Visibility & Focus
Visibility & Focus – Market Research Goals for 2017
This article and expertise were originally published on Forbes.
The visibility of a company is an important aspect of marketing, and this will not change in the coming year, regardless of any digital transformations. Marketing before and after a digital transformation will revolve around how customers see your business. I don't have a crystal ball, but I do have some ideas about what to
The focus on data and analytics is more important than ever for businesses of all sizes, as they try to discern valuable information from the overwhelming amount of data available. However, it can be a massive undertaking to stay focused and create conversations that increase conversions. Here are 10 trends that I predict will be important for businesses in 2017.
Increased focus on customer experience
Customer experience is the most important aspect of marketing for every industry. While it has always been a marketing focus, businesses today — especially the successful ones — have embraced customer-centric philosophies to create effective marketing strategies and positive digital transformations.
Engaged and effective measuring: Analytics 2.0
There has been a lot of talk recently about the need to measure marketing more effectively. However, the revelations from Facebook and other companies about the limitations of their data mean that we currently have a very poor understanding of how marketing affects business outcomes. In the coming year, we can expect businesses to focus on measuring marketing in a more purposeful way, with a particular focus on profit, revenue, customer retention, and satisfaction.
Lean on the new marketing lieutenants: marketing technologists and data scientists
There has been a lot of talk recently about the need to measure marketing more effectively. However, the revelations from Facebook and other companies about the limitations of their data mean that we currently have a very poor understanding of how marketing affects business outcomes. In the coming year, we can expect businesses to focus on measuring marketing in a more purposeful way, with a particular focus on profit, revenue, customer retention, and satisfaction.
Personalized everything
To make the first two trends on our list work, executives must be data-driven. They must incorporate technology needed to implement and support it. As companies aim to connect email, social media, and paid, owned, and earned marketing strategies (among others), they must rely on Chief Marketing Technologists to lead this initiative. Studies show that four out of five enterprises already do this. Some businesses are changing the way they produce their products so that they can be more customized to each individual customer. Others are making it easier for customers to buy their products, so that each customer can have a unique experience.
Better video content… and more of it
Yes, content is still king, but the kind of content that rules the web is changing. Social media, user-generated content, blogs, papers, and eBooks are all still crucial aspects of marketing, but video will be the rage moving forward. Considering the success of games like Pokémon Go, expect virtual and augmented reality to take us into the future. Brands that fail to incorporate visuals and videos will be left behind.
More social media marketing
We need to change the way we think about social media. Social media strategies should focus less on marketing and more on selling. Often, brands use social media to blast highly generic content — content that people are ignoring. Social media should be personalized too, and it’s not too hard to accomplish. Use social media for the frontline marketing of sales and services. Use it to engage with consumers, not blast messages at them.
Embrace the IoT
The internet of things has been in its infancy for a while now, but in 2017 businesses are really going to start to capitalize on the power of all the connected devices out there. This is a marketer's dream, as there are all sorts of opportunities to collect data and use it to get closer to customers. Things like beacons, sensors, edge devices, TVs, clothes, and fitness brands are all starting to produce useful data, so the IoT is going to transform how we use technology and data in the future.
Chatbots and AI go mainstream
By providing a positive customer experience and service, businesses can use technology to better understand their customers and cater to their needs. Chatbots, which use artificial intelligence and deep learning, can gather data from all over the internet in order to better understand customer behavior and preferences.
Right-time marketing instead of real-time marketing
Real-time marketing — with eyes out for opportunities to market and score — has been hot the last few years. Think of Oreo’s “Dunking in the Dark” campaign. As we now use data to isolate the best moment to connect with consumers, real-time should switch to right-time.
Prepare for marketing to own digital transformation campaigns
Real-time marketing has been popular in recent years as companies have used data to identify the best moment to connect with consumers. However, this should be renamed "right-time" marketing as the real-time moniker suggests immediacy, which is no longer a necessary component of successful marketing.
There is a lot of talk about CMOs owning digital transformation. I disagree. What CMOs should actually own is the digital transformation campaign – the process of showing the market and your teams that a company is transforming. Do this by clearly explaining how these trends, along with digital initiatives, affect consumer experience and how the company is executing it. This list isn’t exhaustive; save room for the unpredictable and unprecedented. Given last year’s trends and what I see on the horizon, this is how we should be planning for the upcoming year.
This article was adapted from an article written by Daniel Newman from Forbes and was legally licensed through the NewsCred publisher network. The views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of Twitter or its affiliates.