A Year Ending in Flux. What are the 2022 Marketing Trends?

The Global Disruption of Everything

Two years ago the world was predictable, measured, consistent in all ways…often annoyingly so. As we all know, this suddenly and shockingly ended. The pandemic has brought with it the largest shift in global systems in recent memory. This disruption only emphasized the always-on connected and predictable way business, markets, shipping, travel, and consumption worked. And like a deck of cards, it was all thrown up in the air within months, now resulting in a gradual realignment and evolution of connections and ways things work for business and consumers from local to international economies. Here are some insights into where we’re going and why this is ultimately an opportunity.

Permanent Pandemic-Triggered Shifts in Both Business and Consumer Behavior

Because our ways of buying things, seeing people, and making connections virtually came to a standstill, it’s pushed forward the online world dramatically. From e-commerce and food purchases to whole new delivery models, people have adapted to the new ways we connect. They are now a permanent part of the economic equation. Offices are still half-empty, generating real questions about how and where people will work, what happens to all this space and what it will look like—new housing or what? Traditional retail spaces are vacant and new fast delivery stores are popping up in urban locations—London and New York City, for example.

Continued Digital Transformation and a New Type of Engagement

The expansion of Zoom is only the beginning, with online meetings and connections for expanding work teams that are becoming regional and global. How and why do you meet up with colleagues or at conferences, where connections are made for B2B sales? This is not possible at the same level so digital connections are essentially the future. This also shifts the game for businesses that once could not make connections except at trade shows; now, new digital capabilities and highly targeted permission-based marketing are opening up new ways of connection

“Disruption opens up opportunities to new ways of doing things and gives the innovators and connectors the ability to create and shape new markets”

Connecting with those who will value the connection takes precision, understanding, and building value into every time one reaches out. How you do this based on what you learn about your audience is everything. And, how you build and deliver valued content over time is key. Digital is now offering savvy marketers and businesses the opportunity to really learn about their audience, what their needs are, what they value. Using very focused strategies will differentiate those who know what they are doing from the spammers who don’t know how or don’t care.

More Webinars and More Videos

As an extension of this digital world webinars and videos, both live and produced and edited will reach out to very targeted customers who value the content. This will radically expand the reach of businesses to new audiences if done with care and insight into what is valued. Real information, insights and a clear brand association will only grow.

Privacy Reigns Supreme

The big shift toward improved privacy will only grow. Moving away from “cookies” that track you to continually throw more unwanted offers at you will be going away. This puts traditional marketers into a panic but it opens up new opportunities for attracting the right audience and the right customers in new ways.

New Players and Winners

These changes shift the game to those who can seize the opportunities offered by increased digital connection and shifting how systems work, how retail works, how customer engagement works. When the unexpected happens those who innovate will come up with better solutions to solving problems and create new markets, new business models and new ways to turn traditional old ways of working into new ones.