As we’ve turned the page and opened a new chapter, a fresh slate you might say, it would be easy to believe that every business is more than prepared for twenty-twenty. However, that couldn’t be further from the truth. The changing of the decade will undoubtedly leave behind those who aren’t keeping up with the times. That’s why we’ve put together this blog, as an opportunity for you to prep for what we believe will be the significant marketing trends of 2020. So strap in for the decade, and let us talk you through our predictions. From everything we’ve seen over the past ten years, it would be safe to begin by noting that technology will continue dominating marketing, but we will see it taking a more personal route.
We all want to fall in love
Love, love and more love should be on the cards for 2020, and we mean that in the most generation X kind of way. Like the way you ‘love’ to shop or you ‘love’ that new Stormzy track, not the psychedelic 60’s style of spreading love. Forming long-term relationships is going to be the most traditional marketing trend for 2020, and you better believe it.
Living in this technological age has meant that customers have grown used to continually receiving ad after ad for products they haven’t heard of, right now, they want to feel something more. So if there is anything you should be strengthening this year, it’s the relationships of those you already have on-board.
So how do you build those relationships?
Well, one of the hottest buzzwords in marketing right now is customer experience, more commonly known as CX. CX relates to all the factors your business should prioritise to keep those orders coming in. In general, it’s made up of things like secure payments, convenience, knowledgeable staff and personalisation.
Sometimes it’s easy to forget that in the age we live in, everyone has expertise at the click of a button. The internet is a ball-pool of opinions, and you want as many of those to be as positive as possible. Therefore, don’t forget your loyal customers will often be the biggest advocates of your product or service and will bring more useful brand awareness than any expensive campaign ever could.
Customers like to feel special
Of course, every customer is special to you; we know that! However, the more unique each potential customer feels, the more likely they are to buy and to keep buying from you. Due to the constant collection of data, basic personalisation is a thing of the past. Companies now have the ability to target prospective customers down to micro pieces of information such as facebook interactions with a particular product. Long gone are the days of simply addressing your marketing emails to individuals and here are the days of making them feel special. With around 80% of customers being more likely to buy from someone who improves their CX, it makes sense.
Say ‘Hi’ to AI
We know artificial intelligence has been around for what feels like an eternity, and although it hasn’t quite reached the apocalyptic nature of the movies, it’s certainly here to stay. So, if you haven’t already, now is the time to embrace it.
Well, AI is brilliant for analysing and compressing all your company’s data. Using the right formula and technology will allow you to target those who both ‘need’ and ‘want’ your product or service.
Artificial intelligence is wholly responsible for the development of the Chatbot, which is you’ve read our previous blogs you will know we have a few issues with. We would advise buying into the use of a chatbot purely for when it is not possible to give a human reply. The more knowledgeable and responsive your Chatbot is, the more likely the customer is to recommend their experience to others. As we mentioned, people want to feel special and using artificial intelligence to back-up your man-managed marketing is essential in this process; they’re never waiting on a response if you have automated replies ready to go.
Alexa, get me sales
The big technological explosion of the past few years has been the drastic improvement of voice search tech. According to Google, around 20% of searches are currently made by voice, and we aren’t showing any signs of slowing down. We expect to see more companies buying into the use of this technology in twenty-twenty, having witnessed globally recognised alcohol brands use the technology in 2019, with voice speakers offering suggestions for cocktails and other useful bits of brand advice.
We hope 2020 is going to be a brilliant year in business for us all! If you would like any further information or advice, don’t hesitate to contact us.
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