5 Marketing Trends You Definitely Don't Want to Miss Out on!

Researching the latest marketing trends I found an abundance of information from various sources from different countries.

After having read studies, market researches and whitepapers, I started to compare all of them and noticed a few big trends that were recurrent.

5 big marketing trends

1. Content is still king

Content marketing is nothing new but to have a strategy that works, is something marketers are struggling with.

This has to do due to the fact that consumers are more empowered than ever and should be approached with personalized messages in order to capture their attention.

A strong content strategy is key for success.

Therefore marketers should be aware that they need to start understanding who their customers are in order to find a solution to their problems and translate this in content that truly adds value instead of trying to sell a product or create a buzz.

Keep customers engaged by providing interactive content (quizzes, calculators, assessments) but also connect with the audience by providing personalised messages at the right time and at the right moment.

The idea is to eventually create brand evangelists that deliver user-generated content.

A travel agency has a quiz that determines which city suits you the best based on certain questions. This quiz is shared on various social media channels. 

After completing the quiz a city is recommended based on the answers given. Call-to-action is the possibility to book a city trip with the agency.

2. From multichannel to omnichannel

Along with the mobile and Internet revolution there is a new omnichannel approach for marketers to understand where all channels (social media, online, mobile, store) should be complementary.

It’s vital that customers have the same brand experience throughout their customer journey through the different channels.

Keep all the different stakeholders involved and get everyone excited from the beginning. In addition all departments should be well-informed and all channel strategies should be aligned.

A clothes retailer offers the possibility to check online whether an article is available or not in the store of your choice.

You also have the possibility to order online in the store you’re in if a product is not available. In addition you can buy online and return to a physical shop.

A true omnichannel experience. This way the (e-) retailer keeps customers happy because they’re up-to-date and on the other hand the company will enjoy customer loyalty and revenue growth.

3. Nurturing leads thanks to marketing automation platforms

Remember the empowered customer that’s ever informed and in need of personalized content through the channel of choice at the right moment (even mobile)?

Say hello to marketing automation that allows companies to efficiently create different scenarios based on personas (fictional characters that represent different target groups who uses your product, website or brand) and rules to reach out to customers in different stages of the customer journey.

This way customers will be fed different content according to their specific behavior with the idea to nurture them and make them sales ready.

Implementing marketing automation will increase the customer experience. In order to implement marketing automation it’s important to know your customers.

Therefore analyzing customer data to understand how a customer interacts with your brand, with the proper content strategy, is essential.

4. Crunching big data

Big data is high-volume, high-velocity and/or high-variety information assets that demand cost-effective, innovative forms of information processing that enable enhanced insight, decision making, and process automation. (gartner.com)

The use of big data (has been avoided by marketers for a long time as they were lacking skills to analyze it.

However new tools have emerged and are available to use this data and to translate it to relevant information concerning customers.

The information can then be used as a basis to be able to identify different customers and their specific behavior during different stages of their customer journey.

Subsequently it’s important to develop a content strategy, as previously discussed, and implement it within marketing automation platforms.

5. Virtual reality on the way to mainstream

The battle for customer experience is on and Virtual Reality can truly give you that edge over the competition by doing something innovative.

Customers are looking for excitement and want to be involved with brands. Even though Virtual Reality isn’t mainstream yet it’s worth to keep it in mind and to discover its possibilities.

A real estate agency can document every property they have in their portfolio using a 360° camera and offer the consumers to virtually walk in houses and apartments.

They can also offer the possibility to directly contact the agent if any questions would arise or to make an appointment for a real-life visit.

General findings:

• Customer experience and content with added value are key.
• Personalization of content to reach out to customers on every touchpoint with your brand.
• Develop skills to cope with technical requirements to use data platforms.
• Get executive buy-in and involve all stakeholders by getting them excited.
• Analyze campaigns, know your ROI and improve continuously.