We have become so digital-centric, it’s hardly possible to visualize the future of business without it. Just like it’s impossible to imagine businesses thriving without digital marketing.
As we look at the future of business, companies that have already incorporated digital marketing will work towards perfecting their strategies.
For these companies, the question becomes, “what digital marketing strategies can we implement today that take into account the future?”
We are going to explore some of these strategies here.
If you haven’t joined the digital bandwagon, well, it’s about time you do or risk losing substantial business opportunities to competitors that already have.
1. Data Analytics
Data analytics is a strategy that will remain relevant for years to come.
It examines large data sets to draw conclusions about consumer behavior, rising trends, and untapped opportunities your business can leverage.
So rather than drawing your insights from whiteboards and papers, you digitize your data and allow technology to do the job.
The results are far more accurate and allow you to make research-informed marketing decisions.
Decisions that facilitate highly optimized marketing campaigns, better value for clients, improved operational efficiency and increased sales.
Here are some ways data analytics may help your business:
- Improving sales forecasting. By comparing historical feedback (customer behavior, responses, complaints, and sales activities) and present circumstances, data analytics help you understand your performance and even predict future circumstances. You can then make proper budgetary allocations.
- Improving marketing segmentation. Data analytics allow you to define your buyer personas and group potential customers into these personas. It makes for granular level message personalization that appeals to audiences and encourages engagement.
- Boosting email marketing campaigns for improved interactions. Email is perfect for reaching audiences. Data analytics steps in to let you know which subject lines and messages generate engagement, and the best days and times to push out emails.
2. Chatbot Marketing
With artificial intelligence technology continuously developing, chatbots are becoming increasingly helpful in providing fast and efficient solutions to site visitors.
Round-the-clock availability feature means your site serves customers and prospects nonstop, boosting lead generation efforts and revenue.
To build an effective chatbot strategy, consider the following:
- Understand your users. Having an all-round view of your customer aka your buyer persona should shape the scope and execution of this strategy.
- Define your goals. What do you want to achieve? Think about your customer conversion process and work backward to identify all touchpoints. What value can your chatbot offer? How can it get site visitors to convert?
- Choose a platform. The obvious choice is your website, but you can also have them on your social media channels. On your website, consider placing the bot on high-intent pages (service pages, pricing pages, and landing pages), high-traffic pages, and blogs.
- Create chat flows. Create pre-planned conversations based on varying customer responses for your chatbot to follow. You should also program the chatbot to send queries it doesn’t understand to human agents.
- Build the bot. You can build your chatbot using a chatbot builder (like Chatfuel, Pandorabots, ManyChat, MobileMonkey, etc) or buy one. Both options have a different impact in terms of resources and skills needed, risk management, and user experience.
- Test the bot. Use every possible interaction you can think of to test the chatbot before going live. It will help minimize errors when you go live.
- Monitor your bot. Keep an eye on the bot once it’s live to ensure it works as you intended. Update the bot with evolving industry trends and common questions site visitors ask.
3. Interactive Content
Interactive content facilitates a two-way conversation with your audience. They are not just reading what you’ve written, but can engage with it and try out different outcomes.
So, while static content works, consumers are increasingly interested in interactive content that gives them a feel of products/services.
This type of content does a great job of grabbing audience attention and boosting lead generation while allowing you to collect user data.
You can embed them in your email marketing campaigns, landing pages, ads, and on social media posts.
Examples of interactive content include interactive calculators, interactive assessments, interactive quizzes, interactive infographics, and interactive videos.
Benefits of using interactive content include:
- Attracting and engaging users. The dynamic nature of this content grabs attention and keeps your visitors engaged longer. Audiences personalize the content in real-time for varied outcomes.
- Assisting lead generation. Experiences like calculators and assessments offer real value to users, which means audiences are more likely to share their contact information for them.
- Aiding SEO efforts. Incorporating interactive content and sharing it on social media, website, emails or paid ads may help improve brand visibility. Making your interactive content shareable may help increase backlinks and improve your SEO.
4. Cold Calling
How is cold calling a future-forward strategy?
As long as we’re setting up new businesses and looking for solutions to improve operational efficiency and boost sales, cold calling has a future.
Sales and marketing teams will continue prospecting and reaching out to businesses they haven’t dealt with before to share their unique value propositions
Communication is real-time, two-way, allowing teams to get feedback and evaluate the quality of their leads.
It gives them a deeper understanding of their target market and how to develop personal relationships.
Here are actionable tips to help you reach more prospects and close deals:
- Pre-qualify your leads. Study your target market to understand their needs, motivations, pain points, and your solution’s capability. It will ensure you spend more time talking with good-fit brands and not wasting time on those who aren’t interested.
- Know your offerings. Keep useful data and stats handy so you can share it with prospects. Go further and stay abreast of industry trends, legislation and their impact on your brand/solutions..
- Use a script. Just don’t read it verbatim unless your company requires you to do so—in which case you should try to sound natural. Cover all the points you wish to discuss and include some FAQs, objections, and objective responses.
- Keep things simple. Most B2B needs and concerns revolve around improving operational efficiency, driving higher revenue, or reducing costs. Explain in the simplest terms possible how your products/services solve these problems.
- Agree on the next step. Before ending the call, be sure you both agree on what will happen next then act accordingly.
5. Influencer Marketing
From customers to industry experts, company employees, and journalists, B2B influencers command a following in their niche.
It may not be a huge following like you would find in the B2C sector, but it is an engaged one. And targeting an engaged audience is perfect for maximizing visibility, building your credibility, and improving sales numbers.
Top considerations when implementing the influencer marketing strategy include:
- Create reasonable timelines. While B2Bs aren’t likely to buy on impulse, an influencer they admire and respect is likely to sway their decisions. Keep this in mind, besides the fact that B2B purchases typically take longer to finalize.
- Know who your customers and target audiences follow, listen to, read from, and watch. These influencers make excellent advocates since they have already established trust and authority among their followers.
- Set standards. Put together a criteria that potential partners must meet to work with your organization. Look at brand collaboration history, audience engagement rates, content distribution channels, and top performing content, among other pre-qualifiers.