As the year begins many marketers have been searching for the latest trends with which to grow their businesses. Change is constant and is very important for growth, here, we try to look at some ways to keep abreast of the ever changing world of marketing in 2019.
- USE VIDEO MARKETING
A majority of internet traffic is traced to video content, more people are watching videos online than ever before and is projected to rise to as high as 82% ( according to Cisco’s annual Visual Network Index (VNI). Not all of these percentage are online watching Netflix and YouTube videos, 70% of them are B2B buyers following the journeys of other b2b buyers. B2B marketers should post more videos; long videos, short videos, brand videos, everyday life videos, live videos et al to keep other buyers abreast. Live streams should also replace webinars as they save cost and are rather effective.
- EXPERIMENTATION WITH TECHNOLOGY
In this ever changing and evolving world of us, emerging technologies and trends will play a major in B2B marketing in 2019. 2018 saw the gradual acceptance of new trends such as Online Voice Assistance, Artificial Intelligence, Virtual and Augmented Reality (VR & AR), growth of podcasts etc, and 2019 will see further growth of these marketing platforms among B2B businesses in these ways.
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be applied in data collation, provide additional client/buyer insight and identify trends.
- VR used in providing buyers with the ‘try before you buy’ experience, especially in architecture and construction businesses.
- Chatbots for live chats, sales and services.
- Voice search to optimize use of Personal assistant devices.
- Podcasts Listeners are expected to rise from a 72 million high in the U.S alone (forbes.com) . Podcasts are easier to consume than other media due to its on-demand and digestible format. If well done, a podcast provides marketers with cost effective and high quality content sourced from industry experts.
- BRANDING
All companies have logos, a color palette, brand giveaways et al but as competition heats up, especially with the emergence of new startups there will be a greater need for every business to have a brand that is distinct and different from that of other businesses.
Brands will have to elaborate and define basic brand elements such as brand promise and brand purpose. Compelling messages are expected so as to appeal to the emotions of customers, this and the new brand message serves as foundation for the brand which will be augmented by competitive analysis, greater reliance on brand research and client perception studies.
Brands will be forced to initiate a more sophisticated brand experience as new and mid-market firms seek to compete with bigger firms. So everything from website, signage and corporate office interiors will require upscaling as previously okay branding will be out of date and no longer acceptable.
- DATA SECURITY AND PRIVACY
2018 brought the GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation) into rule which affected how business is done in the EU. In 2019, expect other similar regulations to pop up worldwide hence the need for enhanced data security and privacy.
2019 will see continued attention to protecting personal data of clients, improving privacy policies, security hardening of websites and a more proactive approach to the subject of data security.
On top of improving transparency around data collation and usage, companies have to be prepared against data breaches to keep their customer information secure. Vendors are to help companies comply with the numerous regulations that are expected to come into effect this year and deal with security issues that may arise.
This helps our business grow as customer trust and loyalty is enhanced. Compliance with these rules may seem difficult at first but transparency in how we collect and use data is important as the customer feels you have his best interests at hearts. This is good for business, so why not?
- CONTINUED EXPANSION OF MARKETING ROLES
B2B firms face a couple of challenges which include but are not limited to talent shortage, increasing competition, commoditization and changing buyers. Most of the aforementioned are organizational challenges that require cross departmental collaboration to solve, marketing’s increasing involvement in sales, HR, PR and IT sees it well positioned to lead the charge.
- In the talent hunt, marketers play huge roles in helping firms develop and execute employer branding and talent recruitment strategies.
- Marketers will also play a larger role in shaping company culture and develop employee experience programmes.
- It is becoming more commonplace for companies to have marketing leaders assist in strategic planning process.
- Large firms will begin to collaborate content of their PR and communication teams to that of the marketing unit.
- Marketing will be relied on majorly to improve internal communication and develop useful company intranets.
- MATURE CONTENT MARKETING
B2B marketing firms will seek to pay more emphasis on creating quality, original thought leader oriented content that educates buyers and provides a window into the calibre of thinking a firm is likely to deliver.
Firms with smaller teams are expected to narrow their focus while bigger firms will look towards a more sophisticated content marketing programme as well as an adjustment of their social media presence.
Some content trends to consider are
- Instagram use will see a resurgence.
- The use of infographics will be revived.
- Diversification of content format to include Podcasts, interactive assessment and mobile friendly content.
- Use of influencers to boost program goals as against organic growth.
- Investment in videos as a marketing medium will increase.
- Podcasts will be used a lot more.
- PERSONALIZED MARKETING
Customers expect now, more than ever, that you know what they want and give it to them. Its been found out that 51% of customers will buy from a competitor if they receive an email that is not personalized. Businesses are now required to use data at their disposal to segment their customers and send them contents personalized to their need.
So in 2019, marketers should let data and insight influence their content marketing plans.