Marketing SMBs in 2024: Staying Ahead of the Competition

2023 was a transformative year for marketing, where several key trends emerged and set the stage for further innovation in 2024.

Small and medium businesses faced significant challenges due to fragmented customer journeys across channels and devices, increasing prices, and rising competition from digital-native firms.

E-commerce and retail businesses that overlooked social commerce often struggled to engage audiences and drive sales.

I’ll start with a quick recap of 2023 and I'll follow with some thoughts about marketing in 2024.

Let’s jump right in.

2023 MARKETING RECAP: KEY TRENDS AND TAKEAWAYS

The Rise of Generative AI

We saw generative AI gaining massive adoption, where tools like DALL-E 2 and ChatGPT were used to create marketing content and campaigns.

This was a game changer for brands operating on limited budgets.

Operational AI

In simple terms, operational AI is the application of AI models in real-world business applications to automate tasks, improve efficiency, streamline processes, make data-driven decisions, and more.

Operational AI enabled small and medium-sized businesses to improve efficiency, reduce costs, and increase productivity.

Data-Driven Predictive Analytics

We also saw predictive analytics gain traction.

Data-driven analytics helped companies transform customer data into actionable insights, enabling them to better understand their audiences and create more targeted and effective campaigns.

Not only were organizations able to look back at what happened, but they could also predict potential future customer actions.

Personalization and Segmentation

Today’s consumers expect personalized content and messaging.

Using first-party data helped businesses deliver hyper-targeted messaging to micro-segments of their audiences, increasing engagement.

Platforms like Adobe Target made testing and optimization easy.

Privacy and Data Regulations

With regulations like GDPR and CCPA, obtaining consent and minimizing data collection became critical.

Data clean rooms helped brands collaborate securely.

Shift to Digital and Virtual Experiences

Digital events and metaverse spaces empowered businesses to offer immersive brand experiences.

Physical retailers used “digital twins” for virtual shopping, which increased engagement and sales.

Social Commerce and Shoppable Content

Social platforms launched features such as live shopping events and product tags, enabling in-app purchases while users viewed updates and tutorials.

Video and Livestreaming

Video content gained significant popularity as a means of telling stories and engaging audiences.

Short-form content became enormously popular.

Organic Search and Social Reach

2023 saw a significant resurgence of SEO and organic social media marketing.

?Brands that leveraged these channels experienced sustained growth.

2024 MARKETING OUTLOOK: WHAT’S NEXT FOR SMBS

With even more rapid developments in tech and marketing on the way, here is what to expect in 2024:

Generative AI Content Creation

Businesses can quickly and affordably use Gen AI to create customized content such as articles, blog posts, ad copy, emails, social posts, and more.

Tools like ChatGPT and Claude.ai integrate seamlessly into marketing stacks.

Operational AI

Operational AI allows businesses to automate tasks, make data-driven decisions, and improve efficiency.

2024 will see NLP (natural language processing) and computer vision applications take on more prominent roles.

Predictive Data-Driven Analytics and Optimization

Machine learning algorithms enable finer predictions of customer lifetime value and churn.

SMBs can use these systems to optimize spending and focus on high-value efforts.

Chatbots and Virtual Assistants

AI-powered chatbots provide 24/7 support and concierge services, improving customer experiences at a lowered cost.

Chatbots can be embedded into websites or social channels to increase engagement.

Segmentation and Hyper-Targeting

Tracking customer attributes and behaviors enables precise micro-segmentation.

SMBs can tailor messaging and offers to each segment for better conversion.

Omnichannel Personalization

Using Consumer Data Platforms (CDPs), SMBs can create unified profiles and orchestrate experiences across channels.

Consistent personalization improves engagement.

Customer Data Platforms (CDPs)

CDPs are must-have Martech for consolidation, analytics, and customer data activation from all touchpoints.

SMB-friendly options like ActionIQ or Amperity can jumpstart personalization.

Data Minimization and Privacy by Design

Regulations mandate collecting only needed data.

SMBs must pay attention to minimizing data collection upfront through Privacy Enhancing Technologies.

Transparency and Consent Management

Giving clear notice and obtaining consent is crucial.

Consent management platforms like OneTrust can help brands stay compliant.

Privacy-Preserving Technologies

Emerging technologies like differential privacy and federated learning enable extracting insights from data while preserving privacy.

Transparent privacy preservation builds trust.

Digital Experiences: Virtual Spaces and Events

For far less, SMBs can host engaging product launches, conferences, and exhibits in virtual worlds like Decentraland.

Virtual spaces mitigate the need for physical locations.

Digital Twins and Immersive Shopping

Retailers can create digital twins of physical stores, allowing “try before you buy” experiences online.

Virtual shopping enables businesses to reach wider audiences.

NFTs and Digital Ownership

NFTs represent digital ownership of assets.

SMBs can use NFTs for new monetization and loyalty programs.

Social Commerce

Social commerce is here to stay and will become even more prevalent in 2024. Brands will be able to sell directly within social posts.

This will help keep visitors from leaving their native apps.

Video Content and Livestreaming

Video content remains one of the most preferred content formats that people consume, allowing YouTube to remain the second most popular search engine.

Live streaming will become the norm, where brands can interact with visitors in real time for product launches, conferences, and similar activities.

Organic Search and Social Reach

Organic placement boosts credibility and increases traffic. SEO and organic social posting will grow in relevance in 2024 and help brands grow.

Content will maintain popularity, and brands will improve organic discoverability by publishing relevant content.

KEY TAKEAWAYS AND CONCLUSION

The key to SMB marketing success in 2024 will be the strategic use of innovative technologies to deliver hyper-personalized omnichannel experiences while respecting customer privacy.

So, there you have it, a very quick look at some of the marketing advances we can expect in 2024.

Read the detailed article on my website.

I’ll be covering each of these areas in depth as we progress through the year.

If you want me to cover any additional topics, or if I missed anything, do leave me a comment.