It’s that time of year again, so as 2017 heads to a close, marketers are on the outlook for the newest and hottest trends heading into 2018.
At Napier we are no different, and this is why we have asked our experienced and knowledgeable team to tell us what they think are the key digital trends for 2018. We have narrowed down our list to our top 10 most important; to let you know what to expect and look out for in the B2B Tech industry when heading into 2018.
1) Account-Based Marketing:
Many companies, particularly those looking to gain specific high-value customers find that they are better served with an ABM strategy rather than taking a broad-reaching approach to their sales and marketing effort.
2) Personalisation:
For B2B, it will continue to be about “personalisation”, so delivering content to people based on the searches, preferences, media etc. As there is SO much information out there, companies need to look at how they can make their content hit home.
3) Form Filling
Although this may seem odd, with GDPR fast approaching companies will will want to ensure all their contacts have opted in to marketing communications. The number of contacts on their lists will likely decline – so expect to see more and more content hidden behind a form or two.
4) New Range of Technologies and Reusing Content
In 2018, we will see marketing continue to converge. With a range of new technologies – for example chatbots – and the need to reuse content the lines between different marketing disciplines and even between marketing and sales will be even more blurred than before.
5) Buyer Personas
There will be even more focus on buyer personas and the customer journey, allowing Marketers to educate themselves about their audience and target their marketing even more effectively.
6) Marketing Automation Workshops
Companies in more traditional engineering sectors will be thinking about marketing automation but likely will be unsure of how they integrate into their business. We expect that there will be strong demand for our Marketing Automation workshops.
7) Live Video Streaming:
Live Video Streaming is an effective way to engage and connect with customers. Using this feature will help to promote a more human side of anyone’s brand perception.
This platform can be effectively used for Q&A sessions, live events, behind the scene video content or interviews. There are a host of tools and apps which can help to promote Live Video Streaming (Most noticeably Facebook Live) and this trend is expected become even stronger and more interactive in 2018.
8) Customer Centric Marketing
Personalised campaigns, especially with regards to email marketing will continue to grow in popularity and become key to campaigns.
9) Chatbots
Chatbots will become a must have – As 2017 comes to an end Chatbots are already becoming extremely popular and important. By the middle of 2018 they will be widely used and vital in regards as a marketing technique.
10) Evaluating your Data
With all the data available there will be a drive for clear visibility of marketing performance. Analysis of data to produce useful insights will be even more important than even.