By Mark Wieczorek, Chief Insights Officer at Front Row
Navigating the complex landscape of modern business isn’t for the faint of heart. Whether it’s a massive corporation or a nimble startup, the hurdles are undeniable. From resource limitations to the constant struggle for bandwidth, the road to embracing multichannel marketing trends can feel like an uphill battle. However, research suggests that it’s worth figuring out a strategy to overcome those hurdles.
Let’s get into the facts: Studies have shown that marketing on multiple digital channels can outperform single or dual-channel campaigns by 300%. On top of that, the multichannel marketing industry is predicted to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 22.3% by 2030.
So, what’s the recipe for success? In my view, it’s adopting a strategic mindset. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by these challenges, you may envision them as opportunities waiting to be seized. For instance, consider this: While marketing on four platforms may provide the optimum ROI, I’ve seen that investing in five or six can be overkill. What’s more, tailoring content to specific platforms can boost the effectiveness of that content, thereby maximizing your investment.
How to Keep Up With Marketing Trends in Your Own Way
A D2C marketing strategy must keep up with multichannel marketing trends, but with more pressure and more choice, how can teams keep pace with trends while staying on top of their workloads?
First, Diagnose the Pressing Problems
A strategy works better if it solves the problems you’re seeing and helps to grow your brand. Diagnosis is key. Are you lagging in your product category? Is your conversion rate disappointing? Know what you’re trying to fix so you can create a useful, practical strategy.
Consult diagnostic tools for help. Look at Google Trends and Amazon Web Services to see how you’re performing compared to a given category. Peer into the dynamics of buying habits. Are people searching for your brand less than your competitive set? Are people “talking” about your products, leaving reviews and testimonials? Have you hit the “performance marketing” plateau?
Do you need to work on brand awareness? What about conversion rate optimization? Is your brand’s messaging forward-thinking and flexible enough to capitalize on the cultural moment? And finally, do you have the right internal resources and partners to get your brand to the level you aspire to? These questions should allow you to define your problem areas. And remember, McKinsey & Company has found that most consumers use at least three channels for each purchase journey, so you have to take into account each channel in your marketing mix when answering these questions.
Then, Treat the Problem
From a diagnosis comes a treatment plan. If you’ve done the work to figure out your problem zones, the right strategy should present itself. Your strategy should then be based on reversing the negative signs you’re seeing or replacing them with positive behaviors. For example, if your diagnosis is that you lack brand awareness, your strategy should involve widening and deepening your engagement with consumers. For example, maybe you need to offer more personalization in your campaigns. Over 70% of consumers expect brands to offer personalized experiences and messaging.
In the case where the right strategy isn’t clear, you should consider seeking additional input, such as consulting with experts, conducting further research, or experimenting with different approaches. In cases of overlapping issues, addressing the core problem first is crucial, as resolving the root cause can often lead to alleviating related challenges.
Finally, Steer Your Strategy Toward Opportunities
When it comes to executing your strategy, you can focus on the opportunities you see. Do you have the chance to build awareness by creating a cultural moment of your own? Do you have a brand partner with experience building engagement through direct-to-consumer marketing channels?
You can identify opportunities by closely observing market trends, consumer behaviors, and competitors’ actions. Evaluating opportunities involves assessing their alignment with the brand’s goals, capabilities, and target audience preferences. Prioritizing opportunities that leverage the brand’s unique strengths and offer sustainable growth potential is key to successful pursuit. According to the McKinsey research mentioned above, more than 80% of consumer companies’ growth comes from their core offerings, but many brands underestimate the growth possibility of those offerings.
All too often, I’ve seen brands overly focus on tactics. They cling to actions like SEO and A/B testing in the hope that there will be guarantees of growth. By shifting the conversation to what’s actually hindering sales, you can build a strategy around the tactics that will incrementally boost sales.
If you’re wondering how to stay on top of marketing trends, the answer is … you might not have to. Just stay on top of the ones that make sense to your brand at this moment in time by forming a D2C marketing strategy that is unique to your business and your target customers.
About the Author
As the Chief Insights Officer at Front Row, Mark Wieczorek is continuously thinking: What’s next? What can we be doing better? What’s the next evolution? What will move the needle for our brands? Some days, that’s working on advertising tech. Other days, it’s digging into the data to figure out how to better position our brands for success. To Mark, staying ahead of the competition is a never-ending challenge, and no two days are alike.
