Is this another blog about what new technology will supposedly rock your world next year? Yes and no. Sure, we need tech to keep all the engines running smoothly but we’re going to go out on a limb and say that 2020 will be the year that marketers turn their attention back to people. Yep, people. You remember those beings behind all the digital communications you feverishly publish and analyse.
And we’re going out a little further on that limb to say that marketing is more than advertising and branding—it’s about customer engagement experiences that will require marketing to interact more with other departments. We also think that it won’t be long before IT departments will report to CMOs but that might be best saved for another blog.
So, what are the trends that will be emerging or changing in 2020? We have a few ideas and share them with you here.
Customer experience will continue to gain momentum next year. Marketing as we used to know it has morphed from a push strategy of trying to convince targeted audiences to purchase to one of amazing customer experiences making the big push for customer loyalty.
Customers have learned to not rely on push messaging, so they have gone in search of the information they need to make purchases and align with companies for the long term. Marketing’s job now will be to make those engagements special experiences of convenience, efficiency, knowledge, service and other things that people find valuable. Strategic marketing tactics will still be relevant as consumers still want great mobile experiences, current tech, personalisation and relevant brand and design.
The human touch surpasses all the elements of a customer experience such as convenience, speed, approachability and consistency. Real connections create loyalty because brands are no longer anonymous; they’re someone that prospects and customers learn to know and relate to. How to start being more human next year? Create connections through technology initiatives and give employees the tools they need to create more authentic transactions. Your employees are the face of your brand and when you give them the authority to resolve issues and be proactive in customer engagements, that’s about as human as it gets. Anything that will create less friction in customer engagements—now, that’s a great start to the new year.
Personalisation will continue to drive marketing initiatives in 2020. This goes back to the human touch. Customers not only want to receive relevant information from a brand, they want it personalised to their individual interests and needs. This will not be the year for big email blasts with generic messages. You’ll most definitely be deleted. Savvy marketers will segment email lists into categories based on customer history and data before any email push. Customers want to be recognised for their individuality and any form of personalisation will go a long way toward presenting interest in customers through the human touch.
Intent data provides insight into customer activity, both internal and external. Internal intent data is the information collected from website activity and application logs. Predictive buying signals can be assessed based on what web pages a customer selected, any links they might have clicked and the amount of time spent on each of the selected pages.
External intent data is collected by publishing networks via the IP level, user registration and cookies. Customer activity could include articles read, downloaded content, site searches and comments if available.
Intent data is hugely valuable because prospects and customers are providing insight and giving brands an indication of what to expect. And while it’s not strong enough for predictive analytics, it can be a good guide to prospect conversion.
The clock is ticking and we’re about to enter a new year filled with opportunities fueled by innovation, technology and savvy marketers who know how to tap into customer loyalty initiatives. Don’t miss out on these exciting and authentic marketing trends that will catapult you and your brand well into 2020.