As marketing professionals, we are obsessed with learning about new trends and technologies. Disruptive shifts in the global market are impacting how companies approach marketing. It’s important to understand how companies can engage with customers in today’s digital world where everyone expects real-time service and detests having to repeat the same tasks over and over again. The future of marketing and business will be more diverse, inclusive, and connected to real customer needs.
Crush your KPIs with the top trends that are shaping the future landscape of marketing.
Experiences are the new social currency
Customer experience is the number one driver of business growth. The last two years accelerated trends in digital transformation and buyer-seller relationships and there is no going back. When a customer has two relatively identical products in front of them, and they need to decide which one they’ll buy, our money’s on the brand that won their heart. One of the ways to engage your customers’ hearts and minds is to personalize marketing to meet their needs. Marketers should focus on creating experiences at every stage of their interactions with customers by:
- Growing brand authenticity
- Understanding the customer journey
- Building long-lasting relationships
Instead of casting a large net and trying every marketing tactic under the sun, focus your efforts on finding where your target audience is and meeting them there. Focus on your channels. Your channels are all of the ways your customers, partners, and prospects can interact or transact with you and your company.
Digital-First Future
In 2020, over 4.5 billion people were active on the internet. And 3.8 billion of them were active social media users. Today, the average person is spending almost seven hours online every day. So organizations have shifted the way they do business as digital channels become the default approach to engaging with audiences. The explosion of digital marketing options also means many businesses are spread too thin across too many channels.
Marketing automation has been the go-to solution for most businesses to adapt to these changes. It amplifies workflows, provides real-time analytics, and gives marketers their time back by eliminating tasks that had to be done manually. 63% of marketing teams plan to increase their marketing automation budget this year. Marketing Automation combines the best of both worlds — personalization and automation. With the power of marketing automation, produce a proven experience that speaks directly to your customers’ unique challenges, industry, and goals.
Despite all the alterations – one thing remains, marketing principles won’t change, but the execution rapidly shifts.
According to the Media Dynamics Study, the average adult is exposed to 5,000+ brands and their advertisements throughout the day. How many of these are ads? 362. And how many of these ads actually make an impression? 12. Clearly, it is challenging to grab a buyer’s attention. As you consider your customer’s journey, digital advertising is an integral part of that journey. Instead of advertising creating noise that distracts from the content your audience wants to read, digital advertising can be part of an ongoing conversation your brand has with its customers. Digital ads are everywhere. They can be seen on the websites they visit, their mobile phone, social media channels, and their smartwatch. Leverage these technologies to nurture your audience in a very personalized way until they are ready to become customers.
It is easy to get distracted by shiny new digital solutions. Yet the truth is that the majority of business growth still comes from the foundational tools in digital marketing – a strong omnichannel approach that makes solid first impressions, creates trust, and builds long-lasting customer relationships.
We always encourage our clients not to look at your processes based on today’s needs. Instead, consider:
- What you will need for processes two to five years out
- Your growing channels
- Applying the right messaging and style for each channel and audience
Marketers should get more focused and aim to do fewer things better. Optimizing your digital execution will often provide a better return on investment than experimenting (and getting distracted) with every new tool.
Video Content is King
Video is an essential part of any marketing toolkit. According to a recent Cisco Annual Internet Report, 82% of internet traffic will be driven by video this year. Facebook reports that video posts receive six times more engagement than photo or link posts on average, while Twitter has seen an increase in video views by over 160%. Even Instagram, once synonymous with photo sharing, has declared its preference for video.
So what does this mean for your business?
The mobile-first trend is not going away any time soon as search-engine giants such as Google are prioritizing mobile content indexing. Mobile device traffic accounts for over half (51.51%) of global online traffic. Mobile devices generate about half of all website traffic globally, and your digital strategy needs to lead with this in mind. Your video marketing campaigns hit the mark when they garner more views. When your video marketing campaigns are not tailored to mobile devices, you limit your reach. In 2022, trade some of your longer videos for a couple of short videos. And look at where your target audience is to see what platforms are right for you.
Engaging Customers in an Omni-Channel World
It can be difficult for your brand to be seen in the complex and messy middle of a consumer’s purchase journey. To stand out in 2022, brands should be more intentional about communicating their value and authentic purpose to connect with real customer needs.
Conway Marketing Group has been a partner in reinvention and true innovation as brands create new blueprints for resiliency. Our team focuses on what drives your business growth. Ready to shape the future landscape of your business? Partner with us.
