Four keys to capitalizing on today’s most relevant marketing trends

1. Email is the #1 tactic, but most aren’t breaking through.
The fact that email is the most used tactic in 2013 may not surprise marketers. It’s also fairly obvious that marketers are finding it harder to break through cluttered inboxes. But the reason why marketers aren’t breaking through isn’t so obvious.

The 2013 Marketing Trends Study reported the vast majority of marketers still aren’t leveraging variable customer data in their email communications. Less than half of email marketers personalize beyond customer name. When considering that 69% of customers say they are willing to give personal data in exchange for a more customized service ¹, it’s clear that customers are demanding more relevant communications.

When it comes to email performance, the fact that customers are receiving too many emails isn’t the biggest issue. The biggest issue is the fact that customers receive too many emails that don’t personally resonate. That’s why marketers need their email communications to work smarter by incorporating a much higher degree of personalization.

Achieving this requires more actionable data. It’s the linchpin to successful email marketing.

2. Social media is the fastest-growing tactic, but marketers are finding it difficult to quantify.
With 75% of all marketers claiming they’re using it, there’s no denying the importance of social media. While this trend points to legitimate social media adoption, it doesn’t reveal what marketers are looking to accomplish with their efforts.

Approximately 62% of marketers find social media ROI important. Yet the 2013 Marketing Trends Study found little statistical difference in the metrics marketers identified as critical. Driving engagement, building awareness, making corporate updates and providing sales leads are widely different objectives, yet they were all identified as statistically comparable in importance. This insight reveals a lack of clarity when it comes to social media expectations.

Many marketers who are looking for a more quantifiable return on social media are transforming their activities into social CRM. Put simply, social CRM is an investment in creating meaningful ongoing social media dialogue with customers and prospects. Specifically, marketers are creating unified databases that marry customer engagement, behavior and other marketing data to deliver more relevant content. While it’s a strategy that requires a significant up-front investment, it provides a return that is far more direct and measurable.

3. Marketers are spending more on mobile and optimizing different channels.
One of the biggest shifts in 2013 is an emphasis on mobile marketing. The study found that 65% of marketers are increasing their mobile investment this year. A key insight is where marketers are focusing their energies. Less than a third are investing in mobile advertising, SMS and location-based services, while almost 80% said they are optimizing emails and web pages for mobile viewing.

This trend points to marketers doing more to improve the way customers interact with their products, services and communications. They also view mobile optimization as a way to protect their marketing investment. Customers are becoming more inclined to abandon if they can’t easily engage from mobile devices.

Many marketers are making a commitment to mobile optimization by investing in responsive design. Responsive design is a design approach that adapts a web page or email to the device from which it’s being viewed. This flexibility provides a better, more customer-friendly experience. It also helps marketers optimize their campaigns for a greater potential return.

4. Direct mail is the third most used tactic and should be part of the campaign mix.
According to the 2013 Marketing Trends Study, direct mail ranks as the third most used marketing tactic. This revelation may be surprising to some marketers, especially since we’re living in an ever-expanding digital age. But considering its ability to consistently outperform other direct marketing channels, it’s not altogether shocking that direct mail ranks toward the top of the study.

The most successful marketers count on direct mail as a tried-and-true workhorse. They value its versatility and inherent capacity to break through physical barriers. That’s why over 50% of marketers integrate direct mail into their campaign mixes. Marketers insistent on an exclusive digital focus should reconsider the impact of direct mail. No one channel can do it alone.