Forecasts, business plans, techniques, and strategies typically perform best when adjusted to industry trends. That’s basically a really boring way of saying that most of us don’t use carrier pigeons and typewriters to communicate. Why? That’s not the most current and effective method in the modern world.
When it comes to growth marketing, businesses are taking notice of what works and what doesn’t in today’s digital landscape. What worked five years ago is unlikely to carry the same impact now, leaving you with poor results stemming from outdated strategies and changing customer preferences. Here are three growth marketing trends that should be accounted for in your 2023 plans.
1. Strategy integration
There are several variations on the phrase “greater than the sum of its parts.” The concept can apply to a great number of situations, ranging from cross-team productivity to strange food combinations (cronut, anyone?). In recent times, marketing experts have begun to realize the potential of combining various aspects of digital marketing into a more effective strategy.
Traditionally, companies will search in an a la carte manner for services in the digital marketing realm. However, if you look at some of the best growth marketing firms, you will see that they now have aligned strategies. For example, If you look at firms focused on paid then they will align PPC, CRO, and SEM together. With firms that focus on organic growth marketing, they tend to align digital PR, content strategy, and SEO. Organic growth is an area that has different strategies, but they align well together if you have an integrated approach.
So how do digital PR, content strategy, and SEO differ?
You can dive into Digital PR more, but it’s essentially building your brand credibility. That’s important because it’s how your brand is perceived in regard to trustworthiness and legitimacy. Getting mentions or features in high-ranking publications such as Forbes or trusted niche selections are some actions that can work toward this goal. Credibility can also be a valuable tool if you’re attempting to secure funding.
Content strategy is assistance with content from your brand. Examples can be email campaigns or blog postings. Blog postings are especially valuable since they can assist in establishing you as an authority in your industry.
SEO is how well you rank on search engines for certain keywords. This is tied to multiple variables such as backlinks, website design, and user experience.
Why is an integrated approach more effective?
Maybe your company is just starting out and looking to strengthen or initiate your digital presence. You might have a fairly decent website, no backlinks, and a blog with only one posting. If you dump your entire marketing budget into SEO work and expect big results, you might be disappointed — and out of money.
As search engine algorithms fluctuate, they have become more sensitive to perceived discrepancies in credibility, authority, and visibility. So if you flood the internet with backlinks but have a neglected website blog, and poor user experience, the algorithm will penalize your ranking. You could also be dinged for a mediocre website that is difficult to navigate and doesn’t clock substantial session duration.
How will this affect business plans?
As the benefits of integrated growth marketing campaigns become more common in 2023, there are going to be strategy adjustments. With digital marketing budgets crossing 146 billion, and spending on the metaverse ranging between $144 billion and $206 billion by 2030 more businesses will be looking for a comprehensive service approach rather than an a la carte one. This can make it easier to use data to determine how various action components interact with each other.
2. Preparing for a marathon
Fast results are impressive and tend to make you feel good about spending top dollar on marketing campaigns. It can also give you the false impression that you can take a shotgun approach to growth marketing and be done with it. The reality of the matter is that for real, lasting results, growth marketing is a marathon, not a sprint.
Why is a long-term approach better?
When you think about growth marketing, you need to view it as a never-ending competition. Any steps you take essentially have the end goal of overtaking others’ market position. If you target several keyword search terms and make progress over a couple of months, you haven’t permanently completed a task. Once you stop marketing efforts, competitors could potentially be overtaking your rankings.
More businesses have come to understand the benefits of building a solid marketing foundation that stays active for longer periods. More data analysis is usually required at the onset to create a plan for maximum effectiveness. Also, long-term activity has more flexibility for strategy adjustments along the way.
So think beyond short term gains from a month-long marketing campaign. For the kind of advancements that will advance efforts to own your industry, plan for four to 12-month campaigns.
How will this affect business plans?
Companies wanting to see significant, long-term marketing results will likely adjust their budgets accordingly. This doesn’t necessarily mean an increase. Rather, a certain amount might be budgeted on a monthly basis as opposed to a yearly or “as needed” basis.
3. Understanding the value of experts
For the average business owner, there are certainly in-house steps that can be taken on the growth marketing front. Creating consistent blog content and booking speaking engagements are good examples. To make significant strides in growth marketing, however, you’ll likely need to bring in specialists.
What’s an area that could benefit from an expert?
One digital resource that sometimes gets neglected is a business’s website. It might have all the necessary components to display products and services along with functional payment processing options. To the untrained eye, it might seem like that’s all a website should do. To the expert eye, a website upgrade has the potential for noticeable results.
As mentioned previously, search engine algorithms consider certain website features when determining search rankings. If you don’t have a great deal of traffic to your website or low viewing times per page, it makes a difference. These shortcomings might not be obvious to the average site visitor, so having an expert who can identify those factors is very valuable.
A website auditor can run a multitude of tests and scans to determine where your website could be improved. Taking this data and making the necessary adjustments can have benefits outside of search rankings.
A better functioning website with greater connectivity and flow can actually increase your close rate. Small changes to the site can draw in visitors at different parts of the sales funnel and encourage more time per page. But without expertise and knowledge of site weaknesses, business owners would be unlikely to know where improvements could be made.
How will this affect business plans?
Again, budgets will likely need to allow for expert contracting as opposed to handling everything in-house. If successful, the additional spending will be more than covered with corresponding revenue increases.
Additionally, businesses will likely be building their stable of contractors, from site auditors to marketing firms. To find these reliable experts, businesses will be turning to trusted peers and networking associates for recommendations. If it isn’t on your priority list for 2023, you might want to consider increasing your networking efforts. Finding resources and contractors through recommendations is usually safer than taking a chance with an unknown provider.
Get the word out
Growth marketing plays an essential role in owning your industry. You might have the most incredible product or service on the market, but that won’t translate to success if nobody knows who you are.
So when creating your growth plan for 2023, set goals for your business and ensure your marketing efforts are up to date and support those goals. If you need help, there are guides that can show you how to pick a growth marketing agency. Whether you do it yourself or hire it out, growth marketing can take your company to the next level of success.
John Hall is an author, keynote speaker, and co-founder at Calendar.com. He can be found on Twitter @johnhall.
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