“Business has only two functions – marketing and innovation.” – Peter Drucker
Add customers to this mix and this quote is perfect for the current scenario of the business world. All businesses today are trying hard to stay ahead of innovation and maintain a good brand image by trying to be close to their customers.
The last decade witnessed some of the greatest developments which brought about drastic changes in the way marketers work. We saw many of our favorite platforms dying and many new ones suddenly gaining traction as well. Some of the noteworthy developments for marketers were:
The demise of Google Plus in April 2019 after 8 years of its launch
Orkut went away in 2014 (It was the old Facebook though)
Vine shut down in 2016
Meerkat went out after creating a lot of waves
WhatsApp became our favorite messaging platform boasting 1.5 billion users
Snapchat and Instagram grew massively with more than 203 million and 1 billion users respectively
TikTok became an overnight sensation with over 500 million active users worldwide
Pinterest carved a place for itself in the vast social media landscape with over 291 million monthly active users
Wow - What a decade, isn't it?
We, as marketers, had to bear the brunt of many of these developments. Both good and bad influence on the way we work. This is just social media; now add Martech and other technological advancements to this mix, it will blow your mind off.
As we are kicking off this new decade, here are some of the key marketing trends every marketer should stay on top of. These trends predominantly fit right in the alley of enterprise marketers who have the cushion of plush budgets and manpower to execute marketing strategies at scale.
P.S: I will be writing an article on trends for small business entrepreneurs and marketers after this. If you are a small business owner or marketer, keep your eye out for that.
1. Marketers are part of the "Customer Experience" story
Customer experience or CX has been the buzzword for the business world over the past several years. Companies have been focusing on and spending more on delivering a seamless experience for their customers irrespective of the channels. As marketers, we are also part of this equation by default with almost 54% of customers are preferring social media over email and call for solving their queries. Every marketer today MUST understand the importance of delivering a delightful experience for the customers via social media.
2. Marketers cannot stay away from Martech "anymore"
With customers expecting personalized attention and with new cohorts of buyers sprouting up, marketers cannot afford to stay away from Marketing Technology. Using disparate tools for executing key pieces of your marketing tactics may have worked in the past, but not anymore. The best proof of this is the classic growth case of Inbound Marketing software leader HubSpot. They have grown from $15.4 million in 2010 to $513 million in 2018.
Marketing Technology has become an essential part of our lives as marketers and in this upcoming decade, this influence is going to grow. The global martech industry is estimated at $121 billion at the moment, so if you have not considered this in your strategy, it is the right time.
Note: One of the key highlights for me was the growth of Mautic, an open-source marketing automation platform.
3. Content Marketing needs to be "alive"
Content Marketing has evolved into the key differentiator for many brands like Buffer, Starbucks, Red Bull and more. Marketers have adopted the best practices and always tried to keep up with the pace when it comes to content marketing evolution. With Google crossing over 3.5 billion searches every day, content has become the cornerstone for success for most organizations.
The last decade has already seen lots of developments in content marketing with new tools, channels for propagation and formats coming into the picture. So marketers need to continue their experiment with content to stand out in the noise. Some of the new trends which can be leveraged in your content marketing mix are:
Livestreaming on social media channels
Investing in video content
Podcasting for your brand
Story formats on Facebook and Instagram
User-generated content.
4. Technology is a crucial piece of strategy now
If you are a marketer treading into the next decade, you cannot afford to shy away from technology for sprucing up your marketing efforts. For becoming efficient, marketers MUST (yes, I used MUST) adopt the right tools for the right tasks. In the era of relentless innovation, marketers are blessed with tools like chatbots and AI at their disposal.
Marketers need to adopt the right approach when it comes to employing technology for augmenting marketing efforts. Always remember that technology should complement your human efforts, not become a replacement. Invest in technologies that will make your marketing processes smoother and effective.
Note: One of the innovations that caught my attention recently is Lately. This is an AI-based tool that helps marketers streamline their efforts and they also have an auto social media post generator which is super cool.
5. Move beyond Hello {first name} with personalization
Personalization is a buzzword for marketers for a while now. But the important question to ask is whether we understand it correctly. For most marketers, it is still limited to adding the name of the customer in emails for them. But this approach may not work in the coming decade ahead.
Marketers need to invest time and effort in understanding their buyer personas better to deliver effective personalization. It is time to understand your customer's demographics, their preferences and dislikes, their challenges and goals and more. Marketing messages designed addressing these factors have the strongest possibility of striking the right chord with the customers.
6. Stay ahead of the curve with "Social Media"
Social Media is not anymore the "post-something-and-forget-it" place for marketers and brands. It has evolved into an arena where your customers come to entertain, educate, communicate, buy, recommend and make decisions (sometimes). So as a marketer, it is imperative to make changes to your social media game plan.
Marketers need to do their research on the social media preferences and behaviors of their customers and prospects . It is a MUST for brands to deliver the right content based on the platform and the audience on the same. The old "content spraying" method may not work anymore for brands. I will recommend leveraging the innovative features of every social media platform for your storytelling.
Conclusion
As a marketer, I am super excited about this new year and decade. I will be exploring the tools, tactics, and methodologies for lifting my game as a Marketer. I recommend you all to do the same and stay in touch via www.thethriftymarketer.com