The world has always been dynamic but this lockdown brought remarkable changes in the people. The mechanical life a lot of us followed has now come to a halt and many of us have started thinking deeper about ourselves, our community, and the world. Now that we have more time with our family, our concerns have changed as well. Google formulated a report from its search data to understand what matters most to the customers in 2020. This data reveals a path that’s full of opportunities for brands to create a better and enhanced year. Google answered a lot of questions, some of which were never answered before, and had to find out the changes that are permanent and the ones that are a just necessity of the pandemic to be better prepared for what’s next.
Conflict with the age-old taboos
It was found that people are standing up to stigmas and are discreetly educating themselves. For instance, there were 35% more body positivity related searches in the Philippines, 40% growth in mental-health-related searches in India, Philippines, Singapore, and Indonesia, and 25% more searches related to gender equality.
People have also slowly started to consider other’s unique needs too. There was a 250% increase in searches related to talking to someone who is depressed in the Philippines and 2200% growth in searches related to employing people with disabilities and a 250% increase in disability etiquettes in India.
Concern over environment
Also, consumers have already shifted to eco-friendly products and brands following the global crises. People have started looking for ways to do more for their communities and the environment.There was 75% growth in searches related to helping others in India. 1000% increase was shown in searches for eco-friendly masks in Taiwan, 65% growth in searches related to reusable things compared to 30% last year in Malaysia, 125% increase in searches for eco-friendly packaging in the Philippines, 2000% in searches related to volunteering activities in South Korea, and 150% growth in searches related to donation.
Value of connection and efficiency
People are in search of brands with which they can connect and truly speak to. There was 90% growth in searches for translation of English to Hindi in India and 70% increase in searches for translating English to Indonesian text in Indonesia. 35% of the top searches were in non-English languages. As people are now struggling to manage work and house chores at the same time, efficiency has gained more importance. There was a 60% growth in searches related to ‘to-do lists’ in the Philippines, 35% growth in searches related to childcare in South Korea, and 130% increase in searches related to kids at home in Australia.
The window of opportunity for brands
The brands today need to take empathy for the situations various customers face. Reaching out to those seeking help would impact the consumer’s experience with the brand. According to Google, only 1 in 5 people feel represented in the ads they see. This shows that as brands, we have a huge opportunity to innovate and grow by standing with the consumers. Inclusivity is a great way to do so by meeting the deeper needs of our audience. Today the consumers are expecting brands to run with equality. But make sure that you do not act quickly and make it look like a stunt. We can gradually move towards pushing the taboos.
As people are more educated about the environment and concerned about the grave implications of the environmental issues, we can create new ways for consumers to connect with each other and their environment. Making our brand values and internal practices a visible part of our external branding can help in a great way. Behind the scenes or BTS is something that is trending now and the audience seems to be really interested to know about what’s happening behind a project.
The significance of efficiency and time management is increasing and the searches show that people are seeking out brands with whom they can communicate in the simplest ways. Challenge your business to reexamine and redefine industry norms. A wider understanding of your audience means a wider business opportunity. Native English speakers comprise only 5.4% of the global population. So speak to consumers like a local and rethink your business boundaries.
