The Evolution of Search

Search marketing continues to evolve, and digital marketers must keep pace. While Google has dominated the search landscape for years now, how and where customers search is changing. From visual search, to retail marketplaces like Amazon, to platforms with video content, customers have more channels than ever with which to engage with your brand. That can impact what Google has described as the “messy middle” of a customer journey, when there’s potential for a customer to get stuck in loops of exploration and evaluation or give up on their search altogether. A thoughtful marketing strategy that unites these channels can help you funnel a customer out of that messy middle into a sale for your business.

SEO and paid search are still critical digital marketing tools, but new options are emerging to help your brand reach your high-value customers. Consumers increasingly encounter exceedingly curated content, like that on TikTok; other platforms are working to replicate the kind of algorithms that make TikTok such a success. With advancements in technology, the metaverse is slowly becoming more accessible – which means a future where the digital and real worlds mesh together is closer than you might think. Brands will need to continuously innovate and invest to learn what content and channels resonate best with their customers. Shoppers, meanwhile, will continue to explore and adopt new platforms to find what they are searching for.

The Potential of Generative AI

ChatGPT has made headlines recently, and here at NetElixir we’re already thinking about how generative AI is disrupting search. ChatGPT’s algorithms are well suited for providing specific answers to questions, with higher quality answers coming directly from higher quality questions. Traditional search engines like Google still continue to harness a wealth of data to effectively connect with potential customers and offer a range of solutions and information, but numerous ads have made search engine results pages (SERP) less user-friendly and customers will appreciate search options that help them focus on relevant results.

Other types of disruptions are already being developed. Generative AI also has the potential to elevate content creation by providing thoughtful first drafts of copy, and NetElixir’s AI-powered digital marketing platform, LXRInsights, already uses predictive analysis to help e-commerce businesses track and understand the journeys and decisions of their high-value customers. As more brands become aware of the benefits of AI-infused digital marketing, businesses will invest the vast majority of their Google Ads budgets in AI-driven modules like Performance Max for hyper targeted and automated campaigns. We will see even more personalized brand experiences, including campaigns that make automatic, real-time adjustments in response to data gathered and analyzed through AI. 

Work with NetElixir To Create Your Future of Digital Marketing Strategy

NetElixir experts stay on top of digital marketing trends, and we have been leveraging AI to inform our growth optimization strategy for years. Our proprietary LXRInsights platform offers actionable insights to optimize your customer acquisition and engagement strategy that improves your ROI and integrates with Google Ads. The future of digital marketing is quickly becoming the present, and at NetElixir, we predict trends and act accordingly, integrating new advances into our strategies to ensure we offer your brand cutting-edge techniques for connecting with your high-value customers and converting their shopping into sales.

Interested in Learning More?

Check out NetElixir’s e-book 10 Retail and Digital Trends to Watch in 2023 and contact NetElixir today to discover how we can help your e-commerce business prepare for the future of digital marketing.

Watch Udayan’s full interview with Emily Dougherty at WWD Digital Beauty Forum here:

Additional Resources:

• NetElixir’s Insights and Trends for 2023
• Deep Dive into First-Party Data: How to Collect it and Use it Responsibly
• The Importance of Trend Research in Your Marketing Strategy

The post The Future of Digital Marketing appeared first on NetElixir.

Meet Demand for Tasty Treats and Scary Tricks

No one likes running out of candy on Halloween when there are trick-or-treaters at the door, and retailers are no different. With the return to pre-pandemic habits, demand for candy, costumes, decorations, and other Halloween items is likely to be high. Make sure you have enough stock on hand going into the pre-holiday rush (and some leftovers for the day-after sales). You don’t want to leave customers out in the cold by not ordering in time to avoid being affected by the Hershey candy shortage. Supply chain issues are ongoing, so plan ahead when purchasing. 

