Marketers have used digital marketing to navigate through incredibly difficult business conditions, connecting with customers stuck at home during the pandemic, digitizing products and services, and driving revenues. Now, it’s time to build on those gains by redoubling their commitment to deepening data and digital mastery, building a culture of continuous learning and experimentation, and using insights to deliver personalized services to customers for higher ROI. Those willing to do so will outpace competitors, notching greater revenues and working more closely with the C-suite to drive business expansion.

Many companies today fail to see the threats and opportunities that new digital technologies represent. They fail to recognize that customers are increasingly being drawn to data-driven services and experiences, and they fail to appreciate the growing value of data and digital ecosystems for their business. Five traps in particular create this digital myopia: the product trap, the value-chain trap, the operational-efficiency trap, the customer trap, and the competitor trap. The author discusses each, along with ways to avoid them.

Given the unexpected strength of consumer spending in 2020, retailers have a lot to look forward to throughout 2021 as we continue to see the trend grow.