PW Media | Jan 31, 2023

Top 10 Marketing Trends for Small Businesses in 2023

Start the year right by incorporating these trending marketing practices into your strategy.

The marketing industry is constantly changing, and it has been changing faster than ever since digital technology began playing a role. It’s not always easy to keep up, but a few practices will remain constant throughout 2023, and these will be the ones your small business will want to invest in to stay relevant to your audience. Consider these ten small business marketing trends as you prepare your business’s strategy for 2023.

1. Personalization

Most consumers have come to expect personalized experiences with any company or brand they interact with online. From related product suggestions to personalized offers delivered directly to their inbox, personalization has only grown as a necessity in marketing strategies for any business, particularly for small businesses. 

With markets becoming more saturated and competitive, one of the best ways to stand out from the crowd is to provide consumers with an individualized experience. Consumers are more likely to stick with businesses that treat them as individuals versus just another customer profile. 

2. Marketing Automation

Not only do consumers want more personalized customer experiences, but they also want faster ones. With the internet putting everything at their fingertips on demand, people expect fast, if not immediate, responses. That’s where chatbots come in. Your customers will get a quicker, more streamlined answer to whatever questions they seek when they engage with a chatbot. Plus, it frees your time to focus on your products or other aspects of your marketing strategy.

AI isn’t just for chatbots, though. AI is at the algorithmic core of digital marketing, from search engines to social media. Finding ways to leverage these algorithms, like hyper-targeting audiences or extracting valuable data, will make your marketing strategy that much stronger.

3. Localization

Similar to personalization, localization requires businesses to get to know their customers and cater to who they are. The difference, however, is that localization focuses on segmenting their markets based on location, and then catering to each local market. This means adapting your business, or its product or service, based on the culture of consumers in a specific area. For example, if you sold winter boots, you might run a year-round campaign in Alaska but only a winter season campaign in the Midwest. 

Localization has always been an important part of marketing, even before the digital age. Focusing on localization shows that your business respects the differences of consumers between each area.

4. Customer Experience

Consumers expect a positive experience throughout their journey as a customer of your business. This means creating positive encounters when a consumer becomes aware of your business through social media, word of mouth, or any other kind of marketing. 

Your marketing strategy needs to have customer experience at the forefront. Consider what customers need and want as they go through their journey, and tailor to that. You can also develop a positive customer experience by creating educational content, responding to customer reviews, building loyalty on social media, and keeping your marketing messages clear, concise, and consistent. 

5. Video Marketing

Our society is increasingly becoming visual-oriented, which means there is no end to video marketing in sight. Videos are a must for every marketing strategy, as it’s the main way most consumers like to be communicated to. 

A big up-and-coming player in the video marketing scene is the live stream. Live streams have changed the game in marketing, allowing businesses to be more authentic and interactive with their customers in real time. You can create incentives or special offers for live stream attendees or generate buzz for a new product. The best part? It’s free!

6. Metrics/Analytics

To get the most out of your marketing budget, you need robust data and analytics to tell you where your audience is and how they are engaging with your content. You don’t want to be spending money on a campaign that doesn’t reach your targeted consumers; you want as close to a surefire way to engage your audience as possible, and that is through data-driven metrics. Armed with this information, you can optimize your marketing strategy in the most efficient, effective, and profitable way.

Data will always be a huge part of the marketing industry, if not one of its key drivers. And, as analytic tools keep improving, so will the data they provide, which will help you continue to make even better decisions for your business’s marketing strategy.

7. Social Media Marketing

Social media is never going away, so if you haven’t already embraced it, 2023 is the year to do so. With a number of different platforms serving different purposes, from generating leads to building brand loyalty, social media marketing needs to be in your strategy.

A big trend right now within social media marketing is the use of content creators and social media influencers to help generate buzz for your business and its products or services. In fact, according to a 2020 study from Matter Communications, 61% of consumers trust influencers for product and service recommendations.