Stay On-Trend with Product Choices 

It’s not enough to be fully-stocked with any old Halloween products. Your business needs to carry the goodies your customers want for their Halloween festivities. When it comes to costumes, look to movies and TV! The upcoming Barbie movie starring Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling is inspiring looks like pink bodysuits, leg warmers, and fanny packs. You’re certain to spot costumes for characters from Stranger Things season 4 when you’re out trick-or-treating, and the new movie, “Halloween Ends” and the remake of 1987’s “Hellraiser” are driving classic horror movie nostalgia. And you can’t go wrong with evergreen popular costumes like Spiderman and other superheroes, princesses, witches, and ghosts. 

When it comes to decorations, consumers are keeping it spooky with both DIY and store-bought products. TikTok is inspiring Halloween enthusiasts; the floating candles look is a popular trend. Those who go all-out for a spine-tingling lawn display might consider going big with 12-foot lawn skeletons or spiders, or pursuing a twist on traditional graveyard displays with animal skeletons. Party hosts will get into the action with serpent and skeleton-themed glassware when they’re serving popular candy corn-flavored treats like Jello shots, ice pops, and cake pops.

Create Spooky – and Up-to-Date – Content to Drive Traffic

Be sure to promote trending costumes and products on your e-commerce site and make sure your product descriptions for related items include language that connects to those trends. If you run out of stock for a popular item, or experience shipping delays, update your listings to reflect that and avoid customer frustration. To draw customers to your site, spark interest in your brand and products, and convert shoppers to buyers. Get creative with your content to feature thematic recipes, costume ideas, and home decor if it relates to your brand. Leverage user-generated content on your site and social media accounts that showcase your products in frightful action.

Work with NetElixir

Halloween doesn’t have to be terrifying when it comes to digital marketing! NetElixir is here to help you with everything from content creation, SEO, and analytics to ensure your business is ready for Halloween. Contact us today to get started on a digital marketing strategy that will set your e-commerce business up for success through spooky season and beyond.  

Further Reading

• Christmas in May: Your Holiday Strategy in the Cookieless World
• Less Tricks and More Treats This Halloween
• Optimize Your SEO Strategy for Valentine’s Day

The post Tricks, Treats, and Trends: Getting in the Halloween Spirit appeared first on NetElixir.

Data-Driven Insights on the Changing Consumer

Everyone acknowledges that there have been major shifts in consumer behavior over the past 2+ years. Multiple trade show panels have focused on conversations around the importance of building a strong first-party data strategy to combat the cookieless future, building a tech stack to gain a deeper understanding of the consumer, and how to offer customers a seamless online-offline experience that is localized around the world.

An enormous amount of talent is currently working on how brands can use first-party data in a smarter, more effective manner. For example, Google is working to grow and scale loyalty programs, which will reward customers for sharing their data to help brands navigate the cookieless world. 

Leading with consumer insights rather than focusing solely on strategic execution will separate successful companies from their competitors. Actionable data insights will help brands better understand the evolving consumer behavior and better anticipate and serve customers’ expectations. The future of collection, as well as measurement, is consented data. 

At NetElixir, we specialize in identifying, targeting, and winning your high-value customers — brand loyalists who drive 3-5X more revenue than average customers. A successful strategy for the cookieless world relies not just on an omnichannel growth strategy, but targeting and engaging the right customers at the right touchpoint with the right message.

New Shopping Trends

Social commerce, live shopping, and the metaverse surge are emerging as new e-commerce shopping trends. Brands need to provide seamless and personalized experiences across all touchpoints — from in-store to the new metaverse reality.

Live shopping, whether conducted through a social media platform or directly through a website, is gaining momentum. Coresight Research said that 24% of live shopping viewers under the age of 45 make a purchase during the stream. Live shopping creates unique moments for customers to interact immediately with brands, influencers, and other shoppers to get to know products better.

