Marketing strategies have constantly evolved over the years, especially as digital marketing became more popular and nuanced. Technological advancements have changed the way companies create and execute marketing campaigns. With increasing access to data, social media, and other technological outlets, the possibilities for marketing and advertising are exponential.
The latest marketing trends are being implemented by small and large businesses to increase profit and brand exposure.
Learning about the seven latest trends in the future of marketing and how to implement them will allow you to stay in the forefront of your industry. When utilized correctly, these exciting marketing trends can lead your business to growth and better customer engagement.
1. Personalization
With digital advancements, most consumers have grown to expect a customized and personalized marketing experience. When browsing online, consumers expect to find all the information they need on a product, service, or company. Repeat customers expect businesses to know about their previous orders and to be able to make informed suggestions on additional products that may interest them.
Social media analytics is one resource your business can use to shape personalized marketing efforts. Understanding your social media following through data analytics can enable you to create targeted ads on these platforms geared at clients who you already know have a general interest in your products or service.
Instead of creating the same marketing and advertising campaigns year after year, your company can use these analytics to personalize campaigns to your ideal customer.
According to Epsilon research, 80% of consumers are more likely to make a purchase from a company that offers a personalized experience as opposed to one that provides generic advertising. With personalization, your campaigns are more effective and results-driven.
2. Data Integration
Your big data is an integral part of digital transformation. Capturing customer data is only the beginning. Once you’ve started tracking clicks, purchase history, time on site, and abandoned purchases you can begin to analyze this data to gain meaningful insights to better understand what drives customer behavior on your site. What you learn from this analysis should lead to an integration of your data analytics into your marketing plans and processes.
Use your company’s big data to pinpoint your ideal customer, figure out where they are, and learn what motivates them to buy. These proven facts are essential when figuring out how and where to target your marketing. Businesses that integrate programs and processes to allow them to collect more organizational data can harness the power of data analytics in their marketing campaigns.
3. Customer Experience
Enhancing and improving the customer experience is another new marketing trend that’s gaining traction. Once you snag a customer with your marketing campaign, the experience they have with your brand is of the utmost importance. Seven out of 10 U.S. consumers claim they’ve spent more money with a company that delivers great service than one that provides lackluster service.
The duties of a marketer have been expanded to include embracing the customer experience. Customer experience is an important part of a company’s marketing strategy because it can lock down potential customers and earn repeat customers.
For example, Zappos implements 10 core values for customer service and asks all employees to “Deliver WOW Through Service.” With a strong customer experience that makes a transaction simple, friendly, and personable, your customers will enjoy and remember their interaction with your brand. These customers are likely to provide word-of-mouth referrals and come back as repeat customers.
4. Generation Z
Generation Z includes individuals who were born between 1997 and 2012. This generation is now old enough to work and spend money, and they’ve become valuable consumers.
Depending on your business, Generation Z may be your target customer so it’s important to understand how this generation is different than those in the past. Generation Z changes opinions frequently so your company must stay on top of trends in the industry and be ready to pivot products, services, and marketing strategies when needed.
Generation Z’ers have grown up with technology and spend an average of 11 hours per week on their mobile phones. They’re used to instant responses and information. Implementing cognitive systems in your online marketing strategy may help keep the interest of this generation and deliver the experiences they are accustomed to.
The latest marketing trends also show that Generation Z is more likely to interact with brands that are true and authentic. 76% of Generation Z’ers gravitate toward brands that respond to their feedback because they see it as a sign of authenticity. By developing a transparent marketing strategy that tells your company’s story and relates to potential client struggles, you can more easily connect with this new generation of consumers.
5. Automation
Marketing automation is a marketing trend that’s successfully implemented when companies automate tedious or repetitive marketing tasks. Email campaigns are likely to be automated because marketers can set up personalized emails and schedule them to send to a list of subscribers at a specific time.
Some companies may also use marketing automation to post on their social media or to contact customers about product statuses or shipment tracking. Businesses that used automated marketing to keep in contact with potential customers experienced a 451% increase in qualified leads than companies that don’t take action.
Marketing automation saves you time because you and your staff don’t need to send emails one at a time or remember when to post on social media. 30% of marketers claim that the best benefit of implementing an automated marketing strategy is the time it saves them. By automating some of your marketing tasks, you can engage in more customer touches and marketing activities in a convenient manner.
6. Consumer Privacy
With many new digital tools that help businesses improve and target their marketing practices, consumers have become sensitive to how their data is used and treated. Consumer privacy is at the forefront of many of the latest marketing trends so it’s important for businesses to use the best practices when dealing with this data. Customer data breaches can ruin your brand’s reputation, so staying abreast of the latest cybersecurity policies is crucial.
To ensure you’re following all consumer privacy and data laws, it’s important to understand the federal and local legislation that applies to your practices. For example, the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) lays out specific regulations that California brands must practice when collecting consumer data.
The General Data Protection Regulation includes extensive guidelines on the consumer data you can collect and what you can do with it. Protect consumers’ privacy and your brand’s reputation by ensuring your company is following data collection laws and keeping consumer data safe.
7. Digital Transformation
A digital transformation occurs when your business adapts to new digital processes and procedures within all of its facets. This may include using a managed services provider (MSP) to help with processes such as IT management or infrastructure maintenance.
When you strive for a digital transformation, you may find it easier to automate your marketing, create a personalized customer experience, and take advantage of other cutting edge marketing trends. Digitally transforming your business allows you to streamline and improve your processes so they’re more efficient and customer-centric.
Implementing some of these new marketing trends into your business’s plan allows you to remain competitive in your industry. By exploring and utilizing digital marketing tools, such as marketing automation and data integration, you’ll develop an effective marketing campaign that gets results.
