
Have you searched for Marketing Trends for 2024 on Google yet?Â
You will see a gazillion posts from experts, ninjas, and gurus. You may get enticed by so many shiny objects shared as a small business owner or entrepreneur. In the past, I have written several such posts at the beginning of the year, but this year, I refrained from doing it.Â
Do you want to know why? Those posts try to share every exciting thing existing in the marketing world, and this can be overwhelming for entrepreneurs who are just starting baby steps in brand building. These posts overwhelm business owners rather than helping them choose a few strategies that may work for their business.Â
Here is a post with a few strategies/tactics you may want to deploy to augment your brand-building efforts in 2024. Full disclosure - these strategies/tactics are not a one-time fix but a long-term play with immense benefits guaranteed for your business.
Make Customer The Center of Your Universe
If you do only one thing well in 2024, please choose this. If you take a look at successful small or enterprise brands today, you will find one common theme - they are customer-obsessed. Recently, I came across a post by one of my favorite people, Christina Garnett, which said these exact words - Do you care about your customers? Show, don't tell.Â
If you want to succeed in 2024, make your customer the center of your universe. The axis around which your business rotates. The torch that shines light on your path. Do you get my point, or should I share more cheesy phrases?Â
You may think you are customer-focused, but you may need to be. Take a closer look at your customer-related processes. Map every touchpoint with customer - be it customer service, sales, or even marketing. Find out what's working and what's not. Fix the gaps and ensure you keep your customers at the center of everything. Teach your team empathy and other soft skills they may need to deliver the best experience for your buyers.
"You don't earn loyalty in a day. You earn loyalty day-by-day." – Jeffrey Gitomer.Â
Over CommunicateÂ
This advice might sound odd, but bear with me for a second. Make it your goal to take customer communication seriously this year. Make it a priority for your business to deliver the correct information to your users. It applies to every aspect of your business, from marketing to post-sales communication. Focus on providing accurate information to your audience at the right time.Â
Make sure your audience's information is evident throughout their journey. Do an audit and prepare all information across the journey to deliver at the right time. It is better to over-communicate than suck at customer communication.Â
"Our greatest asset is the customer! Treat each customer as if they are the only one"Â - Laurice Leitao.
Take Advantage of Social The RIGHT Way
Social media is one of the most over-used (the wrong way) and over-abused tactics or channels by businesses. It is not entrepreneurs' or businesses' fault that social media does not work for them or uses them wrong; they are practicing what ninjas and gurus preach. Don't worry, you can fix this in 2024.Â
Let 2024 be the year we drop our shiny-object syndrome and focus on a few channels that can deliver what we need. The sheer scale of reach that social media channels can provide businesses makes it the best avenue for marketing. Invest time to find the best channels for your business and double down your efforts.Â
Now, let's talk about how to take advantage of social media.
Utilize it to share all the vital information about your brand.
Leverage it to connect with your prospects/influencers.
Use it to participate in meaningful conversations.Â
Make it the avenue to shine the spotlight on your customers.
Do competitor research using social listening.
Deploy social listening to understand sentiments about your brand and your competitors
Take Feedback Always and Seriously
Here are two exciting statistics for discussing the importance of this tactic/strategy.Â
72% of happy customers share their experience with 6 or more people, whereas 13% of unhappy customers will share their experience with 15 people or more (Source)
Isn't that interesting? We all know that there is a thing called word of mouth. It can backfire on brands if they ignore what their customers are saying.Â
So, this year, make sure you take your customer feedback seriously. Work on them and thank your users for sharing them with your brand. Do let them work when you have acted on it. Please remember tactic/strategy number 1 above.Â
"Thank your customer for complaining and mean it. Most will never bother to complain. They'll walk away"Â - Marilyn Suttle.
