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9 Digital Marketing Trends 2023

by | Nov 22, 2022 | Digital Marketing

The year 2023 will be all about customer experience as more and more people become digitally savvy and marketing tech advances. Today’s customers are smarter than ever, thanks to the availability of information and the rise of social media. They have become more critical of their buying choices, demanding more from brands to meet their expectations.

While no one is certain what the future of marketing will look like, there are some trends and insights worth looking into to stay ahead of the game. But one thing’s for sure, consumers will be empowered to make informed decisions, demand better experiences, and engage at their convenience.

With over 8.5 billion Google searches a day and 1.5 billion social media users across the globe,  the digital marketing landscape is becoming increasingly competitive. This makes planning and being strategic about your campaigns even more important than ever.

In this guide, we’ve listed the 9 digital marketing trends to watch out for in 2023.

 

2023 Digital Marketing Trends To Take Advantage Of Now

Customer Experience (Online and Offline)

Today’s customers expect a seamless experience online and offline, making it vital for marketers to focus on building an integrated customer experience that caters to their needs in all touch. points.

Marketing is no longer about forcing people to do business with you. It’s now shifted to giving amazing customer service and experiences that will make them want to come back for more. If you prioritize developing a healthy company culture and providing excellent service, the marketing side should fall into place on its own.

Today’s customers not only expect quick results, but they also want to be spoiled with the products or services they paid for. They hope for a hassle-free experience from when they first show interest until after the sale is complete and customer service has been given.

Also, customers have now taken a more active role in product research. They no longer wait for companies to tell them how great their products are; they do their own investigation and research. And if they find any negative online reviews or social media posts about your brand, that’s a potential sale that went down the drain. This could all be avoided if you’re proactively catering to your customers’ experience.

A business that uses personalized messaging and customer-focused culture throughout its journey is more likely to earn a loyal customer. Listening and responding to consumers’ questions and concerns, as well as providing them with personalized recommendations, will also go a long way towards improving customer experience.

This establishes the need for collaboration between the marketing team, sales team, and customer service teams. Your sales and customer service are your client-facing team. They have a better understanding of what your customers actually want and expect from your brand. These are important pointers not just for your marketers but also for your product development team.

Currently, 73% of people state that it affects their buying decisions. Despite this, only 49% of Americans say that businesses provide good experiences. An excellent customer experience (CX) is a combination of many things that consumers value, such as efficient and convenient service, easy payment options, and helpful staff. Other elements that typically fall under marketing also play a role in CX, including using advanced technology, personalization, mobile accessibility, strong brand image, and good design.

Companies should take a more active role in understanding their customers’ needs and building experiences tailored to them — from the moment they show the first interest until after they become loyal customers.  This can be achieved by creating detailed customer personas or customer journey maps and also by integrating customer feedback into your product or service.

Employee Advocacy

Employees are a brand’s best advocates. They will be the ones interacting with customers, representing the brand in public, and promoting products or services on their social media accounts. However, many companies do not have an employee advocacy program in place yet—whether it’s because they’re working on a budget or they have simply not thought about it.

Employee advocacy programs are becoming increasingly popular to boost brand awareness and build trust with potential customers. They offer a unique opportunity for employees to engage with their peers, express their enthusiasm for company products or services, and encourage people to try them out.

Boosting employee engagement would also mean making your workplace an attractive place to work in. Employees who are content with their job and company will be more willing to promote it. You want to make your employees so happy that it spills over to your customers.

Start by offering incentives for a job well done and organizing team-building activities that promote camaraderie. Also, provide your staff with the right tools so that they can do their job effectively. This also includes training sessions to master the ins and outs of your products and services. This, in return, makes them more confident when providing recommendations to your potential customers or answering their questions.

Lastly, keep your staff updated with your brand’s goals and progress. This helps your staff understand how they fit into the organization’s success. Give recognition where it is due. Not only does it boost their morale but it also instills a sense of pride in your employees as they’ve contributed to your brand’s progress.

Story-Driven Content Visualization

As we are visual creatures, it remains true that online users usually prefer visual content over plain text because it is more engaging and easier to consume. Thus, story-driven content visualization will continue to be in trend in 2023.

Story-driven content visualization combines different elements, such as visuals, audio, text, and animation, to create a more engaging presentation of data. It is a powerful tool to tell stories, attract the audience’s attention, and build customer relationships. It can be used by businesses to convey their brand values effectively while also interestingly delivering key messages.

For instance, it can be used to illustrate customer feedback or show a company’s journey over the years. It is also a great way to educate people about a particular topic and make data more digestible. To create an effective story-driven content visualization, ensure that the visuals are eye-catching, the text is concise and easy to understand, and that your message is clear.

Since the advent of social media and smartphones, numerous brands have invested in visual content—whether it’s images, graphics, or videos. In fact, images make up 19% of searches on Google. Also, 62% of millennials say they would be more interested in using visual content than any other content types.

By incorporating storytelling in your visuals, it becomes more powerful as it taps directly to your customers’ emotions. It also helps them understand and remember your message more effectively.

Conversational marketing

In the past, sales and customer service were much more formal. Representatives would address customers as “sir” or “ma’am,” and it could take quite some time to get an answer — making a phone call, visiting the store, or in recent years filling out an email or online form.

Today, sales and customer service representatives are interacting with customers through instant messaging. In addition, the interactions are designed to be more human-centered, like those you might have with a friend.

This type of engagement is referred to as Conversational Marketing. In 2023, this trend will continue to rise, with more businesses using conversational marketing strategies for their customer service processes.

