Marketing being an inaccurate and instinctive science, needs to always show signs of change and conform to new shoppers, their mentalities and conduct and different changes in the commercial center and economy. While digital marketing has made extraordinary steps in the most recent couple of years, innovation as a rule is moving too quick to market to stay aware of. Here are a few patterns that marketers may need in 2016.
1- Innovation in location based technologies
Location based technologies will move items to another level, to make brand separation. For instance HDFC Bank is as of now testing an area based innovation where if the bank's customer uses his/her credit card, they will geo-tag the client's mobile and credit card to check in the event that they are in the same area. If not, the customer may need to answer a few inquiries from the bank to find out that he/she is a real customer and it is not a fraud. This kind of innovation is going to revolutionise the way we use products.
2- Digital launch over Mass Media Launch
It is almost a common practice nowadays for a product to launch digitally first, over mass media. This practice will keep on increasing further. Video as a medium will first go digitally on stations like Youtube before it shows up on Television. This, thus implies shoppers, who are consumers of digital media, will be the first to see showcasing and promoting events for a brand launch. Marketing will no more look as digital consumers as a niche market yet as imperative modes of word of mouth communication and as influencers for the masses.
For example, choosing the right influencers on YouTube which is the world's second largest search engine, will give your brand a huge advantage for its promotion.
3- New boost to advocate marketing
Transforming loyal clients into a referral machine might be the most obvious opportunity with regards to building a customer base. Before meeting the salesperson, shoppers will search for solid referrals from existing clients. Each time a user posts a review of a product, he/she is contacted by potential buyers asking for positive and negative reviews of the product.
4- Online shift of marketing research from the traditional method of research
Software will turn into the new differentiator between companies instead of individuals, techniques or discovery models. Despite the fact that market research has officially moved online, the specific research firms will be more sought after in 2016 than ever. Online research will take care of the marketers limited time, budgets and quick results. To a great extent, because research firms are investing in software to interpret data inventively, than the traditional think-tanks, their research will turn out to be more quick than the conventional think-tank who has its feet somewhere down in traditional research.
5- Change in the strategy of Unicorns in India
There are unicorn startups that are doing really well and have increasing valuations. They have been spending VC funding lavishly but have to realise that discounting won't work for too long. This bubble will soon burst. They need to shift their focus on brand building rather than giving deep discounts. Price cutting is not a differentiator and will not help them in the long run.