Digital Marketing Trends for 2023: Top 4 Picks

Concerns about inflation and the economy have kept marketers in the year 2022 on their toes as they work to stay up with the state of mind of their target audience. The events of the past few years have demonstrated to us in unequivocal and unforgettable terms that we are unable to forecast the future. Nevertheless, we are able to speculate, based on available evidence, regarding the developments that are most likely to have an effect on customer loyalty and relationship management.

Companies such as Ford, Enterprise Holdings, United, Dunkin’, and Marriott continue to invest in loyalty programs in order to create, maintain, and most importantly, improve their ties with their customers so that they can weather any storm.

As we approach the start of a new year, let’s take a moment to reflect on the four major trends that are most likely to have the greatest impact on CRM and loyalty in 2023, as well as the immediate ways that marketers can take advantage of these trends to build strong brand loyalty and increase revenue in the year to come.

1. Customers will place a heightened emphasis on value.

Numerous evidence point to the possibility that we may be facing a challenging couple of years ahead in the form of recession and inflation. It is in the best interest of companies that offer loyalty programs to make the most of them in order to make their members’ money go farther and to maintain customer engagement in the interim between purchases.

Even while many customers will be looking for ways to save spending in the next year, loyalty programs, if they are positioned right, will continue to be a successful and cost-efficient strategy to keep consumers back to your business. They are also able to demonstrate savings and deliver the value that your clients are looking for in a market when prices are being watched closely.

Opportunities not to be missed:

• In order to appeal to a bigger audience, you should provide options for redemption with lower thresholds.

• Run promotions revolving around the redemption of rewards (for example, “redeem for one, get one at 50% off”).

• Give some thought to whether or not a subscription business model would be suitable for your brand. One good example is the membership program known as the Coffee Club, which was presented by Panera Bread in the year 2020. Coffee is available to members without restriction for a set monthly charge; this change led to an increase in the number of visits and the average size of each purchase. According to the findings of the research, thirty percent of customers added a food item to their bill. In addition, they were able to reach new customers through the use of this program, with 43% of members saying that they were new to the brand.

2. The term “phygital” will be used to describe experiences in the future.

There is no getting around the fact that digitization has led to elevated standards for the overall consumer experience. It is imperative that companies make it simple and hassle-free for customers to make purchases from them by providing experiences that are individualized and simple to navigate across all channels.

We anticipate that there will be a significant demand for loyalty programs in 2023 that are based on the “phygital” retail experience, which refers to a shopping environment in which parts of both reality and technology coexist. Phygital experiences offers chances to draw customers even closer to a brand through digitally enhanced purchasing journeys that provide smooth transitions between channels. These types of shopping experiences can bring customers even closer to a brand. Customers will appreciate the ability to communicate with and make purchases from your company whenever, wherever, and however they see fit thanks to this capability.

Because customers can longer discern between a brand’s physical store and its internet presence, this concept will be vital for all loyalty programs of the future. They want to interact with brands in store, online, and in apps based on their own preferences and convenience, and they demand a consistent experience and uninterrupted service at every contact point. They want to interact with brands based on their own interests and convenience.

Key opportunities:

• Develop new kinds of brick-and-mortar sites that are centered on experience. These locations should be places where you can build immersing experiences for customers, which will solidify their emotional connection to your brand.

• Develop powerful apps that enable customers to move fluidly between digital and physical storefronts, providing them with access to features such as checking product reviews, inventory, and prices, gaining access to loyalty program rewards, making contactless payments, and selecting delivery and pickup options.

3. Customers will still have high expectations regarding the social responsibility of businesses (CSR)

The consumers’ needs should be clearly communicated to, and the brand purpose should be connected with, the social mission of the organization. It is expected of brands to embrace social conscience and take a stance, not on every topic, but on those where there are potential to address specific pain points for their business. This is especially true for members of Generation Z, who not only have the ability to influence their Gen X parents and Boomer grandparents, but also have the potential to influence themselves.

A good example is the automotive industry behemoth Ford. With a ground-breaking initial investment in a brand-new, state-of-the-art manufacturing campus located in west Tennessee, the company demonstrated its dedication to the development of a sustainable manufacturing industry in the United States. Ford intends to reach science-based targets in accordance with the Paris Climate Agreement as a step toward achieving its long-term objective of becoming carbon neutral. Looking into the future, the manufacturer anticipates that between 40 and 50 percent of its vehicles would be totally electrified by the year 2030.

Opportunities of note:

• Provide members with incentives to participate in your efforts to promote sustainability, such as recycling and reselling, for example.

• Contemplate the possibility of enabling program participants to contribute to a particular cause, maybe in exchange for a reward or at a more liberal conversion rate.

• Begin a conversation with your customers about the ways in which their actions might contribute to the advancement of CSR efforts.

4. The employee engagement crisis continues

Companies have been utilizing loyalty programs for years as a means of attracting new customers and retaining the ones they already have. These programs involve the development of strategies that are intended to convey to customers that their loyalty is valued and that they will be rewarded for that loyalty. On the current labor market, which is extremely competitive, comparable tactics can be applied to workforce engagement in order to foster and reward employee loyalty.

It was famously written in Harvard Business Review that the cost of acquiring a new client is significantly higher than the cost of maintaining an existing one. The Society for Human Resource Management asserts that the same idea can be used to talent management. In that situation, shouldn’t businesses pursue the loyalty of their employees in the same manner that they approach the loyalty of their customers?

• Personalization and acknowledgement of valuable behaviors are at the core of all effective loyalty plans, and companies may deliver both of these to employees on a daily basis. This is a key opportunity.

• It’s the details that actually make a difference. You can create moments of surprise and happiness by doing things like taking unannounced time off work or giving a small gift on an occasion such as an anniversary or a birthday.

• Reward good performance and evaluate it carefully. Measurement is an essential component of any customer retention strategy, whether the focus is on customer spending, advocacy, or engagement. Establish goals that are attainable, and go above and beyond to reward achievement.

• Establish a genuine sense of community. Maintain regular contact with one another and always act in an open and honest manner. Find people within your organization who are passionate about the brand and give them leadership roles. The level of trust that communities place in influencers is significantly higher than that which they place in the organization itself.

Remember to keep these thoughts in mind as you get ready for the year 2023 and navigate the rapid change that we have all learned to expect. If you have a good understanding of these trends and how they might affect your business, your customer loyalty and customer relationship management initiatives could gain a strategic advantage.