The Top 5 Marketing Trends of 2023 for Small Businesses
Marketing is always evolving and every year we hear about the hottest and latest trends that’ll change the industry.
The real question is - how do you leverage the trends to your advantage? What do you need to do or change to keep up with the market evolving and the impact of these trends?
In this new article, I explore the top marketing trends of 2023 and share with you how you can implement or leverage them in your business this year.
Following the pandemic, the changes within the global economy, and the most recent war and political shifts, customer behaviors have undergone some deeper changes. Plus, Gen Z is starting to show up - and compete with other segments - as prominent buyers within the market.
All of this has led to some very interesting shifts, which have set the upcoming trends for 2023:
Email Marketing is going nowhere!
Despite being the oldest and one of the most competing marketing tools of the digital age, email marketing will continue to grow over the next year.
From the physical postbox to the digital inbox, newsletters have been rocking the marketing world for as long as experts can remember and while some might frown at the idea of a good ol’ email to win customers over, I can assure you it still damn works!
Over the last year alone, 85% of our customers have seen the best launch results when using email marketing. Another 68% has seen increased customer retention because of weekly high-quality content being consistently delivered to their subscribers’ inboxes.
The key element to keep in mind though is quality. Yup, I’m team “quality over quantity” any day of the week and 2022 has only proved me right: research from some of the biggest marketing authorities out there has shown that customers are wary of their inboxes overflowing and unless something adds value, consistently interests or excites them, they are quicker than ever to make a decision to unsubscribe.
Of course, this does not mean you shouldn’t be consistent - both in frequency and topics - with your mailing routine!
Also, email segmentation and personalisation are going to be a crucial factor for better opening and click rates. After all, people just want what they actually signed up for! So focus on identifying how you can break down or segment your list and figure out ways to keep on catering to the different groups that populate your list, in the most relevant way. A quick tip for better segmentation is leveraging quizzes, which are all the rage for email marketing and lead generation right now!
As I always say to my clients though, the most important thing is to be strategic with your email marketing and really focus on increasing trust, before even attempting to pitch your list.
And if you need someone to help you define and implement a great email marketing strategy, get in touch HERE, cuz I’m surely the woman for the job!
Cynicism, anxiety and mistrust
The last 2 years have shaped and changed our mental bandwidth and tolerance towards the internet. The constant information overload, (mostly) being connected online and the incessant noise of fakely perfect social media content have led more and more users to experience anxiety. In turn, this has sparked a desire to peek behind the curtain and to unveil what the glossy photos and thrown-around numbers are hiding.
As a result of this all, lack of trust and cynicism have become more prominent and customers are more wary of investing as easily as they used to.
For you, this means that the way you show expertise, experience or value needs to be focused on integrity and tangibility. Go for quality over quantity, keep things straight-forward not to overwhelm your audience and choose to showcase your results in the most truthful and integral way you can. No more inflated numbers, astronomical case studies or perfectly curated feeds.
If possible, focus on eliminating worry, offer an experience with no underlying anxiety and become an active guide for customers who are new to your industry or product and type of service.
Cut the easy-fixes
With increased cynicism and lower levels of trust towards the current macro-environment, customers are yearning for deeper approaches that yield success as opposed to tactics and easy-fixes that give them short-term reward.
This means dirty tactics, get-rich-quick prompts and low-value/high-pitch content are seeing a major decline. And oh, the cookie-cutter approach? It’s got a target on its back!
With this in mind, the best way to stand out from competitors and create high value customers (who want to stay overtime) is to go all-in on adding value.
How can you showcase and give your knowledge in the most valuable way? How many touch points will you need to add to make sure your prospect is feeling cared for and at ease in your hands? How will your marketing need to shift to deliver more quality and value to your audience?
One of the things that might help you navigate and thrive within this trend is to deliver more in-depth or long-form content eg. multi-day events or challenges as opposed to 30-min webinars.
Really focus on quality over quantity and showcase that what you’re offering is about long term success, rather than quick reward.
Connection is key
Because of the world shifting, new customer segments (hello, Gen Z!) getting in the picture and a general sense of unsettlement, people are yearning for a community feeling; a hub where they can get together, find peers, have personal experiences in a meaningful way.
The online dynamic of the last few years has removed limits and made purchases faster than ever before: what we want, we can get in just a few clicks. This has removed a sense of customer experience and connection not only to others, but to the “action of buying” itself.
That’s why customers are now seeking new experiences that can get them offline or that can at least resemble deeper connections and purchases in the real world. They want human connections (not bots), more customisation and a sense of belonging that makes any investment more meaningful.
This is really a great opportunity for you and your brand to create incredible customer experiences and grow thriving communities of like-minded individuals.
Think about how you onboard your clients or how you can upgrade the services you deliver to guarantee higher satisfaction. And what about creating and growing an actual community? If you already have one, what would you need to change within it to amplify that sense of connection? or play around with in-person gatherings.
Whether you decide to focus on an online or in-person experience, the options really are endless as long as you tap into that willingness to return to the values a positive community and human connection hold.
A need for stronger values
Reliability, integrity and stability - these are the 3 main things customers want in 2023. It will be key for your business to keep on honing these values and to identify how your brand can embody them to serve customers in a successful way.
Any brand should be able to communicate what it stands for with ease. And any customer of that brand should be able to name and share those values with equal ease. It’s really what creates those loyal ambassadors that do the referral work for you and spread the word about how incredible your brand and services are!
Of course, this doesn’t mean to jump on trends or causes you don’t actually support just to show your brand is cool or “woke”.
Be honest, pick and choose what’s relevant to your beliefs or niche and keep your integrity levels high - this is what will show your clients they can actually trust you.
How is your brand showing its values? How will you connect to your customers through those values? Why do these values matter to you?
Please bear in mind this is not an exhaustive list of marketing trends for 2023, but it’s a selection of the top ones I believe, based on my expert point of view, will make a difference for small business owners. If you want to hear me discuss a few more marketing and business trends, please make sure to listen this episode of The Savvy Strategists podcast.
What’s the trend that you’ll take with you in the next 12 months?
And hey, if you need support to nail your marketing strategy, get in touch with me and my team here.