Marketing Predictions for 2010

We’re nearly two months into our new year, stretching our arms and legs into 2010.  Taking a deep breath, you know what I smell?  No.  That wasn’t me.  That was my production manager.

I smell opportunity.

I find myself compelled to ask a simple question: “How is the marketing dynamic going to shift this year, what will be different?”

Granted, each year starts out the same.  I make a resolution to stop cramming food in my face at 11pm while writing blog posts.  That one gets thrown out the window within a week.  In the marketing world though, change is bound to happen and it often sticks.  There’s usually something fun and exciting that will spice things up.  Just look how Twitter ignited major fires last year.

Now I don’t necessarily claim to be an expert (well, maybe just a little) or any kind of a Guru (the shiny top gives it away doesn’t it?) but I’ve got a list of predictions for 2010 that I think the new year will bring us.

• Social Media Extreme Makeover – Anyone who has anything to do with marketing has been looking for a way to make every aspect of social media work for them in building business online.  What does it really mean to have a pile of fans?  Are widgets really worth it?  Not only will marketing experts find new ways to make existing technology work, but the social media giants are going to start recognizing the potency of business involvement.  We’ll start seeing some new innovations in the design and application of the various social media sites as they gear up to cater toward marketing strategies

• Mobile marketing – We’ve heard the buzz about local search and marketing to target the smart phones.  With full browser capability and access to major search functions, more people are staying connected all the time.  I think major players in the “world of search” are going to start to take the emphasis off personal business sites.  Consider the ability to have the public generate positive reviews, for Google to list all your relevant business info, for article marketing services to provide complete company and product information.  Link all those with the increasing difficulty to rank organically without a lot of work and it wouldn’t shock me if the future brought the advent of something different – No business website?  Not likely.  But when you consider the fact that local reviews and major article listings turn up faster than your own business site, it makes sense to push marketing toward local search and mobile web than to try to push your own site up.  At least for local businesses

Major online players are still gonna have to play King of the Rock.

• An emphasis on organic search - With PPC costs escalating, more companies will be focusing on using their marketing budgets in organic search, proper design, and SEO tactics.  We’ll start seeing an increase in the need for copywriting on site to flesh out content.  Where once there was a time we could slip by without much content on page, that dynamic is shifting to try to make the search engine spiders love us as much as possible.  While PPC is still completely viable and generates great revenue, SEO will continue to grow and dominate.

• Analytics Mean Business - Thanks to regular releases of free analytics tools, like those from Google, it will become common place for marketers and administrators to finally track and manage their leads.  We have more information now than we ever had on traffic to and from our sites.  Identification of the best lead sources is going to create some dramatic shifts in marketing campaigns that may have a negative impact on niche-specific marketing firms. Time to take off the rookie pants and play with the big dogs.

• Building Brand Loyalty - The economy sucks, plain and simple.  It doesn’t suck for everyone, but it sucks for those that matter most to your business model – your consumers.  We’re all tightening our belts, anxious to have to ride out another slump in the market.  Consumers don’t want to part with extra money if they don’t have to, and they are going to continue to want more for less.  This makes it important for every marketer to focus on the perceived value of a product or service.  Gone is the age of “discount now, buy now”.  Consumers want lasting value – creating that will build brand loyalty, every time.

I specifically buy my milk from a small store in town, instead of the major retailer.  Even though it requires an extra stop, the milk is always cheaper.  At the lower price, it always beats the sale price of the big box retailer.  If it never changes, they have my milk-buying-business forever.  That, my friends, is brand loyalty.

This new year proves to have some interesting prospects.  I wanted badly to make an addition for Twitter but if I get going on twitter, I just won’t stop.

All in all we’re gearing up for a great ride that’s going to reveal some fantastic new tools and resources to drive business, create new models, and refine the ones that we’ve got in place.

Related posts:

1. 11 Reasons why your Business Needs Facebook
2. Adwords for Mobile Tech – Pay Per Call?