A
rocky 2018 has left consumers, businesses and nonprofits reeling from a
seemingly endless round of unsettling behaviors – political drama, foreign uneasiness,
rising interest rates, stock market turbulence and random violence throughout
the year. Against this background, it
is probably not surprising that the monthly Chief Executive magazine survey of
“CEO Confidence In Business Conditions One Year From Now” dropped 16 percent
from is high of 7.62 in January 2018 to 6.44 in December. The decline was led by air/rail (- 29%),
financial services (- 22%), manufactured consumer goods (- 14%) and
manufactured industrial goods (- 12%). However, among
all these clouds there are some rays of sunshine. I believe that there are a variety of
actionable marketing and marketing communications actions that B2B, B2C and
nonprofits can take to better position their brands for a profitable 2019 with
improved ROI. By focusing on strategic
direction and planning, organizations will not only improve results in 2019 but
will also widen the gap between themselves and competitors who may be panic
stricken and unable to make any moves.
Hopefully these forecasts will help you develop the steps you need to take
in 2019. 1. Video
marketing will take center stage in 2019.
Communicating a brand’s features, benefits and trustworthiness through a
live or taped video can be more compelling than traditional content marketing
tactics. Some 70 percent of B2B buyers
and searchers are watching videos throughout the buying journey and nearly half
of them are viewing 30 minutes or more of content (Millwood Brown). And a recent study by Cisco says that within
the next three years, 82 percent of consumer Internet traffic will be for
video. Investment in video – short form,
long form, live or recorded should be a major priority in 2019. 2. Voice
activated Internet search will increase significantly. In fact, by 2020, 50 percent of web searches
will be voice activated (ComScore). To
optimize voice search, it’s important to focus on conventional, long tail,
multi-word phrases which have a greater chance of expressing the intention of
the searcher. Considerable thought and
time should be spent on developing new and compelling language for your
website. 3. Media
neutrality regarding new and traditional media and marketing services will
become even more of a necessity. As customers and prospects
seek brand information from multiple sources credibility will rise in
importance. Digital media will continue
to grow and is forecast to approach $87 billion in 2019; however, after the
recent FBI investigation of digital media buying fraud, ANA’s new efforts to
eliminate bots, the findings that digital ad blocking has climbed to 30 percent,
etc., the long-awaited move to clean up digital media has finally begun. This is a good time to remember that that
traditional media and marketing services (as led by sales promotion,
television, telemarketing, direct mail, event, radio, newspaper and magazines)
are still strong and projected to reach $357 billion in 2019 (Advertising Age). 4. Long form
content messaging will become more important as search engines begin rewarding
longer posts in rankings. Searchers are increasingly
looking for more trustworthy sources, and longer, professionally documented
posts can provide this. According to
Orbit Media, a typical blog post in 2014 was 808 words while the typical length
in 2018 was 1150 words (+ 42%). Just be
sure to provide thoughtful, well researched and well written messages that will
demonstrate your expertise and honesty. 5. Recognize
that trust in social media is declining.
Almost two-thirds of consumers no longer trust social media networks,
according to social media management tool, Hootsuite. Why? ·
Cambridge Analytica, as well as Russian and Chinese tampering
scandals ·
Facebook’s lack of security, as well as data sharing deals,
accuracy and transparency ·
Twitter and the large number of bots on its platform That does not
mean you should abandon social media altogether; rather, dig deeper into which
platform to use and what information to gather, share and maintain to increase trustworthiness. 6. As
millennials have become older, they’ve also become more “traditional” in their
thinking and represent a growing new market to explore. These millennials in the older 22 – 37 age
segment no longer fit all of the beliefs associated with their younger counterparts. As they become older, they: ·
Marry and prefer the suburbs for raising their children ·
Are the only age group currently increasing their use of coupons ·
Are driving a boom in actual paper snail mail holiday greeting
cards ·
Similarly prefer direct mail coupons and promotions ·
Want a strong human element for some services instead of just
social and digital channels They have
become a sizable market which marketers should reconsider and think about in a
new light. 7. The value of
understanding your market and your marketing programs will soar in 2019. C-Suite concerns about 2019 will translate to
their growing and significant need to understand where to invest resources as
well as have assurances that a reasonable and measured ROI evaluation will be
conducted. The disciplines of knowing
your customers and prospects and evaluating the effectiveness of the marketing
programs directed to them must be joined at the hip. Directing successful ROI focused programs
starts with understanding the wants and needs of your audiences. There are various tactics to do this but
understanding how your product or service is perceived by your audience is
key. After developing a top-notch customer
satisfaction program you’ve also got to determine what works, what needs to be
improved and the overall ROI. If you
lack the resources to evaluate these programs seek outside help. You and top management need proof of what’s
working. Optimize
Planning And ROI With Marketing And Marketing Communication Consultants. Hopefully,
these forecasts make sense to you and will make you think more deeply about
your challenges and opportunities. But
if you don’t have the time or available and knowledgeable staff to develop and execute
the appropriate tactics, consider outside professional staff. Unsure about
how to employ a consultant? You
certainly should feel comfortable with the person but also be sure to check out
the basics. Specifically, look for
someone who: ·
Is an established, media neutral professional with experience
across industries, companies, B2B, B2C and nonprofits, large and small; ·
Is analytically and ROI driven with broad knowledge across all
marketing communications disciplines, rather than just one particular area of
expertise; ·
Is capable to bringing in other like-minded professionals when the
need arises; ·
Is willing to learn your business without a “one size fits all” mentality; ·
Is going to “tell it like it so” so condor will flourish. Most
marketeers would agree that 2019 is going to be a very challenging, even
disruptive, year. These forecasts not
only give you something to think about; they also present opportunities to take
action to improve your ROI. But, as Mark
Twain said, “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” Gary Kullberg is the CEO of the Kullberg Consulting
Group, LLC ( http://www.KullbergConsultingGroup.com ), founded in 1994 to provide companies and nonprofits
with strategic and executional marketing communications solutions. The Company
consists of sixty entrepreneurially driven senior level professionals, across
disciplines, who have worked with over 585 organizations in 21 major industry
groups. Because of its unique structure, clients are able to "cherry
pick" the specific disciplines(s) to meet their needs, in a timely, cost
efficient and unbiased manner. Gary is considered an authority in the B2B, B2C
and nonprofit marketplaces. He has served as the outsourced Chief Marketing
Officer for three companies, as well as on five nonprofit Executive Boards, one
as Vice Chair and two as Chair. He can
be reached at Gary@KullbergConsultingGroup.com or 401.886.5001. |