2021 will be an exciting year. We have to keep trying to adapt to the reality that still surprises us, but most of all, we have to take care of our customers' comfort in this difficult time. This year will be based primarily on the transfer of many offline activities, such as shopping or conversations, to online!
What predictions do experts in marketing and business have for 2021? Here is a list!
Friendly business practices
Prediction: 2021 will see a continued shift towards more environmentally friendly business practices.
Over the last few months, the growing consumer awareness around environmental issues has started to have a palpable impact on purchasing decisions.
This means brands that can showcase their eco-friendly credentials such as green supply chains, ethical manufacturing, and zero-waste branded packaging stand to win the hearts (and wallets) of eco-conscious consumers around the globe.
Ruth Evan Haim / Co-founder / www.stilyoapps.info
Virtual events
More marketing will be done via virtual events. This means high demand for webinars, virtual events, and video conferencing platforms. It also means high demand for attendees to sit at their desk/laptop all day. Expect innovations in the virtual event scene and physical gift packs sent out to VIP attendees.
Dominic Kent / Director of Content Marketing / www.m.io
Customer loyalty and retention
It is obvious that COVID-19 isn’t going anywhere in the near future, and the post-vaccine world won’t go back to normal overnight. This means that adaptation is still essential for businesses to face up to these new realities in 2021; failure to adapt means falling behind.
On this basis, it becomes complicated to make predictions for the coming year. I’d recommend that businesses make their strategic decisions in blocks no bigger than six months.
I believe that brands will invest more into customer loyalty and retention in 2021 as the existing user base is a reliable source of revenue stream. Besides, personalization and conversational experience will be the top priority for brands looking to establish high-touch customer relations.
Going further, content creation still requires the same attention, no matter if you're into SaaS, UCaaS or CPaaS. In the SEO strategy, I’d recommend companies to target low-difficulty keywords and create content around the bottom of the funnel top.
Olga Petrik / CMO / www.nethunt.com
Maximize organic and paid traffic via Google
The growing trend towards online will not subside. COVID-19 has opened the eyes to a whole new demographic who can see the upside to efficient online purchases.
Those who continue to maximize organic and paid traffic via Google/Bing will see the best growth. I'd expect more subscriptions available, and if businesses can price them right - lots of profit too.
Craig Gilhooly / Managing Director / www.discoverable.co.uk
Customer experience is going to be a huge driving force for 2021
A rejection of brands who don't put customers in the driving seat. In a recent survey I read, I saw that 86% of customers are willing to pay more for a service that is customer-centric. The pandemic has fueled this too, we might be further away from brands but we want to feel important, and connected to them.
I think we'll see more companies sharing their roadmap with users, honestly interacting with customers on social, sending emails that add value—not just for the sake of marketing, and collecting feedback proactively. Customer experience is going to be a huge driving force for 2021—so get talking to users ASAP.
Kirsty / Head of Marketing / www.trychameleon.com
Personalized Content
Marketers learn a lot about their audience. Daily. The study data, create pillars, and automate their content. Naturally, the next big step is personalization: in order to win your users’ attention, you should have a personal connection with them. They’re literally drowning in content. So, you only have 3 seconds to get their attention.
In fact, users already expect to get personalized content. Just look at what giants like Netflix, Spotify, and Amazon do. And marketers are aware of it. A recent study shows that 88% of the marketers said they agree their prospects expect a personalized experience. Yet, there’s a lot to work on: only 33% of the personalization is done right. This is why there is no better time to start personalizing your content.
Luciana Nitu / Content Marketing Manager / www.planable.io
Video and live streaming engagement to further accelerate in 2021
I expect video and live streaming engagement to further accelerate in 2021. In a world of increasing automation, deeper cravings for real human connection and interaction will lead to a higher-touch through marketing communications.
It will get harder to stand out, creating pressure for brands trying to grow. The positive of this will be that great content (educational, inspiring, or entertaining) will dominate to a higher degree.
The automation won’t go anywhere, but it will be expected that real people engage, interact, and represent the image and essence of brands to customers.
Brad Matthews / Growth Marketer / www.adchina.io
Transform from analytics and data reporting tools into AI platforms
In 2021 we'll see marketing software increasingly transform from analytics and data reporting tools into AI platforms that actually help you get things done -- and in some cases are even smart enough to do simple marketing tasks for you.
