One of the biggest challenges any businesses face today is to market the same product in different ways. Why is that products are sold better due to their marketing rather than the quality of the product itself? Why or how does someone choose Coke over Pepsi or the vice versa? These are questions which will result in different answers every time you ask them.
Marketing has always been dependent on consumers and these consumers are a subject to change on the daily basis with everyday innovations and developments. These events result to a more careful approach in how to carry out campaigns so marketers rely on flexibility which requires constant attention to everyday change.
Research indicates that consumers spend over 70% of their media time on their cellphones which is an indication of where to find your audience. Thanks to the functionality and network access enabled by mobile phones and tablets, digital marketing is constantly on the rise along with unlimited content relating to millions of products worldwide. Â This leads to consumers on a continuous journey of exploring endless products and services which then leads to different choices and preferences. Taste, color, time, location, price, discount and every possible parameter is browsed through to make one decision.
Times were easier decades ago when consumers simply relied on exploring supermarkets, catalogues and shopping malls to learn about new products. Commercials, ads and flyers were the only mass media channels readily available. Today, it’s about virtual hands-on experience before buying which is quite understandable due it its availability. I mean if someone wants to buy a new cellphone, they can find thousands of reviews regarding that product which you could not do so years ago. The difference today is competition which marketers face on a daily basis. It’s more about why you should buy a phone with the same specifications from Samsung but not Sony or why you should buy a can of coke but not Pepsi.
Here are 3 consumer trends in 2018 marketers need to be aware of;
1. Impatient Customers
In the future, marketers would need to answer questions before they are asked considering the increase in impatience, demand and curiosity of the consumers. This is due to customers being more specific in their searches. These customers now demand quick and relevant responses to questions which the marketers might not normally want to respond as too much information is also upsetting. In content marketing, the best content is one which does not oversell the product but rather answers substantial questions in comprehensive manner according to the audience
2. Virtual Experience of product, brand or service
Every product has a video about it on the internet which enables users to learn, compare and question at the same time. Today, consumers are very hesitant about spending money so they do a lot of research and try to learn as much as they can about that product. They basically own that product before hands-on. Over 40 percent of YouTube users watch videos of products and services before they buy them and follow the creators of the videos for more.
3. Social Broadcasting
Social media is loaded and 70 percent of cellphone engagement consists of users tuning into social media websites. These include Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp, and YouTube. Marketers have the opportunity to be at the front end of what’s going on and see how the consumer changes from year to year. Celebrity gossip, holidays, trending events and any occurrence which can be used for real-time marketing of a product is in play. A new movie comes out and boom, thousands of content linking to the movie and using the search power leads consumers to unexpected places on the internet. A new Instagram photo with a couple holding hands across different places in the world was so influential that the tourism industry made honeymoon themes and romantic hotspots related to it.
