No one knows when a new era is going to start. In tech, business, or anything else besides, new epochs arrive as circumstances dictate. There are certain times, though, when it makes sense to look ahead at what the coming years may hold. The start of the new decade is a perfect example.

As 2020 gets going in earnest, business owners need to start thinking about the future. If decision-makers can spot the trends that will define the new decade, they’ll get ahead of the curve. That can be crucial in competitive fields like ecommerce.

There’s more competition in modern ecommerce than ever before. Businesses must fight hard to attract new customers and keep the ones they already have. There are various areas in which forward-thinking firms can try and get the upper hand. Intelligent order management software, or unique product development are two examples. Future-proof marketing is another.

If you can find a way to reach customers more effectively than your rivals, it could make all the difference. That makes thinking ahead to the ecommerce marketing trends of the new decade a vital task for all firms.

Trends for the New Decade

You can’t be definitive when predicting the future. Nobody can be 100% on what will prove crucial to businesses in the coming years. The needs and desires of customers are fluid. The technology and solutions available to firms can change in an instant. Inventory management software, for instance, wasn’t even thought of just a few short years ago. It’s now a staple of successful ecommerce firms. 

What you can do in the face of future uncertainty, is to make educated predictions of trends that are likely to exist in certain areas. The following are six such predictions of ecommerce marketing trends for the 2020s. They include both broad ideas and specific channels that are liable to gain importance and become more widespread. These six trends are areas to which all smart ecommerce firms should pay close attention.

More Focus on Video Content

Using video content for marketing isn’t new. It’s not a unique and original concept. Many companies already use video marketing to reach out to consumers. The reason they do so is quite simple; consumers like it.

Source: https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/video-marketing

Audiences respond well to video for a variety of reasons:

• It’s attention-grabbing when used via any channel

• You can convey far more information in considerably less time

• Video is far better at evoking an emotional response

In the new decade, video marketing looks sure to become more widespread. Advances in tech are making it easier and cheaper for all firms to create video content.

The quality of mobile devices means everyone has the means of creating a commercial-standard video in their pocket. Channels like YouTube, Facebook, and others mean firms don’t need TV to showcase any video content.

As time passes, it’s only going to become more straightforward to create and share video content. If you want to get in close to the ground floor of this trend, you have two main options. Those are the options of brand videos and live videos.

Brand videos are pieces of content you can share via many channels to promote your firm. Live video gives you the chance to really connect with your audience. Go live on a social media channel, and you can talk directly to viewers and build strong relationships.

Collaboration Across Business Departments to Aid Marketing

Multichannel marketing is already commonplace. Businesses use many types of content and means of sharing it, to reach as much of a target audience as possible.

Source: https://www.drip.com/blog/ecommerce/multichannel-marketing-for-ecommerce

That already means involving a wide array of different people. Decision-makers, copywriters, videographers, graphic designers, and more all must work closely together.

Moving into the new decade, even deeper collaboration is going to become the norm. Firms must deliver a consistent experience across all channels. Pricing on Amazon must align with that on other channels. Your service must be consistent regardless of the device a customer uses to contact you. 

To deliver that consistency, multiple departments must work together. No longer can your sales department focus solely on selling. No longer can logistics only think about warehouse management, which is why it’s so important to get the right warehouse management software.

Firms are increasingly looking at customer experience to set themselves apart. That means delivering for customers at every point of the customer journey from marketing, sales, inventory management, through to delivery and customer service. For marketing to meld with the idea, campaigns must be in concert with the work of other departments.

Facebook Messenger Marketing to Become More Widespread

The rise of social media marketing was one of the significant trends of 2010. The importance of social networks to peoples’ lives is unlikely to diminish in the new decade. You still need to look at ways of reaching people via Facebook, Twitter, and other social channels.

Facebook Messenger marketing is one area that is still in its infancy. Only recently have the biggest businesses started to grasp its potential. As we move into the 2020s, all ecommerce firms look set to follow suit.

Source: https://optinmonster.com/facebook-messenger-marketing/

There are many reasons why Facebook Messenger marketing should interest ecommerce businesses:

• Popularity – Facebook Messenger is where your audience is. According to recent statistics, the chat service has 1.3 billion monthly active users.

