies with new challenges, but also offer numerous opportunities.
by Susan Rnisch
A rethink in the company and the realignment of the marketing strategy are required in order to be successful in the future. The main focus is on the increased use of online marketing measures and the establishment of virtual event formats.
The study “Digitization boost 2020 in B2B marketing”
, which the bvik – the industry association for communication & marketing – carried out together with Marconomy and scientifically supported by the Stuttgart Media University, shows that the crisis triggered by Corona has driven digitization in German medium-sized companies. Almost 60 percent of those surveyed stated that the digital changes due to the crisis had had a strong or very strong impact on their company.
However, it also became clear that the degree of digitization that companies already had before the pandemic played a role. Because one thing is clear: Even before the crisis, there were some companies that took on a pioneering role and for whom digitization had long been of great relevance. Companies that were already digitally savvy before the crisis pushed digitalization even further due to the pandemic. But companies that are not digitally savvy are also waking up. Companies that are not digitally savvy report a lower impact of the changes on the company. However, these companies have also been sensitized to digital topics and tools.
Increased efficiency of internal communication
The triggered digitization push affects the entire communication – both internal and external. 86 percent of those surveyed stated that internal communication was influenced by the digital changes caused by the Corona crisis. Many companies were already using various technologies before the Covid 19 pandemic. The situation with increasing home office activities meant that the respondents got to know new technologies. The results show a great willingness to adopt these technologies such as live chats, employee apps or e-learning tools. Overall, more than 95 percent of the study participants are open to new technologies. In addition, the great openness of marketers to digitization is a sign of a rethinking and change taking place in companies. Home office and digital communication platforms have now been introduced in almost every company and will remain an integral part of communication in the long term. As a result, companies experience an increase in the efficiency of internal communication.
Online marketing measures come into focus
The bvik study also shows the major effects of the Covid 19 pandemic on external communication and marketing strategies. More than half of the participants from industrial companies, agencies and trade fair companies stated that the crisis had a strong to very strong influence on the marketing strategy – this particularly affects the smaller companies with up to 200 employees. In the industrial companies surveyed, the study authors see a strong tendency towards increased use of online marketing measures, whereas print measures are used less and less.
One thing is clear: In the future, all industries will increasingly focus on retaining customers and employees via digital channels and without the usual personal contact, generating leads and winning new customers.
Virtual events are gaining in importance
In addition, the event landscape will also change sustainably. According to the current study, over 90 percent of those surveyed are of the opinion that virtual trade fairs and events will complement classic trade fairs and events. In view of the significantly decreasing budgets that the recently published bvik study ‘B2B Marketing Budgets 2020’ produced, this is an additional challenge. “Year after year, marketers have to defend their already low budgets with hard bells. The negative effects of the Corona crisis in the form of cuts and shorter-term and more careful planning have exacerbated this situation. They are now faced with the challenge of having more channels with less budget to play on “, explains Ramona Kaden, manager of the bvik.
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