Digital marketing in the 2020s - what will stand out

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Through the 2010s I kept gaping at the gap between the traditional marketing approach at the agencies I worked at and this seemingly separate, fascinating discipline called digital marketing.  I noticed how the rate at which this gap diminished was massively slower that the rate at which customer behavior was transforming.  

The 2020s, I imagine will be the decade when this gap will completely vanish. The very definition of “mainstream advertising” is changing and more importantly being acknowledged as changed.  Today we refer to the two groups as traditional marketers/strategists and digital marketer/strategists. This split will disappear.  


New digital advertising channels continue to impact how we reach out to our customers. Here are a few ways I think our industry will be impacted by digital marketing, and two things that will stay the same. 

 

A few things that have changed: 

1) The number and nature of customer touchpoints and the inter-connectedness of these touch points 

 

2) Social commerce makes every touch point also a sale opportunity. Hence shaking things up in the marketing funnel as we know it with “purchase” moving higher up the funnel.  


3) ‘Customer advocacy’ is the new ‘repeat purchase’.   Not only are brands connected to people like never before, people are connected to people like never before.  


4) No customer is insignificant in this new ecosystem. The promptness and effectiveness with which brands respond to complaints, grievances, sentiments are shaping their futures. Digital marketing tools allow us to target a segment of one.  


5) Brands can and are engaging with their customers everyday with content that is relevant to the product/service/brand and provides value to the customer. 


What stays the same?  

1) The role of branding stays the same. This remains essential in fostering brand trust and customer life value. Every piece of communication still needs to tie back to the vision, mission and positioning of the brand. The importance of strategic planning that understands and bridges all islands of content with a consistent brand narrative has never been more. 


2) The importance of “listening and learning” from the customer stays the same. The only difference is that now we also need to follow conversations online. Because customers are hanging out online as much as they do offline, if not more. The answer to business problems still come from a keen understanding of changing customer motivations, barriers, fears and hopes etc.   


#emeritus #digitalmarketing #cbsee https://emrt.us/columbiadigitalmarketing

 

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