From capitalizing on user-generated content to creating a tailored strategy, here are the 17 answers to the question, “What are some important things you will focus on with your clients in 2023 and why?”

  • Capitalizing on User-Generated Content
  • Helping Customers Future Proof Their Marketing Efforts
  • Zeroing in on Differentiation
  • Focusing on Real Time Comms and Micro-Communities Online
  • Maintaining the Unique Message for Different Clients
  • Leaning Into Backlink Outreach
  • Producing Content With Visuals and Interactive Media
  • Developing More With Virtual Reality
  • Protecting Our Customer Experience
  • Collecting First-Party Data 
  • Treating Clients as Genuine Friends
  • Creating More Efficient Growth Initiatives
  • Emphasizing Customer Health Scores in CMO
  • Approaching With a Mobile-First Mindset
  • Hiring a Chief Meme Officer
  • Integrating Marketing Into Sales
  • Targeting a Small Audience With Specific Steps

 

Capitalizing on User-Generated Content

There are many ways that businesses can promote their products and services, but nothing has quite the same impact as user-generated content (UGC) and will be one major aspect we will focus on in 2023. Social proof has become the new word of mouth, and studies have shown that over 90% of all consumers will view UGC before making a significant purchase.

Utilizing the native content from TikTok, customer testimonials, reviews, and other forms of UGC, we will look to find creative ways to both encourage and implement the use of UGC. This content has proven to boost a brand’s authenticity, which ‌generates a greater number of conversions. 

As we move into 2023, we will look to help our clients build the UGC prowess, and capitalize on its benefits.

Greg Gillman, Chief Revenue Officer, MuteSix

 

Helping Customers Future Proof Their Marketing Efforts

We aim to help our customers fight inflation. With every industry feeling the pains of the economic pinch, marketing budgets are typically first on the chopping block. While slicing the marketing budget might be a short-term save, cutting back your efforts can lead to being overshadowed by the competition and a decrease in revenue. 

So it’s important to remember that consumers are still purchasing products and services, although they may tighten their purses. And brands can benefit by molding their marketing strategies to include out-of-home advertising, which is more affordable than other digital and traditional marketing channels. 

And because they exist in the physical world, OOH ads attract people’s attention more easily and are far more memorable. Reevaluating media plans, rather than scrapping them, will help businesses drive the greatest value at the most efficient ROI possible.

Chris Gadek, VP of Growth, AdQuick

 

Zeroing in on Differentiation

We build “Difference Engines” for B2B technology companies. At least, that’s what I tell anyone who asks. ‘What is a Difference Engine?’ is usually the follow-up question. Well, it’s based on some computing geeky history (look up Babbage and Lovelace), but for us, it means the way we think about and create differentiated businesses. 

That is, a business that stands out from the crowd, is self-expressive, and is an authority and thought leader in the industry. For 2023, we’re zeroing in on differentiation as a key growth factor for our clients.

Matthew Stibbe, CEO, Articulate Marketing

 

Focusing on Real-Time Comms and Micro-Communities Online

As Web3 gains popularity and understanding, people are looking for less centralized ways to engage one another. This is where micro communities come in. 

For example, I work with a lot of small-cap public companies that are looking to grow. On the investor relations side, a lot of vendors are using platforms like Discord and Telegram to create such communities. People like real-time communications and access to other stakeholders. 

On the consumer side, you can use micro-communities to establish a genuine connection with your customers. When they feel like they know you, and that you hear them, they’ll become more loyal. While these communities may be small, the members become your brand advocates and they can amplify your brand voice in much bigger spaces.

Dennis Consorte, Digital Marketing & Leadership Consultant, Snackable Solutions

 

Maintaining the Unique Message for Different Clients

In 2023, one thing we should focus on is having a consistent messaging voice across all clientele channels. By ensuring that our clients stay true to their unique messaging style no matter where their target audience is located, we will build better relationships and increase loyalty within their markets. 

Furthermore, by reducing the brand’s message fragmentation from various platforms, our clients will save on time and resources that would have gone towards developing many campaigns for different platforms. Being proactive about messaging consistency will play a key role in helping our clients achieve success long-term in 2023 and beyond.

