Digital Business & Future 24.05.2018

5 Marketing Trends, every CMO should know

Innovations in fields like Big Data, Cloud and Process Automation have changed the industry at a tearing pace in the last years. Not only the industry, but also the marketing world changes continously and in decreasing time intervals. If you still want to consult your costumers related to communication strategies in a modern and reasonable way, has to improve skills constantly and be aware of trends all the time – Hannes Beierlein (CCO and CO-Founder Evernine) explains 5 trends everyone should know.

#1 The interests of the customer have to be in focus

What sounds banal and self-evident at first is unfortunately often disregarded in practice. ‘‘I’ve observed again and again that companies are primarily trying to distribute their own solutions in the form of content, instead of reporting on topics that really interest the customer”, is also the experience of Alexander Roth, CEO at Evernine. If a potential lead visits a magazine or blog, he wants to inform himself primarily about topics where he has challenges or problems. If he is offered a solution in the course of this – all the better. However, if the customer has the feeling right from the start that the respective company only wants to sell him something, he will not be converted.

#2 Automation does not stop at marketing either

When it comes to automation, many people think of huge production halls, AI and Industry 4.0. But even in marketing, many processes have long since been automated and that is also important. While areas such as sales, marketing and PR used to be strictly separated, these areas are increasingly merging. A modern consultant must be able to master and operate all channels safely in order to be able to advise the customer optimally. This additional workload can only be achieved if processes are automated. ”Automation means less time for standardization and more time for creativity,” says Alec Chizhik, Programming & Apps Consultant and Managing Partner at NINE brackets.

This approach of increasingly integrating the various marketing channels is also the basis of Evernine’s Qualified Lead Marketing. Learn more about it here.

#3 A picture says more than 1.000 words

Before the times of digital marketing, one of the central problems was space. For example, only a limited advertising space was available on a newspaper page or advertising pillar, which can be used. In times of digital marketing there is almost unlimited space for content, which leads however to the fact that potential customers feel partly exhausted and “do not see the message because of loud text”. The targeted use of meaningful images helps the customer to immediately understand the core statement and arouses his interest in more information.

Next time try to illustrate dry facts and figures in a graphic and observe the performance in comparison to pure text contributions!

#4 Messaging

If you look at the download charts of iPhone and Android apps, the Messenger service reaches number 2 both times. 55% of the population in Germany alone uses WhatsApp every day – a peak figure hardly reached by any other app. With 1.5 billion users worldwide, this has huge potential, which you should recognize and use in good time to gain competitive advantages.

Keep in mind that you have represented your entire target group on one platform and can use the messenger service specifically for support purposes or to inform customers about product news. Of course, particular attention must be paid to current developments in the area of data protection regulations.

#5 Moving pictures say even more than 1.000 words

When scrolling through your social media channels you have surely noticed that videos have become more and more important. LinkedIN in particular is undergoing an exciting development and should definitely be kept in mind.

The trend is towards less text and more videos. However, the format is decisive here – because a large proportion of users use mobile devices to watch the corresponding videos.

Formats such as 1:1 and 9:16 are available here, but here too the environment in which the videos are embedded is constantly changing – so always stay on the ball and try out new things. Because what is only a crude saying in road traffic is a golden rule in digital marketing: Who brakes, loses!