5 new trends to watch out for in the marketing space

The evolution of marketing

Profit is no longer limited to delivering quality products. You need to find your customers and make them stay loyal to you. Marketing started with physical brochures, posters, and visiting cards. It began evolving in no time, and before we knew it, we were mining customer data, to increase our sales. Practices initially seen as unethical are now an accepted part of daily life.

The field of marketing also opened a lot of careers for varied professionals. A significant aspect of marketing is that it keeps evolving all the time. We think we have seen everything we need to see until a new technology emerges.

In this article, we will be exploring the emerging new technology in the marketing business. We have surpassed the stage of articles, which are filled with keywords. Things such as email and SMS marketing, influencer marketing, fake reviews, gathering data through chatbots have become obsolete. It does not mean they are irrelevant, but now, they are not enough to keep you afloat. What we once thought of as ‘advanced’ has now become, ‘the base’.

The newly emerging methods of marketing can level up your business. If you are already posting advertisements on various social media platforms, you can distinguish the ones worth investing in further. If your company already has a website, you can direct more traffic to a specific section. Assuming that you need to increase your business, let us dive into the 5 emerging trends in the world of marketing.

Artificial Intelligence

We already use AI applications such as semantic and voice search, content creation, and chatbots. However, AI can also predict new trends, helping you stay one step ahead in the game. It can analyze various data points. It has successfully studied consumer behavior and predicted their actions in the market.

Augmented reality (AR) is a big step in enhancing the consumer experience. It allows one to experience the digital store in real-time. To cite an example, it will enable one to try on garments virtually, getting a 360-degree view of the shop. Keeping in touch with the AI trend will ensure that you require less staff and make more sales.

Artificial intelligence is still in its nascent stage, considering that AI cannot replicate complicated thought patterns. However, even basic knowledge of AI has helped businesses grow tremendously. One can only wonder what the future holds for this field.

QR Codes

QR codes are a modern version of barcodes. They allow you to advertise and grow your business, without making it look like a hassle. Your customers can access your video, website, payment gateway without going through multiple steps. This technology is especially relevant in 2020, as they are safe and hygienic.

Most smartphones, nowadays, do not require you to download a separate app to scan a QR code. Simultaneously, the QR Code plan price is budget-friendly, making this one of the finest technologies to be adopted by the new businesses.

Because QR codes redirect you to a link, the applications are vast. Use it to reveal coupons and discounts, a restaurant menu, a Youtube link, or feedback; the opportunities are enormous. You can also protect the privacy of your business by linking your number to a QR code. This way, customers can call you, without getting your number. Payments can take place instantly by using a QR code.

You can use it to your advantage by offering a discount on future purchases if consumers pay via QR code. This way, you have heightened the possibility of another purchase taking place. QR Codes with logo leaves a lot of room for creativity.

Video Marketing

People are addicted to visual media, especially videos. If you can create short and precise videos showcasing your products, you have an upper-hand at this game. More importantly, videos are likely to strike a chord with the customer.

You can write only so much information on your website until it starts looking cluttered and overwhelming. It is easy to explore the "about our company', "our vision" section of the website through a video format because it is more personal and can accommodate much more information.

You could attach a QR code to your product linked to a tutorial for it. You can have short videos about the manufacturing process to showcase your company's authenticity. However, your best marketers are your customers. In the age of fake reviews, the video of an honest, satisfied customer is an authentic and crucial part of marketing. Use internal experts to talk about the relevance of your products.

You do not have to jump into making scripts and hiring a team, right away. In the initial days, stick to regular social media sites until you have gained a considerable following. Users are also more likely to buy your products if they have seen your video/reel etc., on a popular social media platform.

Discovery of data in-store

Online business is booming, but it does not make offline shopping irrelevant. Costumes still like in-store shopping, and some kinds of businesses require a physical store. Online business helps us gather valuable customer data. In-store data only means that you can accomplish the same thing offline too.

This trend has risen slowly because the sensors are expected to deliver high performance in small packages. The smaller the device, the harder it is to get work done from it. These sensors eliminate the need for physical staff.

Customers can interact with these sensors via their mobile phones to detect the location of a product. These sensors can also inform the customers about the discounted products and coupons in the stores. In turn, the company gets data on consumer habits and preferences.

These sensors can help make the business more personalized and reduce the overall cost. Customers are also more likely to open push notifications from an in-store sensor than a random email/SMS when they are home.

Multi-touch attribution

Advertising on different websites requires money. It is an investment you cannot afford to waste. Hence, it is crucial to measure the conversion rate of each point where your advertisement is located. Multi-touch attribution allows you to review the effectiveness of your marketing touchpoints.

As opposed to the traditional first and last touchpoint approach, the multi-touch method considers all the touchpoints. It gives you an in-depth and unbiased review of each touchpoint's performance. There are several models for this technique. Rule-based models require the seller/marketer to define the basis on which the credit gets assigned to a touchpoint. Even-weighing is a rule-based approach suitable for people who are unaware of a typical consumer's path.

Algorithmic models use statistical data and Machine Learning to do the same. The level of accuracy differs, depending on the type of business and model of multi-touch attribution. For example, a time decay model is appropriate for events such as promotional campaigns.

The golden rule of modern marketing

Personalize everything, for everyone. Need fulfillment is not the motto of shopping anymore. Your competitors are offering the same products, at the same price. The one who reaches out to the customer first with a desirable offer, cracks the sale. As a seller, knowing what the customers want, plays a very significant role in increasing your sales. Your competition automatically increases when a customer wanders around in different places for a desirable product.

Last word

The key to a successful marketing strategy is to use technology in tandem with each other. There are many digital marketing strategies. These strategies will keep adding up and never really go extinct. There are more trends such as blockchain marketing, automated marketing, RankBrain, Gamification of content, voice detection, and several others that promise to deliver high performance. However, you cannot be sure, unless you try. When used smartly, these can reduce your employment and maintenance costs a lot. Keep yourself updated with the old and new technology.

Many companies survive on the mere appeal they have built in the past, with no change in quality whatsoever. Competing with such giants by a newly launched product can be challenging. Not only does this need to expose your audience to the company again and again, but you will also have to form a psychological connection with them. QR Code is one of the latest and most straightforward marketing strategies that has helped the businesses ace their marketing strategies and bring in potential customers in pandemic times.