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Things are looking awful c-c-cold here lately. What better way to heat things up than some racy sales and marketing research? Seriously, though… we’re almost at year-end. Time to spice things up and get moving to hit your numbers and ensure a strong start to 2022!

Give this classic song from The Who a listen with me as we see what the experts are saying this week…

Top 2022 Marketing Trends

Our friends at HubSpot (hmm… it’s time for another look at the data soon) released their list of marketing trends to watch in the next year. Marketers embraced digital transformation more than ever during the pandemic, but as countries cautiously reopened – and more consumers left the house – some businesses saw slumps in the virtual engagement and online traffic they’d come to rely on.

So how are we expecting things to play out next year? No real surprises, but here it goes:

  1. Influencer marketing will evolve from trend to common marketing tactic.
  2. Video marketers will keep content short.
  3. Mobile optimization will be even more important.
  4. Permanent social media posts could overtake ephemeral content.
  5. Companies will prioritize social responsibility.
  6. Experiential marketing could make a comeback.
  7. More businesses will use SEO to concur search traffic.
  8. Virtual events will continue, but some brands will invest less.
  9. More consumers will hear branded audio content.
  10. Inbound marketing will remain a best practice for growing brands.
  11. Consumers will step into VR and AR experiences.
  12. ABM will align more sales and marketing teams.

What are you finding with your business? How many of these trends are impacting you!? If you’re trying to cause a big sensation, keep this list in your back pocket – and hopefully some of these trends will ensure you don’t fade away!

Talkin’ ‘Bout YOUR Generation… and Streaming Habits

When we’re talking about generations, we see some real differences in streaming services. WeThrift took a look at how streaming subscriptions differ by generation.

80% of music fans have a music subscription of some sort. Surprisingly, Spotify and Apple Music are NOT the most popular platforms among Gen X and Gen Z. It’s actually Amazon Music – perhaps the result of so many Alexa devices in the marketplace. Baby Boomers, meanwhile, spend the most time with iHeartRadio while Millennials head to Spotify.

And get this: based on responses to this survey, the average monthly spend on subscription services of all sorts is US$242, the most common being Netflix and Amazon Prime Video. But only $21 of that goes to music platforms.

How does this impact B2B? Do you market your solution differently to different generations? Perhaps we need to think more about this. When we develop our ICPs, how much are we taking generational preferences into account?

It’s not enough if you’re just talkin’ ’bout your own generation – you’ve got to look at the bigger picture! Think about what you can do to appeal to a wider age range – and get out there and cause that big sensation!

As always, don’t hesitate to call me to brainstorm or just say hello.

Looking forward,
Rick

Rick Endrulat, President | ricke@v-causeway.com | www.linkedin.com/in/rickendrulat