It’s very important for all businesses to keep on top of the latest trends in marketing. Consumer tastes have shifted significantly over the last few years and if your business is still doing marketing like it’s 2013, you risk being left behind. Read on for MAD Ideas’ top marketing trends.
Create great in-store experiences
The UK retail sector has been very difficult, with a bleak December rounding off a poor year for sales. High street retailers continued to lose out to the booming online shopping sector, which will only continue to grow as we move through this year and beyond.
If your retail business relies on customers physically buying products or services in-store, then you’ll need to give them a great reason to put down their smartphones and laptops and visit your shop to spend.
In-store experiences will become an increasingly important way of attracting new custom. Providing interactive shopping experiences, for example by holding mini workshops, placing stands in-store where customers can sample products, and holding interactive games and events, can help to refresh the somewhat stale traditional retail experience and transform shopping from a passive to an active event.
Here at MAD Ideas we specialise in creating marketing materials to really give your in-store experience that extra wow factor – contact us today to find out more.
Utilise the power of social media
The UK retail sector has been very difficult, with a bleak December rounding off a poor year for sales. High street retailers continued to lose out to the booming online shopping sector, which will only continue to grow as we move through this year and beyond.
Your business should ramp up its social media marketing efforts, because it’s a great way of keeping in touch with existing clients while forming relationships with potential new customers. Identify which platform your target audience is most active on – it could be Facebook if your clients are aged 50+, whilst it’s more likely to be Instagram if they’re millennials – and focus efforts on creating posts for those platforms, tailored to your target market.
Retailers can now even choose to sell directly from within social media apps, with Instagram recently launching its Shopping feature allowing users to purchase products directly from Stories and the Explore tab.
Social media can also be effectively tied to your offline, in-store experiences. Encouraging store visitors to snap a photo of themselves taking part in a quirky or immersive in-store activity, and encouraging them to use a dedicated hashtag when sharing the picture on social media, is a great way of inexpensively generating a buzz online.
Brand authenticity and honesty are key
Consumers are probably more sceptical of big brands than ever before, and that’s why the effectiveness of traditional advertising is being replaced by the power of ‘earned media’. Earned media means user generated content, which might be photos posted on social media, or online video blogs and customer testimonials and reviews.
Experts say we’re now living in ‘the age of authenticity’, where people trust other people more than brands, and in which content created organically by consumers can resonate more powerfully than slick and expensive magazine, billboard or television adverts.
Authenticity means that a business has values and morals and stands by them no matter what challenges they encounter; the company always stays true to its mission and values. Being open about your business values and ethics and consistently communicating this message across all of your marketing channels, can help to increase trust and brand loyalty.
Authenticity also means owning up to your mistakes, by admitting when a product or service has not performed as well as expected. The importance of engaging honestly with customers and promptly reacting in a friendly, helpful and open manner to feedback and reviews cannot be overstated.
Show you’re environmentally conscious
In the last few years, environmental concerns have really came under the spotlight. David Attenborough’s Planet Earth 2 series generated a huge amount of publicity for the world’s plastic waste crisis, and a number of advertising campaigns focused on the incredibly important issue of climate change. As savvy consumers increasingly turn to environmentally and ethically conscious brands, smart businesses should work to boost their eco credentials.
If your business already has environmentally friendly policies in place, such as ditching single use plastics, reducing waste and encouraging recycling and reuse, make sure you highlight these practices on your website and in other marketing materials. If your business hasn’t yet introduced such practices, make this the year that you go eco-friendly!
Plant-based living was the truly hot topic of 2018, and is a trend which shows no sign of abating as the Veganuary campaign continues to generate huge publicity around the globe. With more people than ever adopting a flexitarian, vegetarian or vegan diet, now’s the perfect time for restaurants and food retailers to cater for this rapidly expanding new market by introducing more plant-based offerings. Chain supermarkets and eateries are all making huge efforts to introduce new vegan product lines, and for good reason – don’t allow your business to be left behind.
Need help with taking your business to the next level? Contact MAD Ideas today. A novel marketing and advertising agency based in Surrey, we can help you keep on top of the latest trends.