Over the past few years, marketing has taken on whole new levels due to continual advances in technology and the way in which marketers are able to get a message out. It is safe to say that online marketing will be the most effective, but this means understanding what works in light of these ever-advancing technologies.
The following marketing strategies are just a taste of what is expected to trend in 2018. If you are looking for more information on what marketing pros predict for the coming year, let these 3 strategies be a starting point. You’ll soon learn that marketing has made a big leap towards customer-centric advertising.
1. Build a Team of Market Influencers
This is one marketing strategy which is as old as marketing itself, but with a new digital twist. At one time, businesses sought word-of-mouth advertising by satisfied customers. This is what a market influencer is today, but typically thought of in the digital realm.
Do what it takes to establish a strong relationship with your customers who will then be happy to leave excellent customer feedback on your site or throughout social pages. You are looking for a snowball effect here and that’s exactly what you’ll get if you work hard to please your initial group of followers. Their friends and friends of their friends will soon be following you, which is 21st Century social marketing at its very best.
2. Focus on Customer-Centric Marketing
One of the ways in which marketing has gone wrong in the past is to focus on the brand or product from the wrong direction. Today’s customer is yearning for a strong relationship with brands they deal with, and so marketing in 2018 should focus on what that customer needs or wants. It isn’t enough to tell today’s consumer about your company (although brand is very important!) or about specific products you are marketing from your perspective.
Today’s consumers don’t want to hear why you think you have what they want but why you know you have what they want because you understand them. It’s all about developing that relationship with your market.
3. Contextual Marketing Through Native Ads
Nothing is more irritating to a visitor than those popup ads that have nothing whatsoever to do with the page they are browsing. Many times the little ‘X’ is so obscure that by the time the reader finds a way to close it out, they’ve lost focus on what it was they were reading. Native ads, on the other hand, are contextual to what that visitor is there for. In fact, a good web development and marketing firm can get those ads placed in such a way that the reader clicks through without realizing they’ve just left a site to click on the advertiser’s link!
As you can see, each of these strategies which are forecast to trend in 2018 has a huge focus on customer-centric marketing. The key is in building relationships and keeping them focused on what they are interested in. From there, you will be the go-to brand of the new year.