Our predictions for 2021 shopping trends included virtual customer experiences, an emphasis on local marketing, and omnichannel shopping as key areas of focus within your marketing plans. Now is a good time to assess your marketing goals to ensure you are aligned with your customers’ expectations and purchase intent. Without a doubt, we know consumers are starting their research online before any step in their buying journey. This research can be extensive, and can include product specifications, reviews, watching tutorials and demos, comparison shopping and more to find the right product for their needs. Furthermore, as your customers become mobile again and return to in-store shopping, we want to emphasize the importance of these three shopping trends: keep messaging fresh, optimize for local searches and prepare for omnichannel shopping. 

Take advantage of these trends to exceed your customers’ expectations: 

1. Keep Messaging Fresh: Create a calendar to ensure that your business website and your PowerChord website are kept current with refreshed content. Although minimal updates are needed on your PowerChord site, you can use certain sections of your site to keep your messaging timely. Be sure to be consistent with your messaging throughout your entire online presence, including your Google My Business listing, your business website and your PowerChord dealer site. 

Sections on your PowerChord site, including the Special Features or About Us pages can be used to highlight your local promotions to draw consumers to buy

• Sections on your PowerChord site, including the Special Features or About Us pages can be used to highlight your local promotions to draw consumers to buy
• The same applies to your digital marketing campaigns; keep your creative new and exciting so consumers don’t experience ‘ad fatigue’
  

2. Optimize for Local: As consumers become more comfortable shopping in-store, they are looking for reasons to get out into their local community and drive down the street to a local business. In fact, Google Maps has become an essential step in the consumer journey as people want to shop locally and support local businesses. Optimize your Google My Business listing to make sure that customers find the information they need to find you quickly and easily.

• Highlight business features, customer reviews, and photos to showcase what makes your business stand out from the competition
• Run hyper-local digital marketing with your business location information so that shoppers can locate your products or services quickly
  

3. Omnichannel Shopping: We know consumers are still shopping online and in-store, but there’s an emphasis on first finding products, services, prices and reviews online. As consumers continue to prioritize online research, use your business website and PowerChord dealer website to provide quality information easily, such as lifestyle pictures, product manuals, and specification sheets.  Providing in-depth information about specific products keeps your customers within your business and they don’t  doesn't feel the need to search elsewhere — potentially encountering competitors along the way. 

By keeping your customers at the forefront of your marketing efforts, you will be able to convert them into loyal customers and grow your business into the future.