Change is the only constant. Well, that is a very true saying applicable to all parts of life, including businesses and markets. What is relevant yesterday turns out to be old today and what is relevant today may definitely turn out to be old the next day. And hence, the question of observing marketing trends forms an integral part of any marketing strategy.
Marketing trends change because the way consumers live and consume content differs, and organizations have to evolve according to changes since “the consumer is king.”

Including trends in a marketing strategy increases the reach and visibility of any business since marketing’s current trend is known for being popular. Trends are also developed in terms of the need to maintain the industry current and relevant.

• Marketing trends define brand strategy and consumer perceptions.
• Keeping up with the currently developed competition.
• Trends are a sign of a shift in consumer taste and their behavior.
• Following the trends encourages innovation as well as imagination.
• Understanding trends helps in targeting the right audience.

What Are Marketing Trends?

Indisputably, marketing trends are one of the hot burning issues in marketing today. This is what makes brands come up with new and innovative ways of marketing products and services. Marketing trends would serve as instruments that give companies flexibility in pushing the limits of the market and convey values differently. They represent the next stage of the growth of any brand.
The current trend in marketing is to attract and gain new customers while effectively connecting and retaining loyal ones. At times, innovation might be the only strategy for distinguishing oneself from the rest of the crowd.

Marketing professionals must be aware and understand the latest trends within today’s very competitive corporate world. Trends provide a platform for conveying corporate beliefs in many different ways.

The latest trend in marketing opens the way to new opportunities and breaks the boundaries of the market. Novel ideas and potentials brought forth in different forms by trends can be joined together in messages of values by companies who very well pursue who to target.

Key Points

• Competitive Advantage: Businesses that follow marketing trends are perceived to have something to differentiate themselves with, a solution which differentiates them within a busy marketplace.
• Trends inspire innovation: Through the practice of marketing trends, companies innovate the products and services they offer, as interesting as the people could be.
• Customer Engagement: An understanding of trends will help corporations design relevant and meaningful campaigns for their audience, thus connection.
• Market Positioning: Trends guarantee the right positioning of brands in the market.
• Flexibility: The awareness of trends helps organizations adapt quickly to the change in the market, thus longevity.

How to Keep Up with the Marketing Trend?

The importance of marketing trends lies in the reason that they give the ability to engage people. You get an opportunity to break down market barriers and prove what makes your brand unique, offering people fresh, original ideas that let your customers relate to you on a completely new level.
Following all popular digital publications, magazines, newsletters, social media, and blogs can help keep track of what’s happening in marketing. Many bloggers frequently write blogs on the newest trends about SEO and other digital marketing issues. Marketing podcasts are perfect for keeping up-to-date with all the current trends.

Google Alerts

Another fantastic tool that makes it easy to be ahead of the curve in the latest trends in digital marketing is Google Alerts. Brands can keep up on the very latest news and trends with the help of media monitoring tools. Users can avoid missing out on anything with the added benefit of tracking sources like social media, blogs, forums, and comments.

Key Points

• Newsletters: The subscriber gets an update regarding latest events, new trends, and shifts in the industry.
• Social Media: This is one of the key sources for any real-time information related to the change in consumer behavior, shift in marketing strategies, and even regarding the competitor.
• Podcast: Because several marketing podcasts focus on scholars discussing prevailing trends and forecasts, it helps them predict which trend might emerge next.
• Analytics tools: By analyzing consumer behavior and their preferences, it would help one predict which trend might emerge next.
• Attend webinars and workshops: These can provide how-to’s and concepts on the newest marketing trends and techniques.

Top 7 Reasons to Follow Marketing Trends

As even more people engage massively in social media and mobile phones, marketing trends are especially very important to businesses that lack the time to create content and promote it across different channels. Here are reasons why you should follow marketing trends today.

1. Brand Relevance

What a consumer views about the brand and its products and service is relative to the need and want of that particular customer is brand relevance. Brands must maintain relevancy so as not to get out of the game and to catch attention from your customers.

Marketing trend: The most significant reason to follow the marketing trend comes from having a sort of brand relevance. It is important because it brings a message that there is some adjustment based on the inputs received from the client.

Going on and on is always better positioned if the brand is customer-centric. For this, marketers need to continuously upgrade the brand by keeping an eye on new marketing trends.

Example: Nokia vs. Samsung

Nokia could not realize such a shift in trends of customers in the mobile world by emergence of Android and faced severe loss and market position. Whereas, Samsung realized that the world is shifting and adapted itself in time to the new trend hence the growth

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• Adjustments based on customer: Trending shows who is adopting what customer needs.
• Continued Relevance: Gaining an advantage by staying valid in a dynamic world.
• Market awareness: Awareness of trends allows brands to predict the direction of the market.
• Customer retention: Relevant brands stay with their loyal customers.
• Long-term growth: Relevant brands always have long-term growth and prosperity.

2. Seizing New Opportunities

Trends offer the brand an excellent opportunity to strengthen the brand identity as well as to stay relevant for their audience because firms cannot voice their ideology consistently.
Thus, brands encounter new opportunities and events to participate in, as well as ways to be more efficient if they choose to embrace the trend that is being observed in marketing today. In this regard, brands have a wider choice of tools through which they can experiment and use the experimentation experiences as a basis for new ideas.

