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The internet is a hub of activity; a lot happens online in just one minute. It's hard to fathom, but in a single minute of 2023, people worldwide sent 241 million emails, made 6.3 million searches on Google, and spent $455,000 on Amazon. These numbers are staggering and highlight the sheer volume of online activity that takes place daily. It's not just the quantity of online activity that's impressive, it's also the number of people who use the internet. As of January 2024, there were 5.35 billion internet users worldwide, translating to approximately 66% of the global population. The average internet user globally spends over 6 hours a day online, making the internet an integral part of our daily lives. Given these numbers, it's unsurprising that businesses are eager to identify digital marketing strategies that can help build and maintain meaningful customer relationships. The competition for customers' attention is fierce, and brands need to stand out. If you are looking to promote customer relationships, check out these three digital marketing trends that are here to stay.
1. Customer connections first, channel second.
Every channel does not need to drive a purchase – every channel needs to deliver a connection.
In 2024, with the growing number of digital channels available to marketers, multi-channel marketing is more critical than ever. Customers use various channels to research and purchase items, with search engines being the most prominent (54% of adult* consumers use search engines). However, brand websites (43% of consumers), social media (26% of consumers), and word of mouth (28% of consumers) also play a significant role in influencing a consumer's purchasing journey. With this in mind, brands must strive to create a cohesive marketing strategy that spans digital and traditional, and owned and non-owned channels. Remember, every channel is an opportunity to connect with customers, and every connection made is a step closer to achieving marketing success. Our recommendation for brands is that every channel does not need to drive a purchase – every channel needs to deliver a connection.
2. Meet the customers where they are to get them to where you want them to be.
To retain customers, marketers must focus on creating tailored digital experiences that cater to the unique needs of their target audience.
To establish strong connections with your customers, meeting them where they are in their journey with your brand is crucial. Personalization has been a growing trend in digital marketing for several years. As of January 2022, almost half of US consumers (49%) reported that they would likely stop using a brand if their customer experience wasn't personalized. Our experts at Kognitiv believe it will become even more critical in 2024—in our experience working with some of the world’s leading brands, consumer preference for personalization is only growing.
To retain customers, marketers must focus on creating tailored digital experiences that cater to the unique needs of their target audience. While we know most organizations have targeted purchase frequencies and associated revenue targets (e.g., get my customers to purchase once every two months), these generic rules make it challenging to deliver relevancy to the individual shopper. At Kognitiv, we recommend evaluating each customer's unique buying cycle and personalizing the journey from there. By better understanding where customers are in their brand connection, you can create personalized experiences that will deepen their connection and be meaningful for both the consumer and your business. Learn more about the importance of customer-level modeling and how to achieve it.
3. AI & ML open the door for predictive insights & optimization.
AI and ML are transforming digital marketing through predictive analytics and automated processes. However, not all organizations are ready to dive into AI yet. A study conducted in March 2023 revealed that only 15% of marketing professionals worldwide had plans to use AI for automation. We believe it's perfectly okay to start small by testing the waters. If you want to build stronger relationships with your customers across all channels, technology will play a vital role in ensuring relevance at scale. The same study also found that 33% of marketing decision-makers planned to enhance their predictive data and analytics capabilities in 2024. Additionally, 41% of them planned to improve their real-time marketing capabilities. Predictive data has the power to unite our first two trends. More brands will lean on technology to better understand where the customer is in their purchasing journey, how they got there, and forecast where they are expected to go next. They will then identify the connections that will progress the relationship further. Read 5 ways AI can enhance marketers’ capabilities and help deliver better results.
Wondering where to head next?
Start by gaining a better understanding of your customer base by analyzing their behavior at an individual level and predicting their future actions, so you can move a step closer to relevant and personalized customer experiences. Our lifecycle optimization software, Kognitiv Pulse, enables brands to leverage the benefits of AI and ML to develop stronger customer relationships. The tool utilizes our proprietary SmartJourney® framework to visualize where customers are in their unique lifecycle with your brand currently and where they are headed unless you take action to change their behavior. This provides valuable insights into the biggest opportunities to increase customer lifetime value by improving how you onboard, engage, retain, and reactivate your customer base. Additionally, you can easily send your targeted audience lists directly from Kognitiv Pulse to your marketing platforms, allowing you to turn your insights into action. We’ve codified customer lifecycle optimization expertise into daily updating algorithms so you can keep your finger on the pulse of your customers in real time.
Get Kognitiv Pulse up and running in as few as seven days. Book a demo today.
Our suite of AI-native customer intelligence and activation software can help you build deeper relationships with your customers and grow a loyal customer base.
- Enable 1:1 personalization at scale with Kognitiv Ignite. Learn more.
- Launch and manage a successful loyalty program with Kognitiv Inspire. Learn more.
- Intelligently acquire and engage customers across paid channels with Kognitiv Amplify. Learn more.