Where are you trending? 10 Marketing Trends And Predictions For 2023 (from Forbes)
At the end of January 2023, Forbes released an article titled, "10 Marketing Trends & Predictions for 2023". I thought it would be a fun exercise for each of us to explore where we're currently trending on each of these items, considering we're almost half-way through 2023.
Let's hop right into it :)
Managing Digital Expectations
Let's start our assessment off with the focus on managing digital expectations. As more and more of the marketing and sales process moves into the digital environment, how much are you focusing on aligning your digital experience with your human experience?
Are you even MEASURING your digital experience?
And I'm not just talking about a chatbot response time here. I'm talking about a true measurement of how people are EXPERIENCING you online. And a key item here is, to what degree are RELATIONSHIPS being built online?
There's space for current relationships to be MAINTAINED online.
And there's space for NEW relationships to be developed online.
Do you have practices for both?
And...how do the people who are responsible for creating those interactions feel about the work they are doing?
If they are putting in the minimum viable amount of work, you're getting the minimum viable digital expectation management.
NOT the way to build digital influence.
Playing the Authority Long Game
This one relates to becoming an AUTHORITY in your industry. And while most companies focus on things like "reach" and "visibility", that doesn't even touch authority.
While most definition of authority these days focus on, "the power to give orders or make decisions", I prefer to look at this from the original Latin root of the word, auctōritās, which means “invention, advice, opinion, influence, command” given by an auctor (“master, leader, author”).
This speaks more directly to how humans RECEIVE authority.
New inventions. Helpful advice (without a sales edge). Unique opinions. From Creators.
So, what are YOU creating?
Brochures? Case Studies? Digital Ads?
The problem with each of these is they don't show off a new solution to a problem that YOU created because of the unique way you saw the problem. They generally don't provide helpful advice (just facts about your business). And they look just like every other brochure, or case study, or ad; yes, even if they're using your brand colors.
I like to measure this based on the number of opinion pieces created in a weekly basis. For example, I write an article (almost) once a week, with at least 2 social media posts with my unique interpretation of a concept.
All 100% NEW.
Does your team have the permission to do that? If not, you're not playing the authority long game.
Fear of AI never sleeps
Forbes predicted that AI perceptions in B2C industries will impact it's trust for B2B purposes. And while the next point may show that this is short lived, it also speaks to the maintenance of HUMAN experiences in the digital space.
And yes...people can tell a human from a bot. You can, can't you?
AI will become much more accurate in 2023
As AI becomes more accurate, it will allow us to off load a lot of the "content creation" that ISN'T related to the authority long game. But then again, if it's not related to the long game, what's it related to?
A shift in spending for both consumers and companies
This one speaks to shifting spending to choices that, "maximize impact, utility, and convenience". But I think here it's important to ensure that all THREE are coming into play.
In the last few years, we've seen an increase in automated solutions, especially in sales and marketing. And while the automations themselves aren't the problem, usually they are focused on the convenience, and maybe the utility aspects of the spend. But without the right human practices and energy behind the scenes, the impact will fail to exist.
So, if buyers are being more selective in their spend, how are you showing the IMPACT of your product or service?
In a way that people actually RECEIVE...
People are becoming more and more suspicious of results reported by the company themselves, even through case studies. 1 great result out of 100 purchases isn't a great track record.
But people, and especially clients, who speak off the cuff about you and your services because they LOVE them, can be a huge contributor. How many of THOSE do you have?
Accelerating Physical/Digital Connectivity
COVID-19 brought on an increased shift from physical to digital experiences. And while 2022 showed the pendulum swinging back towards the long-missed physical experiences, it's more critical than ever that these two worlds are in alignment.
Any misalignment in customer expectations, whether physical or digital, allows for disappointment. Without focusing on both, and their alignment, the opportunity for broken experiences increases.
Are you showing up differently in person that online?
I'll tell you, most companies I meet are.
This has "broken customer expectations" written all over it.
So, how are you aligning yours? And how are you measuring it?
How about, by exploring your physical influence vs. digital influence?
Not sure how to measure the digital piece? Check out an Online Experience Audit through TLB Coaching & Events.
Social Commerce is on the rise
This one speaks specifically to the rise of influencers in the digital space, tied to creative social content.
Are you being creative with your social content?
Or are you just posting what tradeshows you're attending, highlighting your employees, and sharing Earth Day posts? Not that any of those are inherently bad, it's just, how many people are doing the SAME thing?
What are you doing differently to stand out in the 328.77 million terabytes of content that's being created every day?
Creativity is defined by YOU. What would YOU do to stand out from the crowd based on your unique company DNA?
It's time to start the conversation.
The best marketing strategy in 2023 will be one with integrated video and written content
Video content attracts specific people.
Written content attracts specific people.
This article doesn't reference audio, but that also attracts specific people.
Giving people different ways to experience you allows more people the opportunity to connect with you.
Now, the thing to keep in mind here is that there isn't just ONE way to use video. There's not only ONE way to create written content. Same with audio.
There is a way for YOUR business to easily create content in different formats that aligns with the company DNA. But that must be explored.
So, to measure this one...
Are you using video?
Are you creating written content?
Are you creating audio content?
Are they all aligned in messaging?
Are they all creating a similar experience for the consumer?
And if not...what's your plan to align them?
Time to re-examine Sales Process
Still something SO few companies are doing.
I've been part of sales teams who would rather replace all the sales reps every 18 months rather than re-examine their processes. And it never worked.
I've been part of sales teams that went to multiple tradeshows a year (which cost ten's if not thousand's of dollars) and never came back with a sale.
That's because, that's not how people are buying.
And if sales processes aren't aligned with buying processes, nothing is going anywhere.
The secret to a strong sales process is numbers + RELATIONSHIPS.
Numbers without relationships are completely irrelevant.
It's time to start exploring how many relationships are being ignited, and where. And by what means.
Prioritizing retention over new lead acquisition
I feel like this is one that's always on the list, but still worth a mention.
How many of your clients are either returning clients or active referrals?
The peeps you've served the best are always the fastest path to revenue 💖
The moral of the story
The thing I find most interesting about this list is that there's really two pieces:
Optimizing human experiences
Optimizing technology usage
These two things need to go hand-in-hand to optimize your marketing and sales efforts. And while the balance isn't necessarily 50/50, both need to exist in order to make things work optimally.
The key is finding out YOUR split.
The split for your company that makes all of this work towards YOUR goals.
So lastly, but certainly not least, where are you tracking on your revenue goals for 2023?
The clients are there. The money is there.
But it will be difficult to find if your humans and your technology in sales and marketing aren't working together well.
If you need help in getting everything aligned, let's chat 😊
