The world has seen a paradigm shift in the way it conducts its business, especially in the last decade. Changes brought in by said shift have resulted in changes in organizations’ operations, marketing as well as general management. The chief reason behind this is changing in consumer behavior (where consumers are mostly Millennial and Generation Z). With the advent of the high-speed internet that is accessible to most, information is at our immediate disposal. As a result, well-informed decision-making has become easier. Organizations need to tap this niche, create relevant content to aid consumers’ decision-making and swing them in their favor. Needlessly to say, they must be at the top of their game and ensure they are armed with the best products and flawless services. To facilitate this, a few pointers can be kept in mind.
Firstly, let us assure our customers that they are always on our minds; let us upgrade the user experience. If we haven’t already, let us introduce Artificial Intelligence (AI). This can not only be imbibed in CRM platforms but also on Social Media. With the help of a few bots, especially Chatbots, consumers can have a personalized interaction with our brand, thus resulting in user delight. Lessening the turnaround time (TAT) can also be achieved through this. On the other hand, let us also team up with influencers, micro-influencers and opinion leaders to make our brand more approachable, more exclusive. Protection of user data is another domain we must invest heavily in. With news of data leaks doing the rounds, cybersecurity is a growing concern among stakeholders. We must invest smartly to mitigate such breaches, again with the help of AI.
Another mantra that we must continue to chant is staying relevant and sustainable. Though not a novel concept, there can be many new approaches for this. How can we remain relevant and yet counter our competition? By understanding well our consumers’ requirement, creating a buzz around our products/services through online-offline integration, and astutely responding to the demand-supply; all these falling under the umbrella of disruptive business models.
Personalization of communication has been playing a key role in our marketing and this will, most emphatically, continue. Shooting emailers to a huge database is not going to ensure leads and conversions, but dividing and classifying this database and sending targeted communication will be the game changer. On the other hand, users are also wary of content/information avalanche. Our brands can be differentiated by imparting information that is germane and easily comprehended, thus meeting target audience’s needs and our business goals. Videos, hence, are the go-to medium to make said communication worthwhile and avoiding consumer burn-out, an apt instrument of storytelling.
The Marriage of location-based marketing with digital marketing is another aspect that can extensively be looked into in 2018. While real-time marketing discerns our prospective consumer’s requirement “real-time”, location-based marketing enables the detection of this need through their mobile devices, alerting consumers about products/services near them to meet such a requirement. This ultimately requires the end user to opt-in, augmenting response and engagement rates, taking care of privacy concerns and minimizing bounces and ad spends.
User-generated content is another concept that will always remain relevant, be it 2008 or 2018. There can be no better influencer than the genuine users who share their content, thus humanizing the brand. UGC’s contribution towards successful marketing campaigns is noteworthy. For some brands, UGC is often more effective than traditional advertising. It also creates online brand engagement. This results in more content sharing, leading to more and more reach. Conversions and lead-generation increases with such wide reach.
With permutations and combinations in the algorithm of Social Media, brands need to be sharper about their ad-spends. Advertising on Social Media is tipped to become even more competitive and a right mix of spending on each channel is desirable. Therefore, proper research before investing is a must, followed by the framing of strategies to best utilize monetary resources at our disposal.
Reshaping our business can result from redefining and supporting our employees’ work-life balance. Despite bots and AI and Machine Learning and Augmented Reality among many others, human resource remains every organization’s blood and bones. Diligent tending of said resources can guarantee the longevity of our business.
About the Author
A passionate advocate and practitioner of Digital Marketing, Anyatama Ghosh manages Marketing & Communication of travel giants Abercrombie & Kent India. Anyatama is an MBA Graduate with dual specialization in Finance & Marketing. She is a qualified professional who seeks to leverage experience and business acumen as well as learn from accomplished peers, while continuing to work in the industry. She is a proactive learner with a flair for adopting emerging trends and addressing industry requirements to achieve organizational objectives & profitability norms. Anyatama is also an Effective communicator & negotiator with strong analytical, problem-solving and organizational abilities. She is an avid reader, an ardent photographer, and loves to travel.
Anyatama’s motto is to LEARN, UNLEARN, And RELEARN. She wants to carve a niche in the corporate world by contributing her best to achieve excellent results for the organization and in the process, and to enhance and expand her skills as well as knowledge and prove to be an asset for the organization.
New Trends in the Business in 2018
