Something that is structurally noticeable about trends is that they follow each other at a rapid pace. What was a trend yesterday may not apply tomorrow. Especially in the field of online marketing. For this reason, we would like to give you a nice sneak preview for the trends in online marketing in 2020. Grab pen and paper, read with all the attention, because before you know it, the trend is already over. But not until you have made the most of this useful information. In this blog we share everything that awaits us in the online marketing world in 2020.
Trend 1: Conversational marketing/chatbots
Consumers want more and more interaction. They want to feel like they're really being heard. Filling out forms is one-way traffic and takes too much time. In addition, they have to wait for a response. Very passé. One of the latest trends is the use of an interactive chatbot. Just as you get a direct answer to your question in a physical store, these chatbots also give you the feeling of being helped instantly.
It is also important for consumers to communicate clearly about the use of a chatbot.
A good example of a company that has been experimenting with chatbots since 2016 is KLM. airline likes to find itself where the customers are present. Like WhatsApp and Facebook messenger for example. Although this company likes to keep the warm and personal way, the chatbots are extremely suitable when multiple people use the chat at the same time. Think of extreme delays. At those times, customer service is replaced for chatbots. A less warm and human answer, but relatively quickly. And that's what consumers really expect today with a complaint: a quick answer.
But... there is a caveat to the use of chatbots. It is less human and warm. It is therefore important to check that this form of conversational marketing suits your business. If you do consider it, make sure you provide the customer service staff with a thorough training and make sure that these people also keep fun in it. It is also important for consumers to communicate clearly about the use of a chatbot. When you are open and honest about this and the customers know that they are talking to a 'fake' person, they accept relatively more.
Trend 2: Recruit and train marketers
Whereas in the past marketing consisted mainly of creativity, it is now so much more than that. Everyone has understood the art of marketing somewhat these days. Online marketing is already widely used.</span> <span style="font-weight: 400;">The intention now is to lead the way in this. You do this by responding to data and analyses. When you as a company analyze and measurement skills, you will find that you are again head-to-head above the crowd. Therefore, make sure you implement the following departments in your company: demand generation, product marketing, customer marketing and content marketing. This is, of course, easier said than done. However, it is advisable to hire and train the right marketers for this. If that doesn't work, it's still an idea to hire an external company for this. And let's just specialize in this at Baas & Baas. If interested, please contact us with our only real chatbot ;)
Trend 3: Online personalization
Another important trend in the marketing world is that of online personalization. Thanks to the current techniques, we have access to an awful lot of data. Think of geographical information, but also the weather or device someone uses. Data enough to increase conversions, purely because you focus more on what you know about the customer. For example, when it rains, you may come with different expressions than when the sun shines. To check this you have a handy tool, namely Unless. This ensures that you really put someone on the right landing page.
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Personalization is still becoming increasingly important. To come back to the example about the weather, personalizing marketing using the weather is perfect. Personalization based on the weather makes you able to approach the consumer in a human way. In addition, it makes the website experience relevant. It increases the emotional commitment. Messages about the weather seem very personal, resulting in a consumer being more inclined to respond. In addition, the resulting data is intensely important and gives you a lot of power. Think for yourself what you can with all the information you get from behavior and purchases based on the weather.
Whether you want to perform the online personalization on the website, via email marketing, online advertisements or perhaps with your chatbots, this trend is mentioned in the list for a reason. We are talking about higher-level online marketing. Especially check with yourself what you can do with this information. For example, do you sell a product that depends on the weather? Don't let this trend pass you by.
Trend 4: Engaging with generation Z
When you were born around the '90s, you know that at that time everything could and should be. However, the next generation, the so-called 'generation Z' was raised in the crisis. This group is much more enterprising than the previous generation because of all the hassle. Moreover, people in this generation have a short attention span that only counts 8 seconds. They don't do texts, picture all the more. They are extremely up to date when it comes to technology. Something this generation Z typifify is the statement "Gen Z doesn't want to know anything about your marketing campaigns, they want to be part of it."
You have to have a clear purpose and use this as USP.
Because this generation is enterprising and aware of everything, it is precisely this target group that cares more about corporate social responsibility. And for this reason, working with this target group is ideal for purpose marketing. You have to have a clear purpose and use this as USP. Sustainability and improving the world is usually key. Would you like to know more about this and read examples of how purpose marketing should not be? Then read this blog about purpose marketing.
Trend 5: Build trust
While trust has always been important, this is now more important than ever. You don't just have to show confidence these days, you have to actually win it. For example, you do this through good customer service. However, this is not the only thing. It is important that you know who your target group is and where the interests lie. Based on this, you create a piece of high-quality content. Think of an e-book with a wealth of valuable information. Then make sure that this content is found by your target audience through, for example, a free giveaway. This gives you confidence from your potential customer and shows you what you have in your home. An important tip here is that you should never go directly to the sale. You have to build trust and you do this by first forming a connection with the customer. Want to know more about how to bring in new customers with high-quality content? Then read our blog about how to bring in new customers with an e-book on Facebook.
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