6 important trends in 2022 for a successful digital marketing strategy

The year 2021 was a year of transformative changes that shook the entire landscape of digital marketing. This significantly impacted the development of digital marketing strategies for businesses that were striving to overcome the effects of the pandemic.

Below is a compilation of 6 key customer trends for crafting a successful digital strategy in 2022, which businesses should pay attention to in order to achieve a successful year.

Trend #1: The Significance of Multi-Channel in Digital Strategy

The multi-channel experience is seen as a trend that helps businesses build effective digital marketing strategies. More than ever, our customers are placing value on a seamless and satisfying multi-channel experience.

Consumers have become accustomed to interacting with products/services across various channels and devices, from mobile apps and web browsers to Smart TVs and SMS. The increasing customer expectations have driven businesses to invest more in creating a consistent “omni-channel” experience.

Major companies like Amazon have set high standards to enable personalized multi-channel communications. Consumers are also expecting smaller businesses to soon measure up to this standard.

For instance, customers can place food orders through the Amazon website, receive order updates through push notifications or in-app messages, and get transaction receipts via email.

The entire purchase journey is systematically established, continuous, and smooth. Consequently, the user experience across multiple channels must also be seamlessly integrated and smooth.

The rise of food delivery apps during the pandemic has also heightened user expectations for features that provide real-time updates as each order is processed. Whether delivering a delicious meal or a grocery item, users want to track the progress of their orders from start to finish and receive timely updates across various channels.

It’s evident that for business growth, companies cannot overlook the multi-channel consumer experience in their digital marketing strategy. The opportunity to capture and increase loyal customer base through this trend is substantial.

To support this shift towards a multi-channel user experience, businesses must also become more unified and less constrained in their operations. Facilitating collaboration between product, marketing, and technical aspects will become more crucial than ever in creating the desired seamless multi-channel experience that customers crave. This principle will also extend to technology-driven enterprises. Companies will require a more unified technology system to offer integrated capabilities and share rich data for users.

Trend #2: The Decline of Personalized Advertising

Over the past decade, identifying unique users on mobile apps and websites has laid the foundation for personalized advertising. However, mobile platform operators are now actively limiting these possibilities.

With the recent changes in the iOS operating system, Apple is making it difficult to collect IDFA (Identifier for Advertisers) and requires user consent for alternative tracking methods.

Similarly, Google is phasing out third-party cookies as a tracking mechanism. In light of these developments, businesses may consider the following forecasts to build an effective digital marketing strategy:

Significant increase in advertising costs. Heightened mergers and acquisitions dependent on advertising. Enhanced focus on customer retention rates and long-term value (Lifetime Value).

Trend #3: Rise of Subscription Models

With less access to third-party data, subscription-based interaction models will continue to gain popularity. Instead of aiming for a higher number of users through advertising, many businesses are now forced to strategize on how to retain current customers and increase their long-term value in order to achieve expected growth rates.

As a result, companies will reduce ad spending and redirect efforts towards product development, which is good news for consumers. Previously, many app companies allocated a significant portion of their budget to advertising. Now, personalized product experiences are taking center stage, replacing the old approach.

Retaining users in a subscription model means investing more in customer experience and enhancing the value and features of the app over time. In this new context, businesses will also interact with fewer users, so building a digital marketing strategy that delivers meaningful, personalized experiences will be crucial to achieving ultimate goals.

The outcomes of these changes will be:

First-party and second-party data will become increasingly important as the internet emphasizes privacy. Monetization models requiring identity registration will become a new standard in the mobile app ecosystem. This change will bring along a series of related impacts, but not significantly disruptive. Companies will focus on consolidation. Product and service packages will be expanded and improved. The influence of word-of-mouth and viral effects will continue to drive app development.

In fact, this is not an entirely new trend. With the development of inbound marketing, which focuses on nurturing customers and consistently providing value to maintain the customer lifecycle in Marketing 4.0, leading businesses in digital marketing are reaping clear results compared to competitors still engaged in traditional marketing activities.

Trend #4: Digitizing Early Customer Interactions and the Boom of Core App Offerings

Increasing Digital Customer Interactions

The past year has accelerated the rapid application of digital customer interaction and supply chain interactions. A global survey of executives across various industries and company sizes showed that the proportion of digital products or digital support investments in company portfolios has dramatically increased over the past seven years. Those who reported three times growth compared to pre-crisis levels stated that at least 80% of their customer interactions come from digital channels.

This jump in digitization has contributed to the importance of apps and multi-channel experiences for users, driving businesses to focus more on digital strategies.

First Mobile Device Growth and App Portfolio Growth

In 2021, consumers are using more apps than ever before to share content, work with colleagues, stay in touch with family and friends, play games, socialize, and more. It’s no surprise that global consumer spending on apps reached $133 billion, nearly a 20% increase from the previous year.

Recent reports also reveal that new app downloads have increased by nearly 8% and daily app usage has surged by over 20% in 2021. The end result? Consumers spent over 8% more time on their mobile devices than they did watching live TV in 2021.

These outcomes also partly indicate that modern businesses are responsive to users’ social context and are building appropriate digital marketing strategies across all platforms to engage users.

Fields such as mobile gaming, finance, mobile shopping, and food delivery have shown impressive growth rates. Other strong categories include business apps, outdoor discovery apps, super-mini mobile apps, at-home fitness apps, and e-books. The growth is expected to continue to thrive in 2022.

Trend #5: Real-Time Updates are a Must

This year, we’ve witnessed an incredible surge in computer processing speed, software reliability, and network technology. Real-time customer experience isn’t just highly regarded; it’s becoming an “implicit” factor in applications.

Furthermore, users engage with most apps through notifications. They expect proactive communication and updates from apps rather than seeking information or interacting with brands.

Receiving real-time updates, content, and transactions has become a user habit—a trend that brands need to meet in order to compete, capture attention, and foster user loyalty against other competitors. Digital marketing strategies become a trend that businesses need to grasp in a timely manner.

Trend #6: Users Increasing Tech Savviness

Over the past two years, individuals of all ages have increased their tech know-how. Moreover, consumers across generations are spending more time on mobile devices. Throughout 2021, Gen Z, Millennials, and GenX/Baby Boomers spent an additional 16%, 18%, and 30% respectively compared to the previous year on their most-used apps.

Tech-savvy users are more likely to seek more online reviews and browse through app “hacks” to avoid wasting time and money. Therefore, a clear user experience and a professional customer support process might become even more important than standing out in target markets.

Apart from changing the digital landscape, 2021 has altered how brands communicate with customers. Hence, businesses need to understand what has changed and which communication principles matter most. Applying these not only to branding strategies but also to digital marketing strategies, aligning with customers’ mindset and needs, and conquering increasingly tech-savvy customers with new technology trends is key.

Source: Onesignal.com