Jim Campbell, CEO, Campbell Online Media

 

Leaning Into Backlink Outreach

One of the most crucial services we provide to our clients is link-building. Every business website benefits from additional visibility on SERPs as it drives traffic and conversions dramatically.

We help our clients grow their domain ratings through strategic outreach to earn spots in acclaimed online publications. The more backlinks a business has directed toward its site, the higher the brand ‌appears on Google search results.

There are other factors involved in optimizing Domain Authority, but backlinks are generally the “currency” of SEO. Every business can drive higher profits and reach by adopting these and similar strategies to soar over their competition.

Kevin Miller, Founder

 

Producing Content With Visuals and Interactive Media

In order to make a website attractive to Google, it is no longer enough for keywords to be repeated countless times. If the quality of your content is not pleasant to read, Google and users may punish you. 

Indeed, users want information quickly without having to read it for ten minutes. Therefore, Google prioritizes interactive content such as videos, infographics, original graphics and images, slide shows, clickable tables of contents, etc. 

By using these tricks, your content will be more visually appealing, and Google will reward you with more visibility.

Léa Soller, CEO, Digiberries Paris

 

Developing More With Virtual Reality

As we head toward 2023, we would like to introduce our clients to the endless possibilities of virtual reality. The technology used to power VR has developed to the stage where it has moved beyond the entertainment industry and now it has entered the mainstream.

 We see this as our chance to exploit the opportunities to present our information in a more interactive and user-friendly way than we have had available up to now. 

We accept we need the customers to get on board with this change, and old habits really die hard. However, with the increasing availability of the equipment required to access the virtual world, and with the cost of doing so falling rapidly, we don’t think it will be too much longer before virtual reality becomes the norm for marketers and advertising personnel.

Colin Palfrey, Chief Marketing Officer, Crediful

 

Protecting Our Customer Experience

Inflation still poses the greatest challenge to advertising agencies and marketing companies. As selling prices rise, clients will probably demand quality experiences, given that they are paying more. 

They’ll want to feel that the experience they receive is worth the higher price they’re paying. In addition, they’ll be more cautious about spending money and avoid advertisers and marketers they feel could “burn” them. 

Before deciding to get into business with you, your clients will likely inspect your customer reviews online. Your customer experience must reflect this, regardless of whether you are running a digital or physical store. 

A simple way to build trust is to film your stock and emphasize its quality over price. You’ll be putting a face to your business (trust) and illustrating value for money at the same time.

Jon Torres, CEO

 

Collecting First-Party Data 

One important thing I’m focusing on with my clients in 2023 is collecting first-party data. With the cookieless future looming closer, data loss on iOS devices, and organic social media reach getting harder and harder to achieve, it’s more important than ever for businesses to build a 1:1 relationship with their audience, rather than relying solely on third-party platforms.

Jyll Saskin Gales, Marketer, Jyll.ca

 

Treating Clients as a Genuine Friend

Too many marketing executives prioritize the client’s wallet ahead of the human in that client. This, unfortunately, leads to customer relationships being excessively optimized toward sales. But how about treating the client as a genuine friend instead of as a money bag up for the grabbing?

I want to focus more on offering (no-strings-attached) value to my clients that get rewarded with stronger relationships instead of direct sales. I have discovered that while my rivals can replicate the efficacy of my services, they will struggle to loot my clients if I build robust relationships with them.

Therefore, in 2023, I want to merge human connection in my brand-to-customer correspondence. Yes, I will still leverage automation where I can, but I will strive to flavor the customer journey with more human input, and I want to expand our relationship beyond the traditional brand-customer partnership (built on product sales) to something more personal and sentimental.

Lotus Felix, CEO, Lotusbrains Studio

 

Creating More Efficient Growth Initiatives

2022 has been absolutely insane. The entire world has felt the effects of our economic climate fluctuation, which has resulted in more conservative budgets and more skeptical executives. 

Some consultants and agencies have gotten by for too long on selling arbitrary packages and retainers with fat margins that aren’t the best fit for their clients. That’s not going to fly anymore.