Just as live shopping on social and other digital channels have evolved from home shopping channels like QVC, TV is seeing its next step as well. Google is pushing YouTube as the next television screen, as YouTube Live Shopping will complement livestream shopping across other channels. 

Roles are changing: keep in mind that macro-influencers drive brand awareness, but micro-influencers drive conversion. Customer relationships require consistent branding across all touchpoints and channels. Window shopping has translated to online window shopping (as nearly 70% of shopping carts are abandoned), but Google may be taking that one step further. Google is working on creating a form of window shopping from the SERP to cement a relationship between themselves and shopping.

Shoptalk conversations understandably gravitated around the metaverse. Every business is trying to figure out how the metaverse works and how to incorporate it into their brand strategy. As the metaverse evolves, shopping will too. As avatars will need to be clothed, brands have an opportunity to sell virtually to customers and further their branding to whole new worlds. NFTs driven by authenticity, creativity, and scarcity have been constantly gaining momentum and will continue to influence and impact the digital space.

Increasing Emphasis on Sustainability

Employees, customers, and regulators are pushing for transparency and authenticity when it comes to the environment. This is an urgent issue that’s shifting from a nice-to-have pushed by marketing to a critical initiative owned by everyone. Customers can tell when companies are green-washing and they will not hesitate to reject an inauthentic brand and find one that truly aligns with their values. Customers want to know how brands are supporting the environment so everything from a brand’s packaging labels to product detail pages can share the story of sustainability initiatives.

ShopTalk announced their Atlis Awards which rewards brands for their sustainability efforts. According to ShopTalk, “The retail industry has a pivotal role to play in making the world a better place by setting new standards for sustainability, customer health and wellness, and diversity and inclusion. Customers are looking for it, employees crave it, society requires it. Shoptalk wants to shine a light on the retailers and brands that are creating innovative and scalable programs, achieving high impact and measurable results, and generating awareness for their efforts so that the industry can advance.”

While a growing group of consumers is actively demanding businesses to do more, the question remains: are enough businesses doing enough? I personally am not convinced. We all need to do much more, now, to make a sizable impact.

Retail Media Networks

Marketers are moving their budgets from social and search to retail media networks, which offer a privacy-first approach to customers. Retail media networks are expanding the walled garden landscapes that will continue to arise in the cookieless future. 

While brands have the opportunity to build their own networks, larger questions loom: how many networks are too many? Will these networks be able to get the needed traffic to build and maintain long-term growth?

Conclusion

While new solutions arise amid transitional times, such as what we’re going through with the cookieless world and digital innovations, many of those solutions may not be lucrative or feasible. Innovations will continue to change the landscape in unforeseeable and unpredictable ways. And I, for one, am excited to see what comes next.

I will leave you with a quote that, despite its age, still resonates with us:

“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” -Socrates

Additional Reading

• ABCs Of NetElixir
• The FACES Of Your High-Value Customers
• Not Your Average Web Development Service

The post Digital Marketing Trends That Are Shaking Up The Industry appeared first on NetElixir.

In this brighter and more hopeful future, we move relentlessly forward on the path to recovery. We left behind a year of uncertainty and difficulty, a year that required us to pivot from known strategies and tactics to try something new. We emerge more connected, more conscious, and more compassionate. These concepts will carry us through the new year and beyond. 

What Lies Ahead in 2021

The age of digitization is fully upon us. Consumers have more information than ever at their fingertips and are spending more time researching prior to purchasing. As we understand more about our customers – who they are and how they shop – we as marketers can create more personalized and targeted messaging.

A key marketing strategy for 2021 is adaptability. Opportunities will come and go quickly and retail marketers need to be able to pivot quickly to explore these chances. As such, data-driven solutions will drive us forward. Online events and interactions will remain the norm for some time, but marketers and retailers still need to showcase a human side behind the screen. Our messaging should focus on starting conversations and discussions, of creating a dialogue between us and our customers to be able to better serve them.

