Future Spotting: 5 Trends Affecting marketing strategies

With the global pandemic, inflation, and other various forms of crises over the past few years, marketing responsibilities have become more complex than ever before, as consumer values have changed for good.

Off the back of this, marketers should see their responsibilities evolving, becoming key to strategic decisions in turn growing their business and being top of mind with customers.

Delivering essential insights for continued business growth and attracting new leads will be tougher than ever in 2023, and marketers may need new tactics to succeed.

Using insights from our data partner GWI, we delve into the nooks and crannies of different techniques and uncover new trends to help marketers hit their goals in 2023 – including data, brand purpose, price, innovation, and personalisation.

Consumers want to know what a brand stands for. In 2023, consumers want to connect with and reward relatable brands more than ever before. As of October 2023, 66% of consumers across APAC believe that companies should be putting environmental protection before profits.

Marketers are at the forefront of shaping and communicating through authentic narratives that highlight sustainability and purpose, including the company’s ESG strategy.

Prioritising sustainability can be expensive for brands as it takes a lot of effort to showcase ESG practices to consumers.

Last year, Yvon Chouinard, founder of Patagonia, announced any profit that is not re-invested into the business would go directly toward climate initiatives, garnering international attention. Obviously not every brand can afford to make such a bold move, but by doing this Patagonia has taken a giant leap, gaining a healthy following, and has put pressure on other businesses to think more creatively about their ESG and brand purpose.

Digital savvy younger generations are more keen to embrace new technologies.

There are already loads of big name brands taking advantage of the Metaverse. Last year, Hyundai launched a virtual experience space on Roblox called ‘Hyundai Mobility Adventure’. The virtual world features popular Hyundai vehicles, products, tech and future solutions which users can explore, as well as play games, develop their avatars and interact with others. Hyundai Mobility Adventure was created to engage with younger generations and build relationships with their customer base. It has been a huge success to date.

Consumers are starting to think more critically about where they spend their money, and what they spend it on in 2023, with 81% saying they will reassess their budget this year.

Consumer expectations are on the rise, meaning brands need to use their data to offer more personalised customer services. 91% of consumers in APAC stay loyal to brands that personalise experiences. Frustrating experiences can create negative brand perceptions and a loss of customers. 73% of consumers in APAC will stop using brands if their experience is not personalised.

Knowledge of the customer is essential for marketers. Translating knowledge using analytics allows marketers to contribute to more strategic decisions and better outcomes for brands.

While data privacy regulations tighten and the world moves toward a cookie-less future, first-party data will become even more important to marketing campaigns. Although Google’s cookie ban won’t go into effect until 2024, 43% of business leaders are already embracing first-party data because it provides better privacy for customers.

In the wake of regulatory changes to third-party data collection, a robust first-party data strategy that respects customer privacy can position the company as a leader. Customers provide their data in return for a value-exchange such as personalisation and rebates. An alternative could be partnerships with companies that already aggregate customer data.

Brands may use first-party data to understand customer lifecycles, improve buying experience, retarget customers and even break into new markets.

Related Content: Upgrade to Great: Marketing in 2023 (guide)

Facing record inflation, customers are demanding ever-more value for their money, bringing a new urgency to the decisions surrounding marketing budgets. In APAC, 42% of internet users are inclined to spend less money nowadays compared to one year ago.

56% of APAC consumers see price as a more important purchasing criteria in a post-Covid era. Promotions and discounts are the effective methods to increase the likelihood of purchase conversion.

In order to keep up with different consumer needs, brands should tailor their marketing strategies to suit consumers’ specific needs. The best way to do this is by creating price segments. This includes offering different pricing options, discounts, promotions, and ads to different customer segments based on their needs and preferences.

Online stores are able to track customer behaviour, spending habits and past purchase, etc. to offer different deals to different customer segments. For example, bundles usually cost less than purchasing each product individually. Product bundles cater to customer segments with a lower willingness to pay, in order to increase buying intentions.