What are the top marketing trends for 2023?
Given economic headwinds and shifting consumer behaviors, 2023 will be an important year in the evolution of both marketing strategies and marketing technology solutions.
We asked top marketing experts to give their insights on the marketing trends and strategies that will be significant in 2023, and how they will affect marketers’ top priorities in the coming years.
1. Build Customer Relationships and Community
“Building relationships and community are first. Brands that do this successfully make a lot of the other trends irrelevant. Doing this well means combining online and offline events, social media and live video, curation and collaboration.”
– Andy Crestodina, CMO/Co-Founder, Orbit Media Studios, Inc.
2. Do More with Less, Authentically
“Many marketing teams are in a ‘do more with less’ situation. Paid advertising has drawn tremendous criticism, as it fails to lead to meaningful outcomes for many. So, where is energy being focused? Generating authentic brand ambassadors inside and outside of the organization.”
– Nate Brown, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc.
3. Marketers Get P&L Smart
“An increased focus on unit economics, while the average marketer needs to understand the cost of customer acquisition and churn. Without some degree of P&L responsibility, the marketer may be out in the cold. Besides aligning with the finance team/leader at your company, a respect for the sales organization will be critical.”
– Jeanne Hopkins, OneScreen.AI.
4. Strengthen the Customer Data Tech Stack
“The most significant marketing technologies in 2023 will be customer data platforms, powered by advanced AI/ML algorithms, along with customer journey orchestration capabilities. This will allow for the continued strengthening of integration in technology stacks.”
– Marianne Hewitt, Integrated Growth Solutions.
5. Generate Value for Consumers
“No more “check the box” marketing. It’s about generating value to customers and finding very meaningful ways to express the brand promise.”
– Nate Brown, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc.
6. Orchestrate the Customer Journey
“For 2023, the marketing trends that I think will be relevant include a continued focus on customer experience, AI/ML, first-party data, data integration, and budget sensitivities. Customer journey orchestration will continue to evolve and mature, allowing for the alignment of second-generation MAPs with the complex journeys of a digital first buyer.”
– Marianne Hewitt, Integrated Growth Solutions.
8. Enable Sales with Content
“Helping sales team members to be more effective with the right sales enablement materials is key. If more people took marketing courses, they would have a holistic view of the organization and be able to understand who does what.”
– Jeanne Hopkins, OneScreen.AI.
9. Listen to the Voice of the Customer
“Voice-of-customer technology is and will continue to be so important. Where is the organization failing to deliver on its promises? How can we serve our customers better, or enhance their perception of us? We can’t be making assumptions as marketers on the answers to these questions. If we want to be a better guide for our customers, we have to know more about their journey.”
– Nate Brown, Arise Virtual Solutions Inc.
10. Plan for the Long(er) Term
“For 2023, we are thinking long(er)-term. Typically, planning quarter by quarter is the de facto standard. Metrics and an understanding of your sales cycle, looking at seasonality, and developing low, medium, and high budgets is helpful. And, not overhiring for the team.”
– Jeanne Hopkins, OneScreen.AI.
Looking Forward
This year we’ll continue to see the acceleration of digital-first trends that began years ago. A challenging business climate will make CMOs and marketing leaders look to keeping budgets tight, and optimize operations, while proving ROI from marketing and MarTech investments.
Marketers would be wise to get smart about marketing economics and focusing more on the P&L to support sales and the business. Using platforms like a CDP to gather customer data to inform the customer experience and content messaging is moving brands closer to being able to be truly data-driven and customer-centric.
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