We’re living in a fast-paced and competitive market, where businesses strive to outperform every industry competitor in terms of market position, growth, product and service offerings, and more. This is where marketing takes place. It informs the target audience of the products and services that are being offered by a business.
The bottom line of every business is to create revenue and marketing is an essential channel to reach that end goal. Without marketing, businesses would have to perform based solely on the merits of their product and service offerings, and the chances of earning revenue are less likely to happen.
As time changes, the market trends have changed as well. Whether you own a small business, or you’re a lone entrepreneur, keeping up with the latest market trends is crucial in order to stay on top of the industry ladder.
Trend #1: Artificial Intelligence
More and more businesses are incorporating AI or Artificial Intelligence as a method of leveraging technology in order to anticipate the next move of the customer and to improve the overall customer journey. As a matter of fact, according to the report made by the Salesforce State of Marketing, over 64% of the businesses who’ve tried AI have substantially or greatly increased their overall marketing efficiency.
Moreover, AI and its applications in machine learning can help a business to control costs, conduct accurate demand and to micro-target customers. Some examples of AI that is utilized as a marketing tool are AI web designer, AI content creator, AI speech recognition, and the likes.
Trend #2: Chatbots
In order to survive in this ever-competitive market, a business is required to be as proactive as possible. Through the help of technological innovations such as chatbots, businesses can provide fast and automated answers to multiple customer questions at the same time.
The beauty of chatbots is that they facilitate seamless live communication 24/7 that allows businesses to save money and time, without having to worry about a missed sales lead.
Trend #3: Personalization
Unlike generic marketing, personalized marketing makes people feel understood, and it also gives businesses better chances of netting potential customers.
The primary advantage of personalized marketing is that it allows businesses to effectively target their current and potential customers, boost engagement, and convert these prospects into satisfied customers by appealing to their individual interests, needs, likes and other preferences.
Trend #4: Best Tools to Use
SEO tools enable you to dig deeper into your website, search engines for valuable data, and determine who your competitors are in order to make strategic implementations. There is a myriad of readily available tools that you can utilize for your business, such as Ahrefs, Spokeo and more.
But these two stood out because they’re easier to navigate compared to other SEO tools. They are also packed with unique features and functionalities like email search and reverse phone lookup.
Trend #5: Video Marketing
Marketers use videos in order to increase the time spent by visitors on their company website. In fact, according to the journal written by the Digital Marketing Institute, 97% of the marketers claim that videos help customers gain a better understanding of their product or service offerings.
Apart from being a rich and visual medium, there are a lot of perks to making online video as part of your marketing strategy, since it can help your business build a long-term and profitable relationship with your customers.
Trend #6: Influencer Marketing
Influencer marketing is perhaps one of the most popular marketing trends today. This technique involves engaging, identifying and supporting individuals who can create meaningful conversations around your brand.
If you have an influencer that can recommend your product or service offerings, people are likely to be way more receptive and you can gain traction right away since these influencers have a lot of followers.
Trend #7: Branding
Having a strong branding helps a business surpass and stand out in a saturated market. Branding works hand in hand with a business’ marketing and advertising efforts, enabling it to work more effectively.
When branding is properly utilized, it can give your business credibility, which will lead to more returning customers and brand referrals.
This article was written by Maguire Haigh, a content marketing manager for Spokeo. He is an expert in the business sphere. He prefers writing articles on marketing, social media presence, travel and startup topics. Maguire has great experience in travelling and deep knowledge of 5 foreign languages.