Conversational marketing allows you to have real-time conversations with customers on all platforms—email, your website, social media, and even messaging apps. It also helps you build trust with customers by allowing them to communicate more directly with your company. With this type of engagement, you can quickly answer their questions, address their concerns, and provide solutions to their problems in a personalized manner.

It is also an effective way to learn about customer preferences, needs, and problems. You can then use these insights to build better customer relationships by providing relevant content and products that meet their demands.

Strategic Marketing Transformation

If companies want to be successful in 2023, their marketing efforts must connect back to the “why” of the business as a whole. Your marketing goals and objectives should be aligned with your business goals. Your focus shouldn’t be solely on your products and services; rather, focus on your purpose as to why you are passionate about your products and how they solve customer problems.

Strategic marketing transformation is when a business operating without a strategic marketing plan evolves by changing its fundamental processes. Companies that undergo marketing transformations can improve customer service and experience, boost brand awareness and reputation, and ultimately increase revenue and profits. This requires data collection with modern technology, building customer relationships online, publishing quality content, and improving their online presence. The strategy doesn’t just stop with the marketing team—it impacts every employee and department in the company.

With a strategic marketing plan in place, you can define your goals and which marketing tactics will help you reach your target customers. These techniques may include content marketing, SEO, email marketing, social media outreach, advertising, or offline Marketing efforts. It then helps in planning how every part of the organization will be involved in these tactics.

So to speak, your chief marketing officer is no longer the single point person for building your brand’s marketing strategy. Strategic marketing transformation ensures that every business activity considers the brand, company reputation, customer relationships, and customer experience as a whole.

AI-Based Automation

We’re living in an age where artificial intelligence (AI) is drastically changing how we live and work. Many businesses are using AI-powered technology and automation to give their marketing efforts a boost. In just the last few years, we’ve seen massive advancements in AI.

Artificial intelligence is one of the key technologies behind voice search and smart assistants. It’s also what makes chatbots possible, which are now appearing on more websites than ever before. Marketing is difficult enough as-is, so thankfully brands can now take advantage of automation to free up some time for developing marketing strategies and perfecting the customer experience.

However, this doesn’t mean that you’ll completely rely on bots and automation to do the work for you. The human aspect of marketing still plays a valuable role when interacting with customers. The idea of using AI in marketing is to enhance your efforts rather than replace the real people behind them.

We expect to see more advancements in AI-based marketing automation as we move further into 2023. With the help of AI technology, businesses can automate mundane and repetitive processes while freeing up time and resources to focus on growth opportunities.

Account-Based Marketing

Account-based marketing (ABM) is an approach that focuses on building relationships with individual customers or customer segments. ABM requires more personalization than traditional marketing tactics, allowing brands to form customized campaigns for each account.

The core of the ABM strategy is to focus all your energy towards high-value accounts and strategic partnerships. Companies will use multiple digital channels to reach their target customers, such as email campaigns, website personalization, targeted social media ads, and more.

ABM is on the rise due to its success in driving customer-focused experiences that resonate with people. It’s quickly becoming a popular trend among B2B marketers and it can be used to generate leads and close more deals.

As we move into 2023, more and more companies will be using account-based marketing to create customized experiences for their customers. This is great news for brands looking to build strong customer relationships and generate higher ROI from their marketing efforts.

Responsible Consumerism

Responsible consumerism is gaining more attention as brands are increasingly held accountable for their actions. In a world where customers have so much power, companies need to be mindful of how they’re marketing themselves and what impact it has on the environment.

Responsible consumerism is nothing new, but it’s becoming more important as we move into 2023. Brands will need to pay closer attention to how they market themselves, as well as the materials they use to produce their products.

We can expect to see more companies engaging in socially responsible practices and taking a more active role in protecting the environment. Consumers are increasingly expecting brands to be transparent and accountable for their actions, so it’s important that businesses consider these aspects when planning out their marketing strategies.

Hyper-Local Marketing

Local business marketing is nothing new, but it’s becoming more refined with geolocation services. Eight in ten marketers use location data in their marketing strategy, and 94% plan to do so in the future. This suggests that most businesses understand how important it is to target potential customers based on their location.

Hyper-local marketing focuses on targeting customers within a specific area and providing personalized content that resonates with them. For example, a restaurant in Chicago may use hyper-local marketing to target customers in the city and surrounding suburbs. They could create content about local events, promote their catering services for nearby businesses, or offer discounts for people who live within a certain distance of the restaurant.

Hyper-local marketing is essential for brands looking to build relationships with customers on a more personal level. Proximity has always been a factor for consumers when choosing where to shop. And this is exactly what hyper-local marketing is all about.

In a Nutshell

As we move into 2023, it’s essential for businesses to focus on customer experience and personalization. Account-based marketing, responsible consumerism, and hyper-local marketing are just some of the strategies that brands will be using to stay ahead of the competition.

These digital marketing trends will help companies gain a better understanding of their target audience and create experiences that truly resonate with customers. Companies should always be mindful of the impact their marketing tactics have on the environment and strive to be more responsible in their approach. Hyper-local marketing is a great way to reach geographically close customers, while ABM is perfect for targeting high-value accounts. With these strategies, businesses will be well-positioned to succeed in the ever-evolving marketing landscape of 2023.

 

Got questions about what strategies your business should use in 2023? We’re here to help. Contact us at Public Advertising Agency today, and we’ll be happy to discuss options that work for you.

 

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