After a turbulent 2020 that saw record layoffs, marketing budget cuts, and rapidly changing customer preferences, marketing executives are now faced with the challenge of finding the right marketing strategies for 2021 and beyond.
According to Gartner’s research on CMO expectations for 2021, the majority of them (56 %) expect 5% year-over-year budget growth in 2021, while just 21% expect budgets to decline from 2020.
In the face of the dreadful novel coronavirus, things have dramatically changed. Many businesses that had carefully planned campaigns with specific goals at the start of the year had to start all over again. This has taught them that things can go wrong at any moment, affecting people’s lives and, as a result, their experience.
The CMO’s role is expanding to include product development
In 2021, most CMOs are pursuing a low-risk approach. They also want to expand their responsibilities to include product development. Five years ago, CMOS were reluctant to be involved in product and service innovation and growth, but that has changed in recent years, particularly as it relates to digital products. Even if the risk is low, it still represents a shift in the CMO’s role.
Also Read: Insights Take Center Stage in Customer Experience
Over the past 20 years, marketers had to manage social media and this resulted in an abundance of crowd-sourced data on markets, products and services. Customers were able to start providing product feedback and doing product reviews directly back into the marketing organization, and there was this kind of crowdsourced market analysis potential that was flexible with online focus groups. CMOs have long been in charge of corporate marketing, but now they are also voicing the customer’s voice within the company when it comes to societal issues and product and service reviews.
It’s a no-risk strategy to retain customers
Retention isn’t a new priority, but in an era where digital is the only trustworthy choice for brands, it’s important to keep digital visitors happy. So, it’s a challenge when 84 % of marketers admit they can’t currently monitor their consumers’ moods and mindsets (according to Contentsquare’s research).
Prioritizing retention poses no risk because businesses that adopt a CX strategy that responds to their customers’ changing needs and preferences will be in the best position to convert new visitors into repeat customers.
Internal alignment is crucial
Companies should prioritize their existing customer base and maintain extremely high retention rates, and other organizations seeking to stay competitive in 2021 should do the same. Maintaining good internal alignment on go-to-market strategies and plans, incorporating business success insights, and constantly researching, learning, and adapting approaches are all important components. Rapid re-planning and adaptation became a prerequisite for marketing teams in 2020, while agility will play a crucial role in 2021.
Also Read: Automation Liberating Digital Marketers to Innovate and Succeed
Recommendations at a scale of personalization
Technology evolves at a rapid pace, and so does the ways in which consumers obtain information. The myriad communication channels that exist between the enterprise and their consumer today will certainly become a part of successful marketing strategies in the future.
In 2020, less than 30% of companies provided self-service, social messaging, bots, live chat, in-app messaging, or peer-to-peer groups. And in 2021, there’s a great chance that businesses will start using them more.
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