The pandemic radically changed the consumer shopping experience and transformed the retail business. As consumer buying behavior changed and moved online so did the sales funnel. Even as marketers adapted, new technology stepped in changing the landscape yet again. As a digital marketing company in India you should therefore look far into the future and craft your strategy for the next decade and not just for the next year. LitmusBranding – your branding agency in Ahmedabad– brings you some trends you are most likely to see –

Social Media

When the Covid 19 hit America, according to Marketing Charts almost a quarter of the total US marketing budget went towards social media campaigns as consumers began looking for their needs online. While the statistic relates to the US, the shift was global and the number is set to rise in the next decade.

Not only is social media marketing likely to escalate, but even before the pandemic, brands were already trying to build first-party – one on one – relationships with their consumers. Customer Data Platforms (CDP) is now here to help by collecting customer data from diverse touchpoints and delivering personalized content to your consumer. So start thinking about personalized push messages on phones and focus on retention. In any case, almost every brand dipped into their existing customer base to recover from Covid so make sure your most loyal customers stay with you. How?

Every brand advertising company and digital marketing company in India and around the globe should prepare to channel serious resources to social media.

For starters, you should start building your social media community? We’re not just talking about Facebook – though it is arguably the largest and most conducive to communities. But then there are other ways too like spaces on LinkedIn, Groups on WhatsApp and Telegram Groups – so it’s important to cover all bases.

Talking of social media, YouTube and video content is emerging as the new king. Micro-influencers who create a video of products and how to use them are driving sales. Wordstream reports that 40% of people buy products after seeing them on YouTube, TikTok, or other videos. Yet the length of video content is shortening as is the consumer attention span. So short videos will be the way to go in the next decade.

Lateral Shift

Another continuing trend from before the pandemic is marketing automation. For decades, marketers have struggled with emails, social media posts and so on – until the likes of Mailchimp and Hootsuite made things easier. Though the basic tools remain the same, advertisers are now talking about lifecycle email marketing and sales cadence – old wine in a new bottle? Perhaps but then your sales funnel is no longer as straight and narrow as it used to be. As technology advances, new channels open up and it becomes important to cover (track) all bases – huh consumer touchpoints to ensure conversion.

Not only are pathways to the consumer becoming complex, but brands are also cluttering up these pathways making it difficult for you to reach your target consumer. It, therefore, becomes important to understand your consumer’s journey across devices and optimize your paid and organic ads to reach your target audience quickly, efficiently, and at least expense.

Focus Shift

Crowds of more than 10 persons are banned in physical spaces but that’s not true in cyberspace. The digital space – vast as it is – is cluttering up. This is driving a shift in focus on several fronts. For instance, where earlier social media was being leveraged for lead generation it is now helping retention through better engagement and online communities. This is also a result of the slack that businesses suffered due to lockdown. As they strive to recover, they turn to their existing online customer base. After all, retention is less expensive and easier than lead generation. With everyone and their brother on mobile devices, sending a quick SMS or email is simpler. Mobile marketing is likely to be the new normal as far as digital marketing is concerned.

With this type of invasive marketing where marketers enter the private space (personal devices) of consumers, there is a growing concern about privacy. Already the western world is taking steps – think CCPA (California Consumer Privacy Act) and GDPR (General Data Privacy Regulation) – to protect consumer privacy. So every brand advertising company needs to stay up to speed on new privacy laws, tweak their strategy to accommodate them, and reassure the consumer of compliance. If you are considering marketing automation, be sure to check your channel partner’s compliance too.

As brands and businesses adjust to privacy-first data collection practices, the new decade is likely to witness the death of third-party cookies. This will have a direct impact on tracking metrics and an indirect effect on targeting practices. If you haven’t already, use 2021 to study the new privacy laws and get familiar with them. Then start adjusting your strategy.

Despite privacy concerns, however, one study revealed that although close to 80% of consumers expressed concern about privacy, 90% were ready to share behavioral data for a better UX and a better bargain. The younger generation is tech-savvy and they shun mass marketing campaigns. So personalized marketing is likely to rule the roost in the new decade starting 2021. Emerging technologies like AI and ML can help marketers automate personalize marketing so perhaps we’ll witness a greater infusion of technology in the marketing space during the coming years.

Summing up

With a new phase of the pandemic emerging around the world, even those who have ventured offline are likely to return to their digital resources. The combined forces of the lockdown and emerging technology are likely to drive online sales. The new decade will therefore witness a paradigm shift in the marketing landscape.

LitmusBranding a branding agency in Ahmedabad believes in leveraging best marketing and brand building practices for its customers. Do reach out with your requirements with an email or through our website.