At the end of each year we begin to look at what the marketing trends will be for the coming year. As 2016 comes to an end, and we look to 2017, this year is no exception. We are on the horizon of big things in marketing. Each year, this practice helps you be prepared, stay on the cutting edge, and ensures that your marketing plan for 2017 will be on the mark. Today, we will be looking at the marketing trends of customer experience, personalisation, analytics 2.0, video, live streaming, augmented reality, storytelling, and influencers. Some of the trends overlap or closely relate to one another and that is great news because it makes it easier to incorporate them together into your marketing plans. Here is a little bit about each of the top marketing trends to look for next year.
More Focus on Customer Experience:
Customer service has been a growing trend, and customer experience marketing is an off shoot of customer service. It encompasses more than just providing excellent customer service, but also means improving your technology and marketing practices to improve the entire customer experience. It is becoming more and more necessary because consumers are expecting. Make sure that your 2017 marketing plan includes an overall philosophy in thinking about your customer’s experience.
Personalisation:
Personalisation is part of the customer experience we just mentioned above and is not only something that consumers have come to expect, but using segmentation and personalisation in your marketing will help improve conversions while making your customers feel important.Analytics 2.0:
Analytics 2.0:
With all of the data that you collect about your customers from your own systems, loyalty programs, social media,and email marketing, the need for an increased focus on measuring that data comes along with it. Your marketing team can learn so much from measuring and monitoring that it has become a vital piece of the puzzle, or perhaps even the glue that ties in all the other pieces of the marketing department. Analytics helps with personalisation, targeting, segmentation, and improving the customer experience, but it also helps to show what marketing efforts work best and how effective your marketing tactics are when it comes to profit, revenues, customer retention, and customer satisfaction.Video:
Video:
You should plan on incorporating more video in your 2017 marketing initiatives. It is growing on every social media platform and many social channels are even focusing on it exclusively.Live Streaming:
Live Streaming:
Facebook Live is leading the way to this live streaming revolution. Video is going to be popular and important in the coming year, but live streaming video will become a vital part of video marketing strategies as it continues to grow in popularity. It can help ensure that your marketing is relevant and in real time.Augmented Reality:
Augmented Reality:
Pokemon Go is leading the way into augmented reality and shows us how exactly it can tie in with marketing. Although location and local marketing will be strong aspects of augmented reality marketing, they aren’t the only avenues. It can tie into any type of digital marketing, mobile marketing, and branding as well. If your initial reaction is that Pokemon Go has fizzled out, think again. It is not over yet for this pioneering augmented reality game. At the end of 2016, the Starbucks update is likely to breathe new life into the game. Whether it reinvigorates usage or not, this game is paving the way for others and showing how augmented reality games can integrate into marketing.Storytelling:
Storytelling:
Storytelling is a growing trend that you will certainly hear about in 2017. If you aren’t already employing storytelling techniques into your content marketing, you should start planning to incorporate it immediately. Storytelling helps you engage your audience by telling them a story rather than just blogging or writing.Influencer Marketing:
Influencer Marketing:
Influencer marketing will move to the forefront of social media marketing. It will become more popular and more effective since so many people look to reviews and believe the opinions over others on social media over and above any advertising you do as a company.
Summary and Takeaways for Your Company
Keeping on top of emerging marketing trends is an important aspect for any business. It helps you plan your budget for next year and can ensure that your marketing strategy is employing cutting edge technologies to stay ahead of your competition. These 8 marketing trends to watch will let you know what type of technology you have to budget for as well as hiring and departmental planning for the New Year as well. As you can see, many of the trends blend into each other or overlap, so this helps to seamlessly incorporate them into your up and coming marketing strategy. Best wishes for a prosperous and successful 2017 for your business!
