Top 5 Marketing Trends of 2021
Marketers are adapting to the changing world as they realize that businesses may never return to their traditional ways. Digitalization is leaning into marketing strategies, from simple methods to complex plans. The main goal is to remain competitive yet agile in today’s online landscape.
Here are the top 5 marketing trends that will help your business not just survive, but also thrive, in this age of digital innovation and technology.
1. Customer Experience Marketing
You might have heard that the customer is always right. For good reason! Customer-centric companies are 60% more profitable than companies that don’t focus on customers.1
Customer experience marketing puts buyers at the center of your company’s marketing strategy. It maps each touchpoint that customers encounter with the brand. Stepping into the buyers’ shoes allows you to understand whether you are delivering exceptional services or a poor customer experience.
Customer satisfaction plays a large part in your company’s profits. If customer’s love the experience they had with your business, they are sure to recommend you to their circle of connections. This means, your customers eventually become your biggest (and unpaid) promoters, guaranteeing greater brand loyalty and increased revenue.
Customers today are self-empowered and seek a more personalized and curated engagement with products. They educate themselves thoroughly before making a purchase decision. 91% of 18-34-year-olds trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations2, and 93% of consumers say that online reviews influenced their purchase decisions. 3
Market leaders are therefore leveraging data metrics and insights to interpret the connection between buyers’ behavior and feedback. Customer experience marketing helps them to close the gap between customer demand and what businesses are delivering. Businesses that make a positive impact on their customers, provide a competitive advantage, and increase sales year over year.
2. Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing allows businesses to use social media and social networks to connect with audiences. It’s a great way to market products or services. Social media also provides businesses with a way to engage with existing customers, as well as new prospects, by sharing or creating content that drives audience engagement.
How has social media changed the way businesses functions today? It empowers them with a broad range of tactics and strategies to achieve their marketing and branding goals. Thus far in 2021, there are 3.78 billion social media users worldwide and this number will continue to grow in the coming years. With every new social media trend comes an opportunity to engage with both existing and new customers.4
Marketing brands on platforms like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are using analytics as a powerful tool to reach a target audience. These analytics track the success of their marketing efforts and pinpoint which social strategies are hitting the mark and which strategies need to be improved.
Businesses need to attract the eye in order to foster the connection. Social Media Marketing will continue to be a key marketing strategy in 2021 and beyond.
3. Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is a type of social media marketing that involves businesses collaborating with influential personalities to market their products and services. Companies like Amazon have started showcasing products picked by influencers. These influencers usually have a high amount of social trust and can be viewed as the experts in their niche.
Businesses and companies use endorsements or recommendations made by influential individuals to drive traffic, broaden reach and improve recognition. In 2021, businesses are making $5.78 ROI for every $1 spent on influencer marketing.5 By 2023, brands will be spending $4.62 billion per year on influencer marketing. That’s a 25% increase between 2021 and 2023.6
Artificial Intelligence has been a game-changer in influencer marketing. It identifies trending topics, effective influencers, and relevant content. Initially, brands used quantitative metrics, such as the number of followers, to collaborate with influencers. With the rise of bots and fake follower counts, however, brands are turning towards AI for help. Artificial Intelligence, along with Machine Learning and Natural Language Processing, can help businesses find authentic creators. It evaluates the content quality, brand affinity, content creativity, engagement rates and determines the performance of the campaign.
4. Importance of E-Commerce
So far 2021 has become the year of online purchasing seeing a 31% increase in online sales. From online training courses to digital telemedicine appointments, services are shifting to e-commerce websites.
Having an e-commerce site for your products and services is the best marketing tool. Whether it is social media marketing, email marketing, or SEO, marketers can promote your product and services by redirecting to your e-commerce site through useful links.
Another clear advantage of having an online store is the ability to monitor your customers throughout their buying journey. You can easily identify which products were viewed or added to a customer’s shopping cart. Another benefit is knowing at what point a customer left the purchase process. This allows you to curate emails to incentivize order completion by, for example, offering personalized discounts.
A good e-commerce marketing strategy involves marketing tactics both on and off your website. It helps to build brand awareness, drive customer loyalty, attract new customers while retaining old ones, and ultimately increase sales. Offering the best customer experience is what can set your company apart from the market.
5. Purchase with Meaning and Purpose
Meaning and Purpose marketing aims to form a closer connection between the brand and the target audience. It consciously puts “Why” at the forefront of marketing strategy and clarifies how the brand should do business. Knowing why a product was created or to whom it caters, helps companies stay ahead of their competitors.
Simon Sinek, a British-American author and an inspirational speaker, explains that the key difference between Apple and other companies is that they start with “Why”. To explain this concept, Sinek has developed what he calls the “Golden Circle”, keeping “Why” at the center followed by “How” and “What”. The best way of building loyalty among customers is by answering the “Why” of their buying process. Quoting Sinek, “People don’t buy what you do. They buy why you do it.”
How can your business keep up with the trends?
The world of digital marketing is highly dynamic. With the fast pace of new trends and technology, it can be daunting for businesses to stay relevant and deliver the best value to their clients. Red Sky equips you with the expert marketing skills needed to stay relevant and in line with industry trends.
We help you to create marketing strategies that matter. Our marketing and technology experts deliver the best-in-class digital services from design and development to analytics and reporting.
Get in touch with us to know more.
References
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/blakemorgan/2019/09/24/50-stats-that-prove-the-value-of-customer-experience/#77d8c9ef4ef2
- https://www.brightlocal.com/learn/local-consumer-review-survey/
- http://learn.podium.com/rs/841-BRM-380/images/2017-SOOR-Infographic.jpg
- https://www.oberlo.in/statistics/how-many-people-use-social-media
- https://influencermarketinghub.com/influencer-marketing-statistics/
- https://www.statista.com/statistics/1254039/influencer-marketing-spending-usa/
