This year, Pickett and Associates is celebrating 10 years of serving the business community through public relations, communications, and marketing. We have helped businesses and organizations engage customers, clients and donors through implementing concise and effective marketing strategies. To celebrate both our 10-year landmark and the success of our clients, let’s identify the top 10 marketing strategies for 2020!
New technologies and social media platforms will have a huge impact on the landscape of marketing this year. Nothing new there. But 2020 will be the year of the customer who will become even more important in the implementation of these strategies. No longer can a business cast out a decent marketing plan like a fishing net and hope to reel in some customers. The consumers of today are wise to the pull of marketing, while also being aware of the power they hold in their wallets.
So, what are the best strategies to improve marketing practices for businesses in 2020?
Create a Customer Experience
Consumers in 2020 will crave rich experiences to keep them returning to your business or brand. The largest touch point for consumers is in your employees, who create the face of your business. Remember that, at the end of the day, your business is built on the interactions of human beings (your employees) with other human beings (your customers).
Streamlined Marketing
Between social media and other marketing outlets, you have the power to capture the attention of a large audience. It is really important to make sure you have one place to send everyone, where your brand and messaging are streamlined and consistent. A UX-rich (aka “user experience”) website is the perfect platform and provides a sense of your brand and mission.
Hyper-personalization
Consumers are looking for a hyper-personalized experience in 2020, and it needs to go beyond using an algorithm to add their name to an email or newsletter. Successful businesses will forge real connections with real individuals.
Conversational Branding
Brands will need to create a continuous, trustworthy conversation with their customers in order to increase retention and loyalty. Social media influencers are making a large impact, especially those on the micro scale (influencers who are not celebrities but, instead have only thousands of followers and create more of a sense of community).
Voice Search
A.I. devices like Amazon’s Alexa and ECHO will be found in 55% of American households by the end of 2020. Businesses that want to be on the forefront of marketing technology will make use of voice searches and voice marketing to reach new customers and keep their branding relevant.
Video Searches and Video Marketing
Platforms like YouTube are making huge gains in popularity and have grown quickly as a marketing method for businesses both small and large. Successful businesses in 2020 will be brave in utilizing this new form of reaching out to their customer base.
Better Visuals
Consumers are on the lookout for outstanding visuals, and businesses will need to make use of that in order to capture the attention of their market. High quality photographs, visually appealing images, infographics, and ensuring that your images are linked to Google searches through SEO are all important.
Podcasts
These short, niche, radio-type recordings are really having an impact on the way consumers hear the branding of a business. Marketing can be achieved through having the podcast itself highlight your business in particular or through commercials aimed at your target market.
Community
Creating a community surrounding your brand or business has always been a very effective strategy in gaining customer loyalty. Social media, word of mouth, the use of influencers, and giving customers an experience to remember are all ways to create a consumer community.
SEO and SERPs
Marketers are already familiar with the importance of SEO, which will continue to be vital to the exposure of businesses through search engines. In 2020, however, SERPs, or Search Engine Result Pages, will become increasingly important. Businesses will be vying for the top spot on results pages, as this is where most consumers gravitate.
This was just a brief look into the top 10, but be on the lookout for a deeper dive into each of these strategies in the coming weeks. If you feel that you would like to learn about implementing more of these strategies in your marketing plan, contact the team at Pickett and Associates to help you achieve a better reach into your community.
