New Marketing Strategies for 2020

Our Quote of the Day:
"The word 'listen' contains the same letters as the word 'silent.'"
     -- Alfred Brendel, Musician

As for the new marketing tools and methodologies set to provide brands and marketers with an edge, we contend that there are far too many choices for brands and marketers to consider. It's head spinning. Albeit as it may, if you plan to remain competitive, brands must adapt or perish as technology and the consumer are moving and evolving rapidly.  2020 will be no different.

Consider 2019 and the pleothora of choices including personalization, trust, transparency, data, social media, video marketing, email, storytelling, and direct mail marketing; which along with a resurgence, delivered increased ROIs when used in conjunction with digital marketing. Forbes recently published an article that references a survey from industry leaders regarding what emphasis they will place at the top of the marketing stack in terms of strategies, tactics, and tools.  Simultaneously, various digital marketers have predictions that should be a part of the annual marketing strategy process. These are the marketing considerations for 2020.

Building Trust Tops the List

Most people are well aware of the data breaches and the plethora of disinformation campaigns of 2019. Due to the challenges marketers and brands face in media environments where fake statements, claims, and disinformation continue to abound, most are looking at how to build more trust in lieu of all that confusion.

Mike Barrett, President of Heat, a creative agency within Deloitte Digital, states, "It is self-evident that consumers buy more from companies whose values they believe in and reputations they can trust–it follows that trust will be the most important brand measure in most sectors in 2020."  

"Success starts with the understanding that consumers are going to be more suspicious than ever towards marketing and advertising. In this environment, brands will need to recognize why they sell what they sell. Now matters more than ever before as consumers are demanding transparency and authenticity before opening their wallets."

Lifecycle Marketing and Growing Awareness

You may have heard the chant, "The funnel is dead" as the new mantra for the next demise of consumer marketing traits and purchasing habits. However, the B2B world continues to evolve with efforts aimed at shortening their lengthy purchasing cycles.

For the most part, consumers now follow a non-linear purchasing journey, regardless of the product or service. That said, it is always the primary focus of any brand to grow awareness, which is followed by garnering new leads and prospects.

Altimeter/Prophet's State of Digital Marketing Report demonstrates the importance contained in results when the primary focus is increasing awareness.

    37% - Increase brand awareness and brand health
    26% - Increase the number of new leads/customer prospects
    20% - To deliver high quality, unified customer experiences across all digital channels
    13% - Increase awareness and positive sentiment around new products

Innovation and Transparency

Marvin Chow, VP, Global Marketing at Google recently stated, "2020 will bring more innovation than ever with the ushering of 5G, the acceleration of AI and the rise of voice as a universal computing interface, but these are still just tools to connect with people and build the brand.  In the midst of all this advancement, brands will need to focus more than ever on authenticity and transparency. It goes beyond having a purpose. Brands will have to take inventory and assess where they stand in the marketplace and how consumers really feel about them and their products.  Only by being honest about their vision and relationship with consumers can they meaningfully engage people, grow the brand, and drive the business."

The 5G Impact, Feminine Perspectives, Data and BrandVoice

Naz Arandi, Creative Director, Airbnb, has another perspective. She says, "I grew up hyper-aware of the dominance of the male gaze through art and architecture history. The digital content movement's shift toward the female gaze—that is, seeing the world through a feminine perspective—feels like a revolution that's brewing. I'm excited to watch it take shape."

Data-Driven Decision Making

David Benigson, Founder and CEO of Signal AI, recently stated, "Looking forward, we will continue to see artificial intelligence evolve into augmented intelligence – analytical technology that focuses on amplifying human innovation and capabilities, rather than to replace human labor. Access to information is now at an unprecedented scale. As a result, organizations are being exposed to critical risks on a minute-by-minute basis, and it is data, not instinct, that is driving decisions at the highest level."
Data Collisions - First and Third Party are on Frederic Charles-Petit, CEO and Founder of Toluna's mind, who added, "First- and third-party data are on a collision course. Privacy and compliance regulations could encourage third-party data aggregators to seek alliances. First-party data companies will benefit from the hundreds of extra data points that third-party data brings to research results. The consolidation of both data types could power companies to make even better and more nuanced business decisions."

Paid Social Versus Organic

Paid social pays off, according to Arielle Loren, Founder & CEO, who chimes in on social media marketing. "As the first business funding mobile app for women entrepreneurs, we encourage our community to allocate 50-70% of their funding budget to paid social advertising. Gone are the days of small businesses getting tons of organic traffic from Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, and Google. You have to learn how to leverage these platforms through their paid advertising programs, and get the funding you need to target the data they collect to help you reach new customers."

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)

Martech (Marketing Technology) usage and adoption rose in 2019 and will continue to grow exponentially during 2020. Martech can be overwhelming when it comes to finding the right mix. Martech offers a staggering array of software service possibilities for marketers and brands determining to improve digital media management, including customer experiences and supporting data. When a business or agency selects the right blend of Martech, the investment could provide a competitive edge. Conversely, when opting to avoid a Martech solution, that brand or marketer may miss out on valuable insights and automation processes that could make the difference.
Martech is the solution for providing Customer Data Platform integration. Raviv Turner, Co-Founder, B2B service @CaliberMind states, "No MarTech stack is complete these days without the third leg of CRM, MAP & CDP. The only way to map, store, analyze, and act on the complete end-to-end customer journey is [by] having all the data in one place using a Customer Data Platform (CDPs)."


The Net-Net



As new marketing strategies and tactics are introduced in 2020, it's clear that all of us will have to build on and invest in the top 2019 trends and those that are projected to come. The new decade ushers in an era requiring more trust, more transparency, better customer experiences across all platforms, the move to invest in paid social media, getting ready for the implications of 5G, and putting together a robust Martech solution designed to consolidate customer data in one place. It's a lot to consider but well worth the investment in terms of time and implementation. Thanks for reading "New Marketing Strategies for 2020!"

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