A new year often touches off a flurry of forecasts about what’s coming, both in popular culture and in our professional lives. For instance, in 2019, what innovative thinking and technology will move from the wings onto center stage? How will current marketing trends continue to evolve over the next 12 months?

What are you forecasting? Are you aiming for specific numbers in sales? Market share? Influence?

Goals like that require a solid marketing strategy. An effective strategy requires an understanding of big-picture developments. So, let’s look at five marketing trends that will continue to evolve will into 2019.

Content marketing will continue its reign

At the top of the list is the solidification of content marketing’s domination. “Content marketing is marketing,” says John Hall in his article for Forbes on 2019 trends. “Content is one of the best tools you have for earning trust, building your brand, generating site traffic and qualified leads, and everything in between.” Effective marketing strategy – marketing that sets a business up for success – must lead with meaningful content that draws customers into a two-way conversation.

Their success is your success

Customer success will be the lead metric in 2019. Of course, you’re going to track how many sales you make and how many new customers you gain. But it’s time to prioritize finding out how, and how often, your content helps your customers get the maximum value from your product or service. Their experience of success will have a multiplier effect as they share positive reviews and their delight with others.

“At the top of the list is the solidification of content marketing’s domination. Content is one of the best tools you have for earning trust, building your brand, generating site traffic, qualified leads, and everything in between. Effective marketing strategy – marketing that sets a business up for success – must lead with meaningful content that draws customers into a two-way conversation.”

Personalized, on-demand content

Customer expectations of personalized and instantaneous content are on a fast track. Read more about Google’s research into “micro-moments” below.

The marketing funnel has evolved into a cycle

Rather than thinking of the process as transactional, it must be relational. “This increased focus on nurturing, especially post-sale, makes customers more likely to stay with you or buy again — and more likely to give recommendations to friends and colleagues,” says Hall.

Video marketing will only continue its growth

Customers find video content to be highly engaging. “Seventy-six percent of marketers say video has helped their company increase sales,” reports an article in Entrepreneur on 2019 trends. “After all, we are all visual creatures.” Videos are more easily created and shared than ever. You can even add video to your email signature. But they must be strategic.

What are micro-moments and why do they matter?

Google has documented current customers’ expectation that their interactions with businesses will be instantaneous and tailored to what they want. Marketing in 2019 must include strategies to meet these expectations.

The research looked at how often users searched in “micro-moments” using specific wording in 2017 compared to 2015. A micro-moment, as defined by Google, is “an intent-rich moment when a person turns to a device to act on a need – to know, go, do, or buy.”

What they uncovered were three increasingly typical characteristics. Keep in mind that these are not distinct customers. All these behaviors can and often do reside in the same person with a phone in hand.

The Curious Customer

This customer is research obsessed, even about the smallest decisions. They don’t buy anything without looking it up and finding out how it has been evaluated.

Evidence: Searches for the “best” of everything have increased more than 100% from 2015 to 2017. Searches for “________ ideas” have increased 55%. Searches for “___________ to avoid” have increased 1.5 times.

The Demanding Customer

This individual Expects individually tailored experiences. Evidence: Mobile searches for “________ for me” increased 60%. Searches for “__________ near me” tripled.

The Impatient Consumer

They want tailored experiences now.

Evidence: Searches for “__________ open now” have grown by 300 percent. Similarly, searches for “__________ near me now” have increased by more than 150 percent.

Where will you show up in search results in 2019?

Marketing trends are great, but how are you positioning your business to succeed in 2019?

Our goal is to contribute to the success of our customers, and we invite you to explore a strategy that will use inbound or content marketing to support the kind of relational interactions your customers expect. Call us at 720-722-2987 or click the blue button below to request a meeting with our team.

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