The new year 2021 has come and marketers are hyped up to start the year right. These marketers collaborate across multiple departments within the company while making sure to keep track of the competitive players to ensure they are still connected to the needs and goals of their customers.
So, what do you think you should expect when it comes to marketing trends this 2021? Read on to find out.
- Marketers will plan events that plug into the funnel.
Latane Conant, Chief Market Officer at 6sense predicts that this year there will be an explosion of virtual events as marketers adapt to the changing world. There might be a lot of people feeling some virtual burnout right now, but he is positive that there will still be a place for these kind of events.
- Community marketing will replace event-based marketing.
Adam Masur, VP of Marketing at Credly shares that the era of anchoring marketing around a big, industry event is coming to a close. Annual conferences are going virtual due to COVID-19 but hosts are still hopeful that their audiences are willing to attend gatherings in any form.
This year, there will be a more intimate online get-togethers. Companies should be ready to create a mark in the online world and bring practical value to the conversation.
- Businesses will find new ways to encourage online connections.
According to Kevin Alansky, Chief Marketing Officer at Higher Logic, the virtual and digital-first world will continue in 2021 and possibly beyond. As mentioned, annual events have been shifted to a virtual ones. While many organizations have not succeeded, this is because they tried to replicate the experience on an outdated model. Because of this experience, organizations are now on the lookout, finding the best solution to fight this problem. This is something that marketers should monitor and try to take advantage of. Create online communities for you to engage with your audience and build meaningful to be able to connect with your customers.
- Customer-centricity will propel brands forward.
Natalie Severino, VP Marketing at Chrous.ai predicts that a customer-centric approach is a way to go this year. Many organizations have been able to weather the storms and thrive by putting the customer at the center of every decision. There should be a total alignment between sales, marketing, and customer teams and it must rely on using the actual voice, pain points, and goals to create a winning partnership.
- Digital marketing spend will continue to grow.
According to Bridget Perry, CMO at Contentful, there's a digital innovation gap between what customers demand and what brands are currently capable of delivering. She also predicts that digital leaders across industries will spend, on average, 25% more this year. She also mentioned that this is just the average – some plan to spend significantly more. Organizations that will not scale up their digital spending will soon be outpaced by competitors.