• Building Trust – Chatting on Facebook Messenger is a very personal means of communication. It’s how many people communicate with their closest friends. Reaching potential customers in the same way, lets brands build more trust. People will feel a greater connection with your firm.

• Growing Sales – Late objections or issues are more readily solved over Facebook Messenger. A customer is more likely to use an IM to help complete a sale than to pick up the phone or send an email.

• Automation – Done right, Facebook Messenger marketing can need little human input. A chatbot can do much of the work for you, taking the strain off your marketing staff.

Resurgence of Audio Advertising Thanks to Streaming & Podcasts

There was a time that radio ads were essential marketing tools for companies. Radio advertising still exists but has been dwindling in importance for years. Audio ads, though, may be about to enjoy a resurgence as we hit the new decade.

Music streaming services and podcasts are enjoying a wave of recent popularity. People like to be able to stream whatever music they like, whenever they want. They also enjoy the portability of podcasts. You can listen to a podcast on a run, when you’re working out, or in other places that TV isn’t viable.

Source: https://www.statista.com/chart/10713/podcast-listeners-in-the-united-states/

Music streamers and podcast listeners are new audiences for audio ads. Podcasts, in particular, are a useful vessel for such advertisements. There’s often a relatively narrow topical focus to each podcast. That means you know at least one interest shared by the listeners. If that interest chimes with what your business provides, you know the audience is one you want to reach.

Even More Importance Placed on Segmentation & Personalization

Marketing has developed to be a far more personal enterprise. Brands can no longer define a message, send it out into the world, and hope it resonates with their audience. Each member of an audience wants to get relevant content that interests them.

Source: https://www.evergage.com/blog/consumers-want-personalization-stats-roundup/

In the 2020s, firms must give customers offers and recommendations just for them. It’s what your target audience expects, thanks to the adoption of such tactics by global brands. Take Netflix, for example. The streaming service is famous for the personal recommendations it offers to users. Segmentify is a great example when it comes to helping eCommerce stores create highly personalized unique shopping experiences. The UK-based smart personalization platform does this by offering the right products to the right customers at the right time with the help of an AI-based recommendation engine.

For your firm to excel at personalization, you’ll also need to focus on customer segmentation. That means breaking up your target audience into groups according to different factors. Some of the most fundamental are as follows:

• Geographic – Where people are from or live.

• Demographic – Information such as gender, age, education level, etc.

• Behavioral – Segments based on spending habits or how individuals interact with your brand.

• Psychographics – Psychological attributes of your audience (values, interests, hobbies, etc.)

Segmenting your audience lets you reach out to each member on a more personal level. It tells you what content they’re interested in, and how best to connect with them.

Greater Use of Interactive Marketing Content

As the new decade rolls on, marketing will likely become less passive. You don’t have to ask your audience only to consume your content; you can invite them to interact with it. There are lots of simple ways to encourage interaction:

• Social media polls

• Fun or light-hearted quizzes

• Competitions and prize draws

• Live videos with chat and other interactive elements

Interactive content helps lead to greater engagement with your company. It also makes it easier to get your message across to your audience. Someone will naturally pay more attention to content that they can interact with. They might merely scroll past passive content.

Understand the Trends of the Future & Get Ahead of the Curve

The start of a new decade is an exciting time. It’s when you can dream of – and plan for – the success of the next ten years. In the field of ecommerce marketing, things will change dramatically as the 2020s progress. With some forward thinking, you can make sure you’re ahead of the curve.

Don’t wait for new trends in marketing to develop before you get involved. Put your firm at the vanguard of the trends most likely to explode in the next few years. Explore things like video marketing, cross-organizational collaboration, or greater personalization. By doing so, you may give yourself an invaluable step up on your rivals.

 

Nicholas Shaw has been Chief Revenue Officer (CRO) of Brightpearl since July 2019 and is responsible for EMEA Sales, Global Marketing and Alliances. Before joining Brightpearl, Nick was GM and Vice President of the EMEA Consumer business at Symantec and was responsible for a $500m revenue business.