BYJU’s Sponsorship

Attending events and sponsorships have become one of the latest trends for companies to carve out their niche. For example, BYJU was the first Indian company to sponsor the FIFA World Cup in 2022, making proper use of this opportunity to up their brand visibility.

• Identify new streams: Trends enable a brand to find unique marketing opportunities.
• Event sponsorship: When the companies engage with the present trends, they can make use of high-visibility events.
• Stronger brand identity: Trends allow and enhance the possibility of developing stronger brand identity.
• Productivity boost: Trends usually bring with them much more efficient ways of market engagement as well.
• Novelty through experimentation: By embracing trends, brands make it easy for themselves to try new ideas and concepts.

3. Outshine Competition

Customers will quickly shift to another brand if it does not seem any different from the rest of the brands in a crowded marketplace. What separates their brand is offering something your competitors do not. Consequently, businesses receive exposure and attract customers.
Investing in marketing techniques and staying consistent with the trends of the market through social media, quality content, and a robust visual identity may help further. The company will, thus, improve its brand in the market and hence will outshine competition.

Example: Zerodha’s Innovation

Zerodha realized the necessity to innovate discount broking with the sudden interest generated in the financial market. Discount broking was Zerodha’s market innovation that created the discount brokerage market. In contrast to other brokers, such as Sharekhan, Zerodha insisted on charging very minimal brokerage for their trading services and carved out a niche position for itself in the market.

• Differentiation strategy: Trend awareness helps brands differentiate effectively.
• Customer engagement: Unique offerings attract customers and helps them remain loyal to the brand in a competitive environment.
• Visibility and awareness: Innovatory marketing increases the visibility of brands.
• Stronger market presence: All attention-grabbing brands will be remembered by the customer.
• Responsive marketing: Getting along with trends allows more forceful, relevant marketing.

4. Fill the Gap Between the Current and Future Market

The brands, if they want to be valid in the future, have to play along with the tastes of their customers and potential customers. As businesses continue to expand their digital presence, they have to make sure that their brand is represented and highly visible in these trends.
Thus, companies should make sure that their attempts to position their brands are according to today’s values and beliefs. Trends give complete direction and are an excellent tool for businesses to see the path their brand will follow now and in the future. If brands know what is yet to come, then their lives will be much easier to cope with.

Example: OLA Electric Scooters

Companies like OLA have understood the future of the world that will be electric and have introduced their electric scooters to the market based on forecasting prospects and trends.

 

• Preparation for the future: Trends provide the brand with the mindset to prepare for changes in consumer behavior.
• Anticipation: They allow for the anticipation of how the future may be influenced.
• Effective branding: Successful brands help in establishing their effectiveness as a trend emerges.
• Opportunity recognition: Identifying and exploring opportunities become easier with the right trends.
• Customer satisfaction: Bridging the gap helps provide the best value to the consumer.

5. Discovering New Customer Base

If brands want to enhance their business growth, they must conduct a customer audit that helps them identify which customer segment they are missing out on. Companies should align their marketing strategy and message with a specific target audience to optimize conversions

Example: Zomato

Zomato, a popular food delivery app, used the trend of offering subscription services, where customers pay a nominal fee for a specific period to receive discounts on food delivery. The company has tapped into a segment of customers who are cost-sensitive and seek better value for money.

• Targeted marketing: Understanding the gaps helps in reaching out to the right audience.
• Segmentation: Trends can lead to discovering which segments are yet untapped.
• Brand identity: Gaps in the market could lead to unique branding opportunities.
• Data analysis: Conducting audits and analysis of existing consumers helps find additional markets.
• Opportunity for expansion: Understanding how to adapt trends to the brand opens up possibilities for growth.

6. Cost-effectiveness

Digital marketing is one of the latest trends of marketing. The evolution of marketing strategies, customer perceptions, and underlying technology are all examples of digital marketing trends.

Digital marketing is cheaper for businesses because brands can constantly assess how and whether it is effective. Measuring the return on investment from the campaigns enables businesses to revise their tactics and allocate money to the most effective projects.

For example, Marriott hotels make use of email marketing. They created an entertaining and fascinating “Year In Review” e-mail using all the user information they had gathered. Email marketing costs less than many other kinds of marketing.

6. Building Trust with the Customers

When consumers recognize that a brand is continually trying to learn about them and understand their preferences, they will find value in such a business and their products and services. The trust is built from keeping up with trends as a brand makes constant efforts to ensure customer satisfaction.
As they remain aware of what is relevant to their audience, they ultimately gain the trust of the people and help convert customers from potential to loyal.

Example: Apple

Apple is constantly trying to understand its customers’ feedback and preferences, which is why they have maintained trust among their customers through the years. Their loyal customer base often praises their customer service and product satisfaction.

• Customer-centric approach: Following trends helps brands keep their focus on customers.
• Transparency: Trust is built on transparent communication and aligning with consumer values.
• Engagement: Engaging with customer feedback allows brands to build rapport.
• Loyalty: Customers remain loyal to brands that show they care about their needs and preferences.
• Positive brand image: Being a trendsetter or follower builds a positive perception.

Final Thoughts

• Embracing change: Brands should be aware and willing to adapt to changes to stay relevant.
• Understanding trends: Following marketing trends allows companies to connect with their audience meaningfully.
• Growth and innovation: Staying on top of trends fosters growth and innovation in business.
• Sustainable business: Companies that leverage trends can secure long-term success.
• Future-ready: Preparing for market shifts ensures brands remain competitive in the future.