The world of marketing moves faster than a fast thing.
Just when you think you’ve got is sussed, everything changes and while you’re still getting your head round the latest concept everyone else has dashed off to try something new.
Surprise, surprise, things are set to shift again in 2016 so here’s a quick round up to give you a head start.
- Customer experience
The days of only competing on price and quality are behind you. Now it’s all about the customer experience.
Today, customers want to be wooed. They want to have a personal experience and to be treated as though they really matter.
Gartner’s recent research showed that in a few years 89% of business will compete mainly on customer experience and by 2020, the customer will manage 85% of its relationships with a business without interacting with a human.
Wow, scary stuff, which is why you’ve got to get to grips with your customer experience because it’s fast becoming a key competition differentiator.
- Mobile
OK, this one isn’t exactly new. The rise of mobile has been happening for quite some time now, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored.
Mobile marketing is set to continue as an important factor in your overall strategy. In fact, eMarketer has stated that the global mobile advertising spend is set to surpass $100 billion, that’s more than 50% of all digital spend for the first time.
- Data-as-a-Service
A lot of businesses are beginning to see the value in Big Data and want to start using it. The only issue is what to do with the vast amount of information they amass.
DaaS (Data-as-a-Service) is helping the access Big Data, mining data sets to deliver in-market prospects and customers to a company’s sales department. The in depth information creates a much stronger platform from which to sell effectively.
- Visual
Content will always be a mainstay in your marketing strategy, but in the future it is set to become more visual.
Video marketing is really coming to the fore now and this trend will continue into 2016 and beyond.
- Personalisation
Customers are getting more demanding. They want a personalised service. Using data it’s essential you use their name and create targeted approaches if you want to drive loyalty.
Granted, 2016 isn’t likely to deliver any earth-shattering change when it comes to marketing, but it will continue the process of evolution that’s been felt within the marketing industry for the past few years.
Your practices must change with the times if they are to deliver the results you want.