Most small businesses don’t have the kind of money and personnel to quickly win a niche in a flooded market. That’s why having a creative and well-thought-out marketing strategy is critically important. Keeping up with the latest trends should be a vital part of the strategy, because customers appreciate brands that stay relevant and fresh.
There is so much about marketing trends you should know if you want to get serious about increasing your sales. These are some important starting points.
1. Mobile website
The world has gone mobile. According to Guardian, mobile traffic that comes from smartphones and tablets outperformed desktop traffic last year and accounted for almost 52 percent of the entire traffic volume. As a response, Google adopted a strategy of favoring mobile-friendly websites for search results.
For small businesses, making sure their website is mobile-friendly should be a mandatory requirement of the marketing strategy. The responsive design will increase the chances of being found on Google and improve user experience on the site. (Check out Mobile Friendly Test from Google to find out if your design is responsive.)
2. Emphasizing customer retention
It costs four to 10 times more to acquire a new customer than it does to keep an existing one. Moreover, often more than 50 percent of a company’s business comes from an existing customer base.
As the result, many businesses, including small ones, are focusing their effort on retaining customers. Doing this makes a lot of sense since a fierce competition significantly decreases the number of new customers a business can attract. So, devote resources to the retention of existing customers instead of constantly pursuing new ones.
3. Data-driven marketing
Data is becoming increasingly important for all businesses. By using it, they analyze the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, Web content readership, email metrics and much more. As described by an Econsultancy report, more than half of marketers today use no less than 21 platforms to operate data.
Of course, small businesses may not need all of these platforms, but it’s clear that data-driven decisions are the most effective ones. There are many areas in which data can be used to improve decisions, including customer service, new business opportunities and customer experience. Your business decisions will be more effective if you use data.
4. Authenticity in marketing
More than ever, authenticity is important for a business regardless of the industry it operates in. “Authentic storytelling improves trust in the business because it allows companies to connect with customers who already use their services,” says Alyssa Kurt, content manager at Awriter. Customers steer clear of businesses that try to deceive them.
5. Transparency
Many businesses turn to transparency if their reputation is damaged by a scandal or controversy. Look at the fallout for Facebook from the Cambridge Analytica revelation. Mark Zuckerberg went on a mea culpa media tour. However, this is an important requirement for any business at any time. Customers want to know where the products come from and who are the suppliers who sell them to you. From the customer viewpoint, transparency is about attention and knowledge. If a business cannot talk knowledgeably about its products, it will turn many potential customers away.
6. Experiential marketing
It is defined as a promotional strategy that engages potential customers by delivering a brand experience. The hands-on experiences, pop-up shops offering samples of a new product, interactive installations and flash mobs that work on the consumer side can be adapted for B2B companies.
Nancy Spektor sharpened her pencil at The Daily of the University of Washington. After graduation, she decided to combine her business degree with her passion for written communication at college-paper.org. Nancy writes about marketing strategies, content management and other topics she finds intriguing.
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