Whilst there is no magic formula when it comes to marketing, the one thing we can positively say for sure is that things move fast. It makes staying on top of your marketing very hard. But if you’re struggling to know where to start with your 2024 marketing plan, here are my top 5 tips for what to look out for in 2024.
AI
We had to start with the thing that everyone is talking about. It’s very important to note here that I can’t recommend using AI to replace your own thinking. Don’t use it as a content generator, thinking it could save you time on writing all your blogs or posts. I know for sure that what makes you impressive as a business owner is that you’ve got your own thoughts. Don’t lose your voice to AI.
However, saying that, more and more businesses are using AI to speed up things like research, to help with generating ideas, to help with organising thoughts or to simply streamline tasks. With more tools and more convenience set to come our way in 2024, those who haven’t explored some of the benefits that AI brings may be left behind. So keep your eye on what’s new as the year unveils.
Personalisation
As consumers, we are expecting an increasingly personalised experience when it comes to marketing. The big companies have so much tech and insight at their disposal, it makes it far easier for them. But as a small business, you can still be more personal with your clients.
For starters, never produce anything too generic. Nor salesy. Speak to people as if you’re speaking to them on a one to one basis. There are always greater conversion rates from emails where the person receiving it feels as if it’s just been sent to them. What do you know about your prospective clients and how can you use that to your advantage? Within reason, of course. You don’t want to come across as creepy.
Also, with direct mail, consider something like variable data print. It can be very cost effective to print mass mailers that have personalised information on them using digital print. If you’ve got plans to do direct mail next year, speak to your printer about variable data print and see what your options are.
Be More Strategic
More and more marketers are placing a greater emphasis on having a strategic approach. Those who have a well defined strategy are increasing sales, and it’s not a coincidence. It doesn’t have to be complicated, but the gap between the ad hoc approach and the strategic approach is set to get wider and wider as the focus on strategy moves up the agenda for many businesses. The sooner you get all your ducks in line, the better. Don’t get left behind.
Differentiation Over USPs
I’m sure whoever you are and whatever your business, you’ve got a wealth of competition. It might not even be straight forward competition, but you’re fighting against a lot of businesses that offer something alternative that is luring your audience away to somewhere new.
This means the days of unique selling points being a serious consideration for marketers are gone. When you’ve got fifty competitors, it becomes a contrived task trying to think of a list of points that make you sound unique.
But the one thing about every single business that is true is that they’re all different. You might sell exactly the same products at exactly the same prices as everyone else, but the experience of working with you will be different. What you stand for will be different.
Differentiation has been the focal point of marketing professionals for a while now, but this secret to success is now filtering through to business owners. If you haven’t worked out yet what makes your business truly different and how you can stand apart from the competition, now is the time to do it. Or speak to us if you want to be inspired with some new ideas.
Growth in Digital Advertising
What was once a tactic reserved for those with a larger marketing budget, digital display advertising is now being used more and more by SMEs, and it’s become far more accessible for those with a more modest budget.
By this I don’t mean social media advertising. I’m talking about banner ads that appear across websites. They allow you to be very targeted and they’re great for brand awareness and conversion. Something like geofencing is becoming increasingly popular for businesses of all sizes and can give you a level of targeting not found anywhere else.
If you’ve not explored digital advertising like this before, take a look for 2024. It’s quickly become the number one tactic for bigger businesses because of the results and the tracking information. As this opens up more and more for smaller businesses, you don’t want to get left behind.
Struggling?
Marketing isn’t easy. There are so many layers to it, and you need to have a good balance of tactics to really see success. If you’re a bit lost as to where to start, first of all you could read my marketing book. This will help you to get a clear understanding of what you need to do to build an effective marketing strategy. Or secondly, why not schedule in some time with me where we can explore what you’re currently doing and how you could move forward to get better traction from your marketing activity? I love to talk marketing over a cuppa, so just drop me an email if you’re interested in setting up a call.
