Generally, mraketing experts' forecasts for the coming year tend to reflect their desires and ambitions more than the implementation plans that companies establish and, in fact, manage to fulfill. However, we have finnaly arrived at a point where the paradigm has changed.

2020 has been for many people a lost year and 2021 his surprising us with another global challenges (Deglobalization, War, Suplly-chian, etc). But this is just the darkest version of the story. There is another way of looking at the problem, a more positive and constructive way that focuses on the opportunities that the pandemic has created.

The unpredictability characteristic of the current scenario is the perfect ecosystem for more thoughtful planning, with shorter cycles and more realistic goals. The failure of traditional methods and the obfuscation of the physical world force the market to explore, in a massive and sustained way, new ways of working and communicating.

The transversality of these global crises creates a general sense of urgency for innovation and for the development of solutions to the problem. The opportunity to be different is created. We are all at the same starting point.

More than ever, in 2022 Marketing will be called upon to play a leading role in the success of organizations. The world has changed and companies need to quickly adapt to new challenges.

It is necessary to rethink business, products, communication strategies, work processes and forms of organization. An effective and decisive step towards digitization must be taken. It is essential to definitively enter the 21st century. Digitization will be the next great challenge for society and Marketing is the key competence area for the success of this process.

Digital is more than technology

The technology has been developed and widely accessible for at least a decade. The challenge will not be to create faster computers or denser networks, nor more complex applications or more competent software. The challenge will be to bring people closer to this installed potential and help them make the most of it. The challenge is communication.

Given the current economic and social scenario, we believe these are the marketing challenges your company needs to overcome:

1. Bet on digital

It seems obvious and redundant to mention this, but the truth is that 2020 will go down in history as the year in which the general market realized the importance of digitalization and consciously started this process. Until now, this concept was just another buzz word that everyone took for granted, but didn't apply.

In 2021, digitization will be a priority for companies, not because it is cool or fashionable, but because it is the critical success factor for their survival. Being in digital, in 2021, will be one of the main factors for the survival of organizations.

2. Rebranding

I'm not talking about aesthetic issues or vanities. I'm talking about a practical need that the vast majority of companies will find when they start looking seriously at digital: their brands were not designed to be online. Logos that do not match the dimensions and formats required by social networks, colors and fonts that do not work on the internet, websites developed on outdated and outdated technologies, companies without brands, brands without purpose or content, there will be a little bit of everything and will need to reformulate.

3. Business models

Digitization does not mean copying the pre-existing business and pasting it on a website. It is necessary to adapt, it is necessary to innovate, it is necessary to develop new business models that take advantage of the technical potentialities and explore the usage habits that people have already adopted.

Until now, we had essentially two types of companies: traditional companies, whose business model was developed for the physical world (and eventually adapted to the digital one), and digital companies, whose business model was created specifically for the Internet. It will be extremely interesting to see the emergence of hybrid business models that more fully explore the best of both worlds.

4. Diversification

Digital is a world and opens new doors. It will be interesting to see how companies will seize the opportunity to diversify their portfolios, creating new solutions and entering new business segments, thus spreading risk.

Partnerships, joint ventures and experiences will emerge that will take companies out of their comfort zones and allow them to explore new markets. Once again, the focus will be on the brand and the companies that have brands with greater strength and elasticity will win.

5. eCommerce

It took widespread lockdown for companies to finally realize that an e-Commerce strategy is critical to their success.

2021 will be a very important year for online stores with new players and new concepts emerging. It will be a quick and too sudden change, mistakes will be made and learning will be fueled by practice.

In 2021, brands will realize that e-Commerce is not just selling through a website and that it is essential to invest in agile logistics, robust customer support and an excellent consumer experience.

6. Contextual marketing

The unpredictability of the market will force companies to plan their communication with shorter cycles and to be more attentive to the current situation. The pandemic has made it mandatory to pay extra attention to the environment around us and the adequacy of initiatives to the state of society. As a consequence, marketers will be more attentive to dominant conversation topics and will tend to create content around them.