- 30-second summary: Through all of the turmoil, essential marketing patterns emerged that will impact the method small companies run in 2021.
- From catalyzed digital transformation and conversational marketing to AI’s application and data personal privacy emphasis, these are some themes that will act as pillars for marketing success.
- 5 predictions for how these patterns will play out this year.
In 2020, small businesses were required to be nimble to make it through and grow. As a result, more small companies accelerated their digital transformation efforts to quickly and successfully reach clients online.
Through all of the turmoil, crucial marketing patterns emerged that will affect the way little organizations run in 2021. Here are my forecasts for how these trends will play out this year:
1. Small businesses put their foot on the gas to digitally transform
According to the Small and Medium Business Trend Report from Salesforce Research, one in 3 small business leaders said that the pandemic has accelerated their digitization efforts, and over half of growing small companies said technology drives their customer interactions. When depended on a physical existence adjusted to the times and pivoted to ecommerce, Brick and mortar small services that. Even farming organizations that never ever developed an online presence established integrated payment systems and chat services to much better serve customers.
This year, small companies will continue their course to digitalization and buy structure and keeping an online existence. There will be a higher focus on tracking the whole consumer lifecycle journey online and utilizing data to inform choice making. This will open more chances for small businesses to take on bigger services that run in the very same markets.
2. Conversational marketing takes center stage
During the pandemic, internet traffic has actually increased and more consumers are talking with brand names online. While this presents an opportunity for marketers, it likewise has actually produced a special challenge. Now, more than ever in the past, marketers are try out conversational marketing to deliver tailored experiences and collect abundant customer insights. With the release of cross-app communication features from Facebook earlier this year, it is ending up being even simpler for brand names to reach consumers where they spend the majority of their time.
In 2021, little businesses and successful brand names will buy conversational marketing to build brand loyalty and boost sales. Personalization will end up being essential and brands that do not provide personalized interactions for consumers will fall short. As online marketers and small organizations invest in conversational marketing, the adoption of instantaneous chat and messenger services as interaction channels will increase.
3. Artificial intelligence and AI becomes useful for small businesses
In the past, artificial intelligence and machine learning have been viewed as valuable innovations, yet just recently have AI and ML-driven projects end up being traditional useful tools. Marketing automation is now wise enough to change messaging based upon intent signals, but it relies on expert system and artificial intelligence to make this take place.
This year, artificial intelligence and artificial intelligence will become more useful for little organizations, enabling them to rapidly and successfully target and interact with wanted audiences online. Advances in AI-based chatbot services will take place and consumers will be able to participate in a rich two-way discussion, which will offer valuable insights and abundant information for little organizations in 2021.
4. Data privacy pressures magnify– Small services need to prepare
As big tech continues to draw more government analysis around how user data is pulled and handled, the need for personal privacy security and openness from consumers continues to increase. According to RSA, almost half of Americans have actually had their individual info compromised by an information breach within the past year and according to a study by Cisco, 84% of customers want more control over how their personal information is managed.
Digital marketing is no exception to this and as small services continue to fully digitize, they will be faced with the very same level of analysis on how they handle customer data. While sourcing data is a necessary component of effective marketing, in 2021, little companies will need to buy executing information privacy certified procedures and interacting those transparently to clients. This ends up being an even greater obstacle as these little business fight to endure in the current economy.
5. The marketplace demand increases for all-in-one digital marketing platforms
The need for all-in-one digital marketing platforms has increased significantly within the past year as more little businesses are engaging with their clients online to drive sales. This has actually led to widespread development across multiple industries consisting of food and drink, physical fitness, farming, retail, and more. Larger business are also relying on these platforms to efficiently manage all of their marketing requires in one location.
As the need for these platforms continues, more companies that offer complementary options will end up being partners with business that offer these options to attend to the marketplace demand. Combinations for payment, sales, helpdesk, and contact management services will end up being even more effective and easy to utilize. Other combinations will also be established to help small companies streamline their digital marketing operations. As more organizations purchase providing valuable services for these platforms, a thriving community will be established where the services used for small companies continue to increase in worth.
Looking ahead
To succeed in 2021, it will be essential for little companies to focus on creating smooth customer experiences online. The small companies that excel in this area and harness the power of imagination will end up being more powerful than ever in the past.
Steffen Schebesta is CEO at Sendinblue.