Marketing is perhaps the primary key to sales and business success, and all successful marketers monitor trends.. Although business success depends upon a total value package of the right quality product or service at the right price with flawless deliver to the customer, it is all for nothing without an effective marketing strategy that connects the business to the customers. Marketing strategies and techniques are also constantly evolving. With the advent of new technologies and the Internet, there are now more ways to reach your target audience directly. Here are a few of the newest trends in marketing:
Social Marketing and Networking:
The new phenomenon of social networking has dominated the latest marketing techniques over the last few years. People are voluntarily connecting with each other in a variety of ways using platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin. With millions of their customers now connected with each other, businesses are joining the mix by setting up fan pages on Facebook or placing links to Twitter on their web pages. Marketing professionals are still trying to understand how to best leverage these social networks. However, one thing is clear: This is a trend with legs and not just a fad. If you want to be an expert marketer in the future, you must understand how to plug into social networks and communicate your messages in new ways.
Internet Marketing with Videos, Audio, Blogs, Coupons, Pop-ups, and Maps:
Technology is getting slicker all the time. In just a few short years, streaming videos, blogs, and interactive applications like maps, coupons, and pop-ups are now common place on the Internet. The technology has become so easy to use that most people under thirty years of age are making short video clips and digital images using cell phones and flipcams and placing them just moments after they take the shot. Simple to use editing software makes it easy for anyone to edit and produce audio and video tracks that in years past would have been done in a studio with complex equipment. Now, professional looking videos and high quality sounding audio tracks can be made by marketing and small business entrepreneurs very easily and they can compete with the largest companies on the planet.
Partnering, Joint Marketing Campaigns and Customization:
Technology has also made it easier for companies to partner with each other and to create joint marketing campaigns. Companies that own lists are finding that these are among their most valuable assets. Instead of “selling” or “renting” the list, they are doing joint promotions with other partners’ products to get paid a commission. Joint product placements are easily done by placing products onto a company’s website with a link to a customized sales web page that records the sale and the commission. Additionally, modern technology allows marketers to know customer preferences and offer them products that they might like based on their prior history. You can see this for yourself by just visiting and noticing the offers of other products for you when you select a book or another product.
Marketing with Mobile Devices:
Mobile device are now ubiquitous – notably the “smart phone.” In just a few short years, Blackberry’s, iPhones, and phones using the newest “droid” technology make it easy for anyone to have an instant computer and internet connection right in the palm of their hand. Consumers can search for products, place an order, and pay for it with just a few key strokes or clicks. This technology is just in its infancy, but is already changing how younger consumers interact with businesses. Even banking transactions including checking deposits can be done with mobile apps. Marketers must be watching this trend and searching for ways to plug into it by providing free applications that customers can download to their devices.
Eco-marketing and social trends:
Finally, smart companies are leveraging social and environmental trends to enhance their image and promote their products. They are looking for ways that they can be smart and socially conscious while promoting their business. If a restaurant can use paper containers instead of plastic, they might not only save on the cost of their supplies, but favorably impress some of their customers who are socially and environmentally conscious.
Looking at these trends and new marketing concepts, one can only conclude that there is nothing less than a marketing revolution underway. Smart businesses are hiring marketing professionals who are focusing on these new technologies and channels. Marketing is becoming more complex and there are an ever increasing number of ways to reach customers. The new technology also makes engaging them easier. If you ignore these trends, your competition wins. So, stay current, experiment with strategies that fit your company, and beat the competition!
