Brand growth in 2020 requires shifting to a customer-centric approach that develops an understanding of today’s and tomorrow’s possibilities and commits to incremental, focused change.
According to Statista, e-commerce retail sales will grow from 17.5% in 2021 to 22% in 2023. By 2040, NASDAQ predicts that 95% of sales will be through e-commerce (in the UK).
As digital sales growth becomes unstoppable, overpowering your competitors, utilizing online technologies, and understanding trends will need to become a mandatory part of your business.
Use AI to boost conversion rates
Findings from Accenture predict that AI could increase profitability by 38% and produce $14 trillion of more brand revenue by 2035. How? By helping you understand the thoughts, feelings, and behavior of your audience so that you can grow your brand without damaging the user experience.
Brands can use AI-powered solutions to make sense of a consumer’s behavioral data so that they can recognize, understand, and respond to human emotion. Use consumer insights in your favor to improve brand loyalty and better your customer service so you can get better brand growth.
If you use a customer’s data responsibly, they’re more likely to share their data in return for tailored products or services.
For example, customers allow Miami-based fashion brand Melissa Shoes to take a photo of them when entering a store for the first time. Following this, their facial recognition kiosks can remember customers on their subsequent visits and provide them with a more personalized buying experience.
Adopt practical video marketing strategies to increase engagement
Brand growth in 2020 will be highly impacted by producing customized videos that answer a customer’s questions or respond to their needs.
Research from Google demonstrates this as it says that 50% of shoppers state that online video has allowed them to decide which brand or product to buy. Video marketing statistics indicate that it has improved the ROI for 88% of businesses surveyed with more revenue coming from YouTube, LinkedIn, and Facebook.
For instance, a new subscription-based streaming service will allow consumers to stream content that is less than 10 minutes long through their phones. This service demonstrates that shorter videos fit in with a consumer’s need to absorb more information on their phone while they are on the go.
Today customers can expect shorter video content from brands. Tomorrow, brands could build and grow by using it to target consumers with personalized content. For example, creating data-driven customized videos with a call to action for each customer through Instagram Stories via AI-powered software.
Move from an omnichannel to ecosystem approach
Growing your brand through an omnichannel approach means that all your services or products need to be made available seamlessly to your customers through their preferred channel, wherever and whenever they require it. It follows that brands should have an omnichannel approach in terms of cross-channel promotion, customer service, fulfillment, personalization, and product information.
For example, as part of a Google omnichannel best practice study, PC World (UK) received the highest score for flexible fulfillment. Reasons for this were that customers could opt for click-and-collect or reserve-and-collect can return products bought online to a nearby store and can tell staff members to place orders online for them.
While some businesses are still getting used to an omnichannel approach, you can achieve more impressive brand growth if it moves beyond industry siloes and recognizes that it competes in an ecosystem where the customer’s needs are fundamental.
Businesses can explore cross-industry partnerships or alternative revenue streams that meet unmet needs across all industries.
Various real-life examples show that although alliances involve the sharing of data that could cause privacy concerns, consumers are willing to opt-in if you serve an unmet need. For example, customers gave Uber access to their favorite Spotify playlists while using the car service so that they could listen to their favorite music during the journey.
Also, customers of Kinship, which is a division of Mars Petcare, were happy to share their pet’s data with third-party Whistle as they had an app that regularly monitored their dog for any potential health conditions. This regular data could then be used during check-ups and visits to the vet to prevent health conditions from developing.
Brand growth in 2020 requires knowing your customer
While technology previously assisted brands to be faster and better at what they already do, this will need to change in 2020.
Embed technology at every step of the supply chain and purchase path. Brand growth in 2020 will occur when you put customers first and reward them with personalized experiences that are relevant to them.
Brands can deliver these experiences by using AI, video marketing, and an ecosystem. These trends can help predict, rather than respond or react to customer behavior. As a brand, you can also maintain trust by being transparent about your use of technology, as well as your partnerships.