It is widely thought that this year, the Asia Pacific region will experience spending at a somewhat slower pace against the backdrop of economic uncertainty.
This means that businesses will have to try twice as hard to market their products, brands will need better positioning, and customers will require more convincing to purchase products.
In this situation, one of the best solutions is for companies to think outside the box when marketing their brands.
Now, this is easier said than done, given that this is the age of technology and innovation where everything that comes out as promotional material is at another level of brilliance. However, because of this especially, marketers need to pick their game up a notch!
Shining bright like a diamond
Yes, you guessed it. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is going to be a big part of your marketing planning this year. From content creation to gathering data and finetuning your promotional material, it is going to be very unlikely that you will reach the zenith that you are aiming for without it.
It’s nothing to feel anxious about. AI is a tool that is part of the technology that is available now for us to make our lives easier. Whether it be creating Chatbots to help with customer service or designing pictures that speak more than a thousand words in our ad material, AI will be invaluable if used correctly (a word of caution here–leaving everything to AI is not a good idea). Especially scripting done by AI will need to be fact-checked and edited for accuracy. Human intervention is still part of thinking outside the box!
Certainly, AI can also help with this next big suggestion, which is the power of influencer marketing. It’s true that audiences love the authenticity of real celebrities or real people posting lifestyle videos and product unboxing, but AI can also generate influencer models and help with creating content for influencer videos. So don’t be reticent to experiment and invest in some new methods of creativity.
Also, investigate the latest innovations in Augmented and Virtual Reality programs. Customers are tired of the same-old methods of advertising that expect them to make decisions when purchasing online, without actually knowing what the product looks like in real life and whether it can offer them anything unique. AR and VR promotional methods alleviate all such doubts and even allow customers the ability to suggest revisions to the product they want to purchase, rather than just buying what is already available to the mass market. Personalization is key.
This leads us to hyper-personalization, the new big trend in marketing—using customer touchpoints such as social media interaction, online presence, and in-store purchase patterns. Marketers should focus on suggesting purchases to their customers via personalized advertising and promotions.
Leverage the idea of community. Paradoxically, while today’s technology-driven generation has been accused of isolating themselves from others behind a screen, they have also largely become community-based by building online groups that share ideas, offer suggestions, and support each other. For example, there exists a multitude of vehicle-lover groups out there, on WhatsApp, Instagram, and various other platforms. This is the place where they all come together to share knowledge, talk about brands that have worked for them, and feel a sense of belonging within a community. Promoting your brand here will be ideal, but it also needs to be foolproof and authentic. If your brand is full of pitfalls and is just coming back from a slump, it may be best to wait till it is on more stable ground before you press ahead.
Finally, ethical business never goes out of fashion. Customers love a green spin on anything that is marketed to them, providing that it is authentic and not just a promotional gimmick. Sourcing natural raw materials, providing jobs for local communities, giving back to these communities, and following ethical business practices, on the whole, will take any business to new heights. Capitalize on this.
Take this one step further by connecting your business to a worthy cause. When customers know you care, they will turn away from other brands to support you; this is priceless.
According to Yelp, 82% of customers look for brands that are aligned with their own values. 75% of customers have said that they turned away from brands over a disparity in such values. Know your customers and what they stand for. Build relationships that will create conversation and create conversation to build relationships.
Go viral or go home!
A gamut of digital marketing tools are available at our fingertips now such as user-generated content, influencer marketing, and social media marketing among many others. Mix it up and get creative with your campaigns.
Thinking outside the box does not mean that you need to think big. Just think smart. What makes your customers tick? Who are they as people? Build a profile and market to people rather than data and numbers.
This is your year to shine!
(Anouk De Silva)