Matt Bentley / Founder / www.canirank.com
Customers tailored experience
Personalization is going to be increasingly important in 2021 and beyond. Customers want a tailored experience even in the digital space. When you can provide a tailored experience making it easier for the buyer to get their needs and desires fulfilled you are going to see a higher rate of conversions and repeat business. This is no longer a nice to have for most businesses it is a “must-have” moving forward, otherwise, you will just be leaving money on the table.
Natalie Athanasiadis / Founder / www.ormimedia.com.au
Personalized marketing
I think that 2021 will be the year of personalized marketing. Due to the coronavirus outbreak, more and more people start working remotely and finding new ways to be connected. In these terms, personalized marketing can help many businesses replace that face-to-face value. I guess we will see a lot of video marketing for potential customers. A lot of companies will continue to build good relationships and stay connected with their target customers.
Irina Weber / Content Strategist / SE Ranking
Focus on personalization
In 2021 businesses will focus on personalization in terms of personalized customer experience, personalized ads, personalized offers etc. Customers expect to be treated in a unique way and will purchase from brands that provide them with special, one-of-a-kind experiences.
Alicja Olko / Outreach Manager / www.sixads.net
Customer service and UX would continue to grow
As even more businesses have now gone online or have improved their websites and social media channels, customers’ expectations about customer service and UX would continue to grow – so UX tips for developers will be in even more demand. A survey has shown that 96.2% of people are willing to leave if they experience bad customer service. Customers are becoming less patient with every day and expect things to happen ‘now’.
The COVID-19 outbreak forced many to start working from home - a thing that lots of businesses hadn’t thought about prior to that moment. A relatively huge percentage of them say they would continue working from home ahead of time. This has increased the interest in secure internal communication tools implementation.
In the coming year, many companies would spend a significant amount of time choosing and implementing the right tools for processes optimization.
Nikola Baldikov / Head of Marketing / www.brosix.com
Remote work and offline to online transition
If 2020 has taught us anything is that making end-of-year predictions is a big gamble -- but here I go: As the world (hopefully) gradually goes back to normal, some of the things that have characterized 2020 are here to stay for the foreseeable future. One of them is remote work -- as thousands of companies have realized during the pandemic, it is possible to run an organization while working from home. A lot of these companies have gauged the potential savings in terms of outgoings on rent collection and office perks and have identified a clear route towards increasing profitability.
The other major shift has been offline to online transition. Brands have realized the massive potential that comes with having a strong online presence and have been able to develop highly profitable channels. This has also increased the competition in the (already saturated) ecommerce world so brands will need to have to be smart about their growth strategies.
Raul Galera / Partner Manager / www.candybar.co, www.referralcandy.com
Businesses with their own ecosystem will continue to succeed
Consumer privacy and advertising will continue to be at odds - with advertisers constantly looking for the edge in targeting and regulators and tech companies doing their best to prevent unethical use of personally identified information. Businesses that are able to provide their own ecosystem will continue to succeed because their customers trust those brands and willingly give up their information - in exchange for a better customer experience. You should look at content hubs, too. For example, Bail Agent Network decided to build the whole content ecosystem around one topic and rely on localization so it's a one-stop-shop for everyone involved in the topic.
Lucas Sommer / Director of Marketing / www.leadsrx.com
Digital strategies
Which 2020 kept us busy with COVID-19, many businesses and marketing opportunities were put on pause. In 2021, I think many countries are in recovery mode and starting to run under the new normal.
My prediction is that marketing and business will continue to climb using digital strategies. Offline stores like grocery and daily needs providers must go online to make it easier for buyers, and for the sake of business survival is the case of another lockdown (hopefully not!).
I think businesspeople will use video marketing a lot. People will be busier, therefore, they will be more likely to watch advertisements for products or services.
Andre Oentoro / CEO / www.breadnbeyond.com
The summary:
- 2021 will be a year of consumer needs and requirements
- Sales, communication, and events will move online
- We must focus on omnichannel marketing
- Remote working will remain with us, so investing in increasing the effectiveness of this form of work will be very important
- Clear, concrete, and friendly communication with customers will count
- Personalization and tailor to customer needs
- Let's focus on new solutions, AI, video chat, and live streaming