Marketing trends analysis

Today business has to look for new solutions that will make possible to advance competitors in the fight of customers. So what marketing trends will be clearly visible all over the world in 2020?

The growing popularity of live video

According to Digital Marketing World, in 2021,  live streams will account for 13% of Internet traffic worldwide. What’s more, number of customers who prefer to watch video before buying are four times more than those who like to read about goods or services. Live video, which replaces recorded videos step by step, is perceived by consumers as more real and causes more confidence to the brand or company

Texts and pictures cannot convey the atmosphere and emotions like a video. Live broadcasts are an opportunity to reduce the distance between business and consumers, and the possibility of involving them in communication. This works especially well if specific people, for example, the owner of a small business who streams. Consumers are less likely to trust advertising and more and more to individuals. 

At the same time, for companies it is an opportunity to quickly generate a large amount of content, and for viewers it is an optimal way to obtain information in terms of visibility and time saving.  

AR technology development

One more trend is that consumers are going in virtual space step by step. Customers going to the online channels is one of the risks not only for offline, but also for online business. To survive, retailers today need to create the most customer-friendly experience, in this regard, traditional retail is actively involved in online sales, and online stores and businesses represented on social networks are increasingly opening show rooms. Instead of showrooming – visiting stores without a purchase with its further making via the Internet comes webrooming – comparison and selection of goods on the Internet with further purchase at a point of sale).marketing trends to get customers

So, augmented reality (AR) becomes not only an opportunity to connect offline and online, but also to add an element of gamification and interaction with consumers. 

Interactive content

Involving consumers in communication is becoming more and more difficult. This means that today it’s not enough to write good texts and make beautiful post design.

At the same time only a few companies track reviews about themselves on review sites, track social networks and respond to their followers not with typical phrases, but by comprehensive requests.

By combining interesting content with the desire of consumers to be heard and involving them in a dialogue, the company will be able to stand out from the competition. Surveys, games, polls and interactive videos will increase the “visibility” of content and keeping visitors on social networks or on the company’s website longer. In addition, such type of content causes a desire to share it. 

Let’s have a look at the set of interactive video examples:

Personalization and customization

Surprisingly even though there is a great variety of goods and services offered, sometimes consumers have nothing to choose. With the widest choice provided by shopping centers, chains and online stores, consumers are increasingly talking about the impossibility of finding exactly what they need. There is the so-called illusion of choice, which forms consumer dissatisfaction. According to a research, almost 80% of consumers are willing to pay more for companies offering them personalized experience.

In this situation, they are increasingly turning their attention to niche goods and services, which are offered mainly by small businesses (for example, mini-bakeries, custom-made cakes, small unique cafes and restaurants, designer shoes and clothes, etc.). However, such companies do not offer completely unique products, but modifications made on basic ones. For example, the possibility to order customized cake instead of ready one. This allows businesses to effectively stand out from competitors. 

Companies need to look for criteria by which consumers are not satisfied with the goods and services offered, and offer something on the basis of customer’s feedback. Personalization is increasingly becoming more relevant to the company’s Internet activities – email newsletters, the ability to filter content, etc., all these tools should be used taking into account the features and requests of the target audience.

Situational marketing

Situational marketing is about interpreting relevant news or significant events that can reach the target audience in relation to their products or brands. 

Using situational marketing, it is possible to quickly draw attention to a company, its products, services and increase sales in the wake of discussing news or events. In this case, marketers need to remember the speed of dissemination of information and the duration of the life cycle of any newsbreak. With the development of social networks, the average duration of the hype around the “hot” news is 2-3 days, while the peak falls on the first day after the start of dissemination of information.

So, marketers have literally several hours to place ads or content. It is important to be in time and become one of the first to get maximum coverage. 

Design thinking, customer development and growth hacking

Significant growth of state and private business accelerators and growing number of startups leads to the fact that existing businesses are starting to use tools that allow them to quickly test and bring new products to the market to keep consumers constantly looking for new experience and impressions.

Design thinking, customer development and growth hacking are techniques that are situated at intersection of marketing (studying consumer experience, competitors and the market), product management (generating ideas and creating test products) and project management, finding innovative ideas and launching startups or new products.

These approaches are close to each other. They make possible to solve the problem with a focus on identifying unmet consumer needs with relatively small budgets and within a limited timeline. And as a result, to offer them solutions that correspond to the desired customer experience.