Top 5 Marketing Trends To Watch in 2018
By Patrice Meadows — Jan 10, 2018 11:00 AM
As markets become more competitive, organizations must create value for buyers to grow.
While it used to be enough to tailor products, services, and content to meet the needs of specific audiences, now companies must find ways to personalize offerings to meet the needs of individuals.
Identifying and responding to the needs of individual buyers based on their behavior is how companies will differentiate themselves in 2018. Here are the top five trends we think will separate great companies from the rest.
Connections that Create Convenience
Companies that make it easy for users to access best-of-breed products to improve their experience will see more engagement with their products or services. Product integrations with Google, Facebook, Slack, and PayPal are already common; in 2018, we expect that more tools will integrate with others to help teams work more efficiently.
We’re taking on this trend by building more connectors and plugins into our flagship product, Cascade CMS. The latest version of Cascade CMS includes a plugin that allows Siteimprove users to access accessibility data within Cascade CMS. To learn more about this integration and other new features in Cascade, check out our Knowledge Base.
Deliver Services On-demand
Building flexibility into services and support options is nothing new for organizations with global audiences. Now, even small companies with local customer bases must offer service and support options in ways (and at times) that fit their customers' preferences. Offering services on-demand improves the purchasing process and overall customer experience.
Vlog, Vlog, and Then Vlog Some More
Remember when blogging took off and everyone started one? That’s exactly what’s happening with video now. Three hundred hours of new video content is added to YouTube every minute and more than 30 million people watch YouTube content each day.
Like blogging, the consistent release and promotion of quality video content can drive traffic to sites or landing pages. In fact, transcriptions of video content (a must for site accessibility and Voice Search) can generate other forms of content for various channels. When done properly, video content can also generate podcasts, blogs, and/or webinars.
Create Valuable User Experiences
How potential customers experience your brand has a huge impact on purchase decisions. While maintaining a presence on various channels offers much-needed flexibility to buyers, it can make managing the quality of customers’ experience quite difficult. Sadly, providing a quality customer experience consistently is only the beginning.
More and more customers expect unique experiences crafted especially for them. For organizations to stand out, they must create experiences that customers valuable absent of additional services or products.
Personalize Everything
Presenting relevant and useful information to prospects or clients is the essence of personalization. The better your team is at helping individuals, the more you will see individuals embrace your product or service. More and more digital tools are available that make scaling personalization possible.
Organizations that master personalization will gain an advantage over the competition. To learn more about personalization and the potential it has to transform your business, check out this piece on web personalization.
Which trends are you watching this year? Share your game-changing predictions below or tweet us @hannon_hill.
