2020 VISION; 6 WAYS MARKETING LOOKS DIFFERENT THIS YEAR
As each year flashes by, so too do the latest and greatest marketing ‘trends’. Those ‘jump on the bandwagon’ activities that do more to distract you than build your brand.
We are drawing a line in the sand as we begin a new decade and declaring that marketing looks different this year because it’s not about quick, sales-y wins, it’s about clear and considered brand building, a return to doing the basics brilliantly.
Yes, it’s essential to have agility inside your business and be able to move with the times but this needs to be balanced with a long-term strategy for where you want to be at the end of the year and in 5 years, not simply next quarter.
So, with this in mind, here are our top 6 marketing priorities for 2020.
1. BACK TO BASICS
There is a reason the KISS acronym resonates. It’s exhausting trying to keep up with all the fancy that is going on.
Keeping it simple and really clarifying what you’re doing is THE theme of the year.
Basically, you need to;
Focus on building your brand through a range of strategic marketing initiatives and creative communication campaigns
Get your product portfolio right with a mix of top performing inline products which are supported by fun, new projects and partnerships to keep you relevant
Build a robust digital strategy that gives you a modern online presence with a focus on customer experience
Create a marketing calendar that revolves around seasons/weather/holidays/moments when people naturally shop
2. COMMUNITY MINDED
I know we harp on about it A LOT but we truly believe in human-to-human connection. That’s why the second biggest priority this year is building a community of customers not just a count of followers.
No matter who you are or what your business does, people (otherwise known as your customers) want to spend their time in an environment that is activated, inviting and engaging. They want to be heard, involved and treated like they matter. People care about people and as Seth Godin so rightly says they “don’t buy what you do, they buy why you do it”.
It’s all about creating a world where your customers can feel welcomed and comfortable, both digitally and in real life. Having more one-on-one conversations not just shouting blindly at thousands of people at a time.
It’s about entertainment and inspiration through story that is centered in food, wellness and retail. A new era of hospitality that is, as the word actually suggests, all about being a good host.
AND we are about to put all of this into practice – stay tuned for a very exciting announcement!
3. PUBLISH DON’T POST
RAP – or Random Acts of Posting – won’t achieve anything.
You need a co-ordinated, all out publishing assault to achieve breakthrough this year. There is something inherently strategic and deliberate about publishing rather than simply posting. It implies that there is reason behind action, that you’re supposed to be doing exactly this exactly now, which gives both existing and potential customers confidence in your brand.
As our fabulous Marketing & Communications Co-ordinator Jessie explains, publishing rather than posting ensures that “all communication channels operate in harmony and complement each other”. Each communication touch point should fit back together into the overall communications plan. For example, you might take a content theme and publish different but complementary snippets of information across your website, blog, social media, LinkedIn and email communications.
4. PAY TO PLAY
Like it or not, the social media platforms that are relevant today – Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, LinkedIn and newcomer Tik Tok – are businesses. In fact, they are money making machines.
They make money by showing you the content you ‘say’ you want to see through engagement – liking, commenting or sharing – thereby keeping on you their platform for longer in order to serve you ads, that have been paid for, in amongst your feed. Since this is their model, you’d do well to steer your boat into the wind so to speak.
There are two ways to do this;
Pay to amplify your original content through social ads
Pay influencers to amplify your products and services for you
In our experience, the best approach to influencers is to be thoughtful and strategic and include;
A layered, tiered strategyo A range of follower countso “Roster influencers” for long term partnerships that build trust
Cross-segment influencersRead more in our blog Influencer Marketing - A Narrative
5. ANALYTICAL INSIGHT
There is so.much.data available to us in this digital age. Big data, insights, reports, stats, the list goes on. But the key here is that we need to be able to USE the data, not just collect it. Otherwise, it’s completely pointless.
Data’s role is to inform future activity. The numbers don’t lie but it’s their interpretation that is really valuable. Once you have the figures then you can balance them with context and intuition. It has to be quantitative AND qualitative.
So repeat after me; analytics with insights - gather the right data and use it to make decisions.
6. BRAND IS EXPERIENCE
The move towards customer experience is a symptom of what is called ‘product-consumption fatigue’.
Conscious of the environment and sustainability in general, the millennial customer is looking for value and that means engaging in an experience as well as just buying a product.
It’s a two-for-one offer that goes back to the point around community, people want to be involved and they care about the end-to-end journey of a product and the path to purchase it.
They want to be transported, away from the mundane and boring, and into spending time with friends and family in fabulous places with amazing food and wine, flawless service and seamless travel. They want shopping with a side of hospitality, experience as an entrée and product purchase as their main.
Basically, they want it all and your business has the opportunity to deliver through experience.
Focus on experience and build your brand.
Read more in our blogs ~ Your Guide To Millennial Marketing and Customer Experience Is King
We warmly invite you to connect with us via our Instagram or website.
Alternatively, you can peruse our suite of services or read our past blogs on #THESENSECHECK.