It’s January 2023 and a new year has just begun. It’s the time often associated with changes. What will be new? What will adjust? And what will end?
We put our heads together and summarized what we think will be important this year.
Green Marketing and Sustainability efforts will be a must
According to Forrester, nearly three out of five consumers are willing to pay more for environmentally friendly products, and the number of environmentally conscious consumers in Europe is expected to increase by 50% by the end of the year. Efforts to become more environmentally friendly are simply a must.
That is not a trivial task, especially since we are enjoying the revival of global physical events. Companies need to thoroughly evaluate their venue, considering the carbon footprint. Local events may be the preferred choice. But hybrid event models might be a good compromise and are therefore here to stay. They not only reduce the event’s carbon bill but also greatly increase its reach. However, green consumers will expect more. Some sustainable practices include encouraging public transportation, digitizing event literature, banning single-use plastic, and sourcing local food and eco-friendly venues. Largely, green marketing which forces businesses to change every aspect of their supply chain to become more environmentally conscious will be hugely valuable this year.
Return on Investment Measures are becoming even more important
Since the tech industry experienced many layoffs last year, marketing budgets will face more scrutiny than ever. Additionally, easily accessible online tools like Canva and ChatGPT will challenge the content creation done by copywriters and designers. Therefore, evaluating a marketing campaign for its performance, impact, and return on investment is paramount to define if your marketing efforts are actually beneficial.
The determination of Return on Investments (ROI) will therefore be essential for each and every single step in the customer experience to measure what element and to what degree they contribute to revenue growth.
Data unification will become increasingly important for big data management
The need to deliver efficient marketing campaigns with relevant marketing messages means that marketing teams need to be able to pull insights into their customer base.
But as the internet enabled brands to flourish online, companies have collected more data from more sources than ever before. Data unification tools bring together disparate and disconnected data into a single, unified source. Managing all this big data will be necessary to deliver actionable insights, which will turn leads into conversions.
Data privacy will increasingly influence customer confidence
But be warned when collecting all that big data. Customers don't like being taken advantage of and will switch to another brand if they feel their privacy is not respected. It is important to be transparent, open, and honest about why the customer data is collected and for what purpose. Dishonesty or failure to meet customer expectations will be punished by loss of customer trust, and that is very difficult to regain. However, trust will be strengthened if you are transparent and use the data to deliver personalized experiences.
Customers want to see more user-generated content
Gen Z is entering the workforce and since they are the first digital natives, changes in customer behaviour are to be expected. Generally, the new audience demographic will use the internet differently. Social media will increasingly be used to browse the net and gain information. Interest and trust will therefore shift to user-generated content (UGC) created by real people rather than brands. This content can come in different forms like blogs, videos, or pictures. Needless to say, a strong social media presence is and will be important. In addition, the connection to influencers shouldn’t be overlooked. But who knows the products better than the employees? Companies will realize that the best marketing can come from their own employees because it comes with a big advantage – it shows and features the humans behind a business. Being real and authentic, supporting the creation of UGC, and adding it to your marketing strategy will help expand your reach significantly in 2023.