Build Relationships with Influencers (Content Creators)
We all are living in the creator economy now. Content creators are increasing in every industry, niche, and arena of business. Now is the right time to build relationships with the right ones. These relationships can benefit your brand immensely in the long run. Today, it is pretty straightforward to connect with these creators, build a relationship, and find avenues of collaboration.Â
Before you go all ninja on me on how expensive these collaborations are, let me explain. You need not go after the super famous creators like Khaby Lame for your brand; there are small but impactful creators for your niche. Invest time in research, identify the right ones, and focus on building and nurturing relationships with them.Â
Collaborations with these creators can range from a simple shout-out for your business to an advertisement deal on their platforms. You need to focus on collaborating on the most beneficial type of campaign within your budget.Â
Don't Be Scared of Paid Tactics
The moment the word "paid marketing" is mentioned, every small business owner blurts out phrases like "expensive," "confusing," and "difficult to execute." Again, it's not their fault; that's what ninjas want you to believe. Let's burst that myth today.Â
In 2024, I encourage you to explore paid marketing for your brand. You can leverage paid avenues to drive traffic, generate leads, and promote your business. These campaigns need not be expensive - start small on ad platforms like Google Ads or Facebook/Instagram Ads. They are cost-effective and perfect for delivering the right results.Â
I highly recommend you watch my favorite marketer, Dennis Yu's video on Dollar a Day Strategy here. It will show you the power of what even a $1 investment in ads can do for your brand.Â
"The most powerful element in advertising is the truth." – Bill Bernbach.
Make AI Your Best Friend
If there were an award for marketing buzzword of the year, ChatGPT would take the honors home with Artificial Intelligence in a close second position. ChatGPT arrived and took the marketing world by storm, and whether you are a lover or hater, it is here to change your career. Here is an article where I introduced marketers to ChatGPT.
Why is Artificial Intelligence part of the strategies I recommend for 2024? Unless you were living under a rock, you are aware of the impact of AI on most aspects of running a business by now. From content writing to doing customer research, AI has announced its arrival. I recommend AI because it can deliver immense savings of time and cost for you as a business owner.Â
Let's take ChatGPT, for example. You can use it for writing your content, doing research, assisting in SEO, and more. Similarly, most common tools like Canva have incorporated AI into their tool that helps you prepare content to go with your graphic design and videos. So, be ready to learn and deploy AI into your brand building in 2024.Â
Invest in Your Personal Brand
Will you agree with me if I say we are all moving and living brands? We market our brand everywhere - at workplaces, at job interviews, at conferences, on social media, and more. A powerful personal brand can bring incredible benefits to your life - both personal and professional.Â
In 2024, one of the most strategy/tactics I recommend to you, as an entrepreneur, is to focus on building an excellent personal brand. Determine your goals, identify the niche, and start sharing your insights with the world. Please do not worry about your niche; remember, there are individuals with strong personal brands doing the weirdest things you can imagine. For example, What's Inside, with over 1.5+ billion views on YouTube, is a father-son duo who cuts open stuff.Â
You have a story to tell; focus on telling that to the world. Your personal brand will do wonders for your brand in the long run.Â
"Don't be scared to present the real you to the world; authenticity is at the heart of success."Â - Unknown.
Be Positive and Ignore Haters
The last tactic or strategy that I want to leave you with is more on the personal side. As an entrepreneur, you are bound to have fans and haters in today's world. Stay positive and keep putting in the hours to build your brand.Â
As the great Winston Churchill has said, "Success is walking from failure to failure with no loss of enthusiasm." your journey as a small business owner will be challenging. You must stay positive and stand tall among your haters.Â
Conclusion
In 2024, I was hoping you could adopt these strategies/tactics and commit to them. These are time-consuming and will require your total commitment, but the results in the long run will be all worth it. By keeping your customers at the center of your operations, you will bring in more happy ones. By committing to over-communicating, your customers will never complain about a thing. By engaging in social media the right way, you will grow your community and reap benefits. By staying focused on customer feedback, you will easily anticipate the challenges and negate them. With paid tactics and partnerships with the right creators, be prepared for a spurt of growth. Decide early where you will invest all the free time that AI is going to provide you; that could go into building a solid personal brand.Â
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