With 2018 quickly coming to an end, many companies are using this time to revisit their current marketing campaigns. This enables them to do two things.
First, it makes it possible to maximize their results for the remainder of this year by addressing (and focusing on) some of the most current trends. Second, taking a deeper look into what types of efforts are working and which ones aren’t also helps businesses decide what types of marketing strategies they should consider focusing on in 2019 and beyond.
Taking these types of actions is critical to business growth, but they do first require understanding some of the top trends impacting company’s marketing campaigns today. Here are three to consider.
#1: A Preference for On-Demand
Marketing Week reports that U.K. youth are watching more programs on-demand now than in the recent past. Specifically, there has been a 20 percent increase in on-demand program watching among children aged eight to 12 in the last year, and almost double that (a 38 percent increase) when it comes to adolescent viewers.
This particular trend highlights how much value younger consumers place on speed of service and convenience when it comes to the products and services they enjoy most. Even if your product or service line doesn’t cater to this age group, this type of information may be helpful in later years, as these kids begin to grow up.
#2: Consumer’s Changing Interests and Needs
On 28 August, 2018 Pinterest released its Back to Life report which shows that four of the top searches on this social media site this time of year are related to self-care routines, health and wellness, improving organizational skills, and haircuts to mark the changing seasons.
Since consumer’s interests and needs change throughout the year, knowing what matters to them most at the time can really impact how a company decides to market during different times of the year.
#3: Disrupted App Development
Brexit has had a number of impacts on British businesses, with Digital Strategy Consulting reporting that one is a disruption of company’s app development processes. Specifically, limited resources and increased demand is making it more difficult for businesses to create and update apps with features customers want.
This puts businesses in a position where they must either find more resourceful ways to better meet customers’ needs or risk a decline in consumer satisfaction because their digital offerings are out of date.
Creating a Successful Marketing Strategy
Creating a successful marketing strategy involves assessing these types of trends and putting a campaign in place which enables the company to capitalize on them.
For instance, since customers seem to appreciate the value of on-demand, what actions could your company take to provide this type of service? Maybe there is a digital product you could create that would enable customers to meet their own needs at a time most convenient for them. Or perhaps you could develop a marketing campaign on social media sites which involve one or more of the top search topics, improving the company’s visibility that way.
Creating a successful marketing strategy—one which increases profits and helps a company meets its goals—also involves using an approach which offers “a tight fit between what clients are looking for and what the company is offering” according to Russell Ruffino, founder and CEO of Clients on Demand. In other words, a business’s marketing campaign must align its products and services with the needs of the customer base it is attempting to serve. When this type of connection can be made, both the company and the consumer can benefit and prosper.