In 2023, our focus is on reimagining our business model to better serve the organic growth needs of our clients. We’ve already started the process of updating our system of delivery, reducing project timelines, further augmenting our strategist’s talents with new technology, and developing new lines of service to offer more comprehensive solutions.

The market is changing. Buyer behavior is changing. As always, we adapt and lean in.

Ken Marshall, Chief Growth Officer, RevenueZen

 

Emphasizing Customer Health Scores in CMO

As a marketing leader, our team will focus on customer health in 2023 and beyond. This year’s economic challenges have shown the value of customer retention, cross-selling, and upselling products to drive and boost revenue. 

Not only did we strive to provide exceptional services, but we also established client trust and stronger relationships. The strategy includes measuring customer health scores to manage them extensively and effectively going into the new year.

We plan to focus on customer health scores in our CMO and make it one of our priorities. We expect a more streamlined approach to maintaining this critical metric, and proven values can help us achieve this goal. By evaluating our clients’ health scores in the coming years, we hope to deliver more successful and meaningful marketing strategies in the future.

Nat Miletic, Owner & CEO, Clio Websites

 

Approaching With a Mobile-First Mindset

Although it’s well-known that a mobile-first approach is a way to go in 2023 and beyond, there are many people who don’t approach their marketing campaigns with that in mind. 

For example, some real estate websites might look great on a large monitor with amazing visuals of great destinations and a feel of luxury but on mobile, if the page takes 10 seconds to load and the users can’t interact with it swiftly, you won’t be converting those mobile visitors. 

If you don’t optimize for mobile first, almost 70% of your customers won’t convert as those users use mobiles to browse. So, optimizing web pages and marketing campaigns with a mobile-first mindset will be the main focal point I discuss with my clients.

Khanh Tran, Growth Manager, Villa Finder

 

Hiring a Chief Meme Officer

No, seriously.

I’ve been doing B2B marketing for over a decade and the game has changed drastically in just the past 3 years. B2B Memes are all the rage on LinkedIn and Twitter. Even Instagram, which is a notoriously weak channel for B2B marketing, is seeing new life as brands shy away from coupon codes and dive deeper into “memeology.”

Look to companies like Gong’s LinkedIn presence as an example of B2B Meme culture. Or our company, which has an entire meme library.

What we’re seeing is an attempt by businesses to connect with their audience on a level previously unknown in the B2B marketing sphere: humor.

Not everyone is getting it right, though. A lot of memes fall flat or cannot find an audience. Here’s the trick: never make memes to sell your product. Keep them relatable to your user persona without selling.

I believe that by 2025 companies will actively pursue “Chief Meme Officer” as a title and we will see more and more B2B memes in the wild.

George Avetisov, CEO, 1up.ai

 

Integrating Marketing Into Sales

Marketing and sales are not separate forces. For any business to succeed at driving revenue, these two departments need to work together. We’ll work more with clients to ensure the content aligns with sales needs and goals. That means focusing on sales enablement content and not chasing after keyword data.

Marketing is often the first thing cut when budgets tighten. This is a mistake. Most businesses see marketing as a “nice to have” instead of an essential component because marketers haven’t established themselves as critical to sales.

We aim to redefine how our clients see marketing. Our goal is for them to view it as a sales amplifier that’s critical to the revenue generation of their business.

James De Roche, Managing Partner, Lead Comet

 

Targeting a Small Audience With Specific Steps

Over the 20+ years we’ve provided marketing services, we’ve often thrown them out there the way parents put leftovers in front of their kids—”Here you go, take what you like!”

Either that, or we’ve developed highly customized plans for unique situations, but these situations are risky, it’s like exploring the Amazon without a map.

In 2023, we’re taking a more focused, predictable approach by focusing on healthcare providers and taking them through a structured set of steps to achieve success. It won’t be the right fit for every client, but when it does fit, it will help those clients achieve growth much faster, at a much lower cost. 

Ultimately, I see virtually all marketing going in this direction because 100% custom work is more expensive and prone to be slow and inefficient. In the future, just as they say “There’s an app for that,” they’ll say “There’s an agency for that,” no matter what the business is.

Josh Steimle, Founder, MWI