As 2022 came to a close, I had the privilege of sitting down with an impressive group of executive marketing leadership to discuss the major trends and topics that will shape 2023. We hosted the event at Zou Zou’s in New York City, alongside our partners over at the attribution platform, Rockerbox.
And while I might not be able to share the delicious dishes we enjoyed with you, I can share some of the tasty insights into the top marketing trends for 2023. Here are some of the 2023 marketing trends and tips this group believes will shape the marketing landscape in the coming year.
The Importance of Personalized Experiences
Creating personalized experiences that drive loyalty and brand affinity were a big topic of discussion. Specifically in the form of “clienteling,” a technique used by retailers to build long term relationships to better cater to the preferences of a customer.
One luxury apparel brand, for instance, has successfully adopted the practice of calling customers directly and walking them through how to find the perfect handbag – a kind of highly personalized shopping experience that engages with the customer, as opposed to pushing marketing messages that they may or may not welcome.
And it wasn’t just luxury brands that were bullish on this approach. Every marketer at the table, no matter their business model, was considering some kind of high-touch, personalized tactic for customers with a high life-time value.
Many observed that in a world where technology enables the ability to rapidly scale marketing efforts, there are fewer barriers to brand switching and increased competition, making it more important than ever to go the extra mile to build loyalty with your existing customer base.
A Return to the Real World
Many digital-first brands have added or are planning to add a physical presence through storefronts or pop-ups. Not surprising, given that, according to a study by Retail Dive, 70% of consumers use multiple channels during the purchasing process, and omnichannel retailers see a 91% higher year-over-year customer retention rate compared to single-channel retailers
One digitally native high-end jewelry brand found great success experimenting with pop-ups in 2022, giving people the chance to touch and feel the products driving their impressive growth.
Their biggest question? Whether to bring the capability in-house to better integrate the customer experience with other touchpoints, or to outsource the execution so they can continue to focus on the core tactics that have fueled their growth historically.
The Importance of Media Mix Modeling for Attribution
When it comes to measuring the effectiveness of their marketing efforts both online and offline, everyone around the table was eager to more fully utilize media mix modeling for planning in 2023.
Mixed media modeling is a statistical method that analyzes the effectiveness of marketing campaigns across different channels and media. It involves combining data from various sources, such as online and offline advertising, to understand the overall impact of a marketing strategy. The goal of mixed media modeling is to allocate marketing budgets more effectively and optimize the allocation of resources across channels.
Considering the fact that, according to a study by the Association of National Advertisers, companies using media mix modeling see a 20% increase in marketing ROI, the keen interest from the marketing leaders around the table was not surprising.
Looking Ahead to 2023
In the end, what struck me the most coming out of the discussion wasn’t what was said, but rather what wasn’t said. With unrelenting headlines on the state of the economy coming into 2023, we expected the conversation to focus on the immense pressure these marketers might be feeling in the face of uncertain economic headwinds.
While that certainly was touched on, our guests were hardened veterans, and it showed in the discussion. They are laser focused on the fundamental mission: driving growth in a dynamic industry. Whether it’s reallocating resources, revamping their tech stacks, pushing their partners, improving their ability to measure results, or managing their stakeholders – this isn’t their first rodeo.
Still, everyone acknowledged there is much to do to navigate the path forward successfully, and so we left both full of good food, with a renewed sense of commitment to rise to the challenges, push ourselves to keep innovating on behalf of this vibrant and ever-evolving industry, and enable our marketers to see great success in the year to come.