Adapting to New Consumer Behavior

The coronavirus pandemic created a boom in online shopping unlike anything we have seen before. New shopper personas are constantly emerging and old personas are constantly evolving as online trends shift and consumers gain more online experience. Pandemic-led shoppers tend to research more and at greater depths prior to making a purchase. During the pandemic, the latency period (time before first website landing and first purchase) went down 10-22% compared to pre-pandemic latency across retail categories. However, people were visiting the website more frequently as they conducted more in-depth research.

These shoppers are focused on value – both economic and social. Modern consumers are frugal; they are breaking brand loyalty in favor of what is available and what is a good deal. Moreso, Gen Z and Millennials expect brands to take a stand on important social issues beyond something performative.

A social-conscious shopper is emerging, as these shoppers prefer to engage with brands who speak up on social issues. Being silent or neutral is no longer a lucrative option for retailers and businesses.

Emotions have always been a driving force behind purchases, but what emotional states and expectations take priority are changing. Namely, consumers are choosing brands and products that promote safety, wellness, and hope and inspiration. These feelings vary by individual so discover what makes your ideal buyer persona feel safe, healthy, and hopeful; use that messaging in your marketing and reinforce the sentiment throughout your brand story.

While the coronavirus pandemic forced a binary of essential vs. nonessential goods and services, what exactly is an essential need also varies by individual. Throughout 2020, NetElixir noted an e-commerce surge in retail industries like pet supplies, home décor, and DIY tools that helped people adjust to the lifestyle changes caused by the pandemic and shutdowns. Hubspot projects that 2021 marketing will be more empathetic. Consumers will resonate with brands and products that continue to offer help and support.

NetElixir’s Predictions on Emerging E-Commerce Trends

The new-to-online shoppers acquired during the coronavirus pandemic exhibit unique behaviors and patterns. As a demographic largely unversed in online shopping, they flocked to e-commerce stores once in-store shopping wasn’t an option. Having crossed that initial online barrier, they are an untapped resource to building your retail brand and e-commerce revenue – as long as you know how to reach them. Therefore, while live consumer data has always been important, it is crucial now more than ever in truly understanding your customer’s needs, wants, and purchase journey in order to meet them at every turn and create a seamless shopping experience.

Mobile engagement is soaring. Mobile sales accounted for 43% of all orders in February, 2020; by December, it was over 55%. Mobile devices now drive over 72% of all website sessions. The reign of desktop may well be over. 

As increased digitization becomes the norm, extended and augmented reality will become an important tool in consumer engagement to extend the retail shopping experience. Consumers may still be hesitant to shop in-store for some time, but still want to simulate that shopping experience or look for something new entirely. 

The role of gaming will increase in 2021. Gaming quickly became a popular hobby during 2020 as a way to pass time, connect with others, and learn new skills. Advertisers and marketers will want to take advantage of this growing platform to reach younger demographics, gain brand visibility, and explore a whole new market.

The most important characteristic a marketer can have, however, is creativity and agility. Through experimentation and innovation, we can discover new ways to meaningfully interact with and help our customers and each other so we can all make 2021 a better year.

Further Resources

For an in-depth discussion of these trends and more, join NetElixir’s brand new webinar, The Future of Retail ECommerce: Trends and Predictions for 2021. We will be live on Thursday, January 14th at 2 PM ET with Udayan Bose, NetElixir’s Founder and CEO, to explore:

• Why rapid experimentation and creativity are key to effective consumer marketing. 
• Who is the new pandemic shopper, what defines their consumer behavior and persona, and how your strategy should target them.
• Why value-conscious shoppers care about a brand’s stance on social issues.
• Emerging technologies you should leverage for a seamless virtual shopping experience.

Register Now

Read more on eCommerce trends:

• Holiday E-Commerce Sales
• Cyber 5: Results, Insights, and Trends

The post 2021 Marketing Trends for Retailers appeared first on NetElixir.