Meridan – best digital marketing services in Qatar is back with a new read to help you explore more about the digital marketing trends that you should look for in 2020

Digital marketing is made up of a lot of moving parts – marketing automation, SEO, social media,  PPC, and more. New technologies, techniques, and ever-changing Facebook and Google algorithms keep many digital marketing teams on their toes, including ours. As part of our job, it is required to stay up-to-date on the upcoming trends so our clients’ digital marketing campaigns remain effective.

However, Meridian Solution Inc understands if you are looking for the best digital marketing services in Qatar, all these trends and that’s why we’re here to help! Request a free proposal today.

That being said, we’d like to share 12 digital marketing trends for 2020 you should watch out for:

1. Chatbots Take Off

Many companies will continue using a chatbot, they’re effective software programs that interact with website visitors and customers. Chatbots communicate naturally with people viewing the site and can answer their questions in real-time.

Chatbots either use verbal interactions or chat windows to help web users find what they’re looking for.

Hiring an individual to monitor and communicate with visitors on your website can be expensive, but chatbots save costs by answering questions on your behalf. And subsequently, it is said that customers need to appreciate the personalized services that they are getting and make sure that their questions answered.

Additional Benefits of Using Chatbots in Digital Marketing

a). It Saves Time: Unlike humans, a chatbot can provide answers quickly to all kinds of questions. And quick responses mean that customers can make decisions faster.

b). Customer Satisfaction: Unlike humans, the chatbot doesn’t need time to rest. Any time the customer wants information, it’s right at their fingertips. And as the chatbot responds more accurately, your sales conversion rates will increase as well.

c). Good Humor: Chatbot is never moody. You will never hear customers complain about being turned away. They are clear, unbiased, and informative – all the qualities that make your customers feel at ease.

 2. Use of Private Messaging Apps

By 2020, it is sure that many companies will start shifting their focus towards privatizing messaging apps. Smartphone apps like WhatsApp, Viber and WeChat are already gaining popularity. So that instead of using email services, companies are ready to adopt the use of private apps as well as private messaging groups.

Major brands are already undergoing experiments in monetizing messaging apps and soon enough, customers will be able to pay for products directly through messaging apps. Sending and receiving money will be much easier.

3. Increased Use of Artificial Intelligence

The name “Artificial Intelligence” is exactly how it sounds; it refers to robots or machines having the ability to work like humans. AI uses a combination of different features such as chatbots and voice assistants to quickly find answers.

For instance, Alexa and Siri are voice assistants that provide excellent customer care. Just like a human, they can take orders from the users and work behind the scenes on their behalf.

The AI robot does this by using sensors and human inputs to gather facts about a situation and can also collect/store the search data to improve the user’s future experiences.

4. Hyper-Targeted Advertising

Companies are using digital ads to market their products, but you have ever come across an online ad that was straight up annoying or had nothing to do with you? Not only do online consumers tend to avoid these ads, but they may also end-up hating the product, and doing everything in their power to stay away from this brand.

Many companies are aware of this trend and are already planning accordingly. And we’re predicting right now that by the year 2020, most companies will be targeting precise audiences and users will only be viewing (and responding to) hyper-relevant ads.

5. Personalization

Currently, only a few companies are using some form of personalization. And big conglomerates like Amazon are already doing it well.

This household name built their huge internet business by analyzing customers’ behaviors and promoting products based on assumptions and the user’s past purchase history. It showcases products that a person may be interested in by putting forth similar or complementary products in a Recommendations tab, and Amazon found that this upsell tactic works in getting more business.

Personalization is truly the future of digital marketing. And these days, it’s what consumers expect…one study even shows that 79% of consumers feel frustrated if the content their viewing isn’t tailored to them.

6. New Customers’ Behavior

Along with keeping your existing customers happy, your business should also actively bringing in new ones as well. Here are some of the ways this will apply to the digital marketing space in 2020 and beyond:

i). Companies will have to work with influencers: Just recently, studies show that about 86% of women have to consult social media before deciding on a product. And this is important- consumers want brands to be honest, friendly, and helpful.

ii). Companies will have to focus on video content: A survey done by Wyzowl indicates that about 95% of people have watched a video explaining their products or services.

Through publishing self-made videos, companies more directly engage with their customers by actively providing useful information.

7. Transparency

Research indicates that companies producing transparent and easy-to-digest information are likely to retain 94% of their customers.

However, how you handle a customer’s private data is vital. In 2018, the GDPR policy was more actively enforced to ensure that companies handle customer data transparently.

This means that there will be more emphasis on this in the future; companies will be required to be completely transparent on what kind of information is being shared to promote their products.

Here’s a Tip on How to Improve Transparency

• Make sure that selling is not your only goal.
• Create space and encourage people to give different suggestions to help improve your products- facilitate a community around your brand.
• Establish your company’s core values.
• Be able to take constructive criticism from your customers and respond in a friendly, non-judgmental tone.
• If customers raise some concerns or questions, respond immediately.
• Be an open book to your customers- tell them as much as you can about who they are doing business with.

8. Growth in Digital Marketing

TheDrum indicates that by 2020 and through the next few years, the global digital software industry will grow by $74.96 billion.

Consequently, more money will be channeled towards digital marketing. CMO predicts that by the year 2022, around 87% of marketing budgets will be spent on digital marketing.

In fact, this growth in digital marketing will result in a form of marketing referred to as “Agile marketing”, which is a form of marketing that measures how efficiently a brand or company is at achieving its marketing goals and objectives.

An agile marketing team develops winning strategies and theoretical results to inform its stakeholders with the purpose of implementing it quickly. There’s no perfect way to implement an agile methodology in your organization (although we’ve found that a hybrid seems to work best).

Want to leave agile marketing tactics to the experts? Meridian Solutions Inc can help! Contact us today.

9. Single Marketing Software Provider

Currently, there are a ton of marketing technology vendors. Just to give you an idea…an average enterprise is using up to 91 marketing cloud services.

This number is overwhelming, which is why many people are switching to one software that syncs every tool. HubSpot has embraced this trend already and others are starting to follow.

In case you’re wondering if paying and implementing a marketing software tool is beneficial, here are the benefits:

• It makes customer management more manageable.
• Streamlined marketing efforts: You can keep track of where you’re at in the buyer’s journey with your customers and can communicate with them more effectively.
• It improves accountability.
• It reduces tedious work: It helps in getting rid of repetitive duties and helps you establish a daily routine.
• You can document progress much faster and easier.

10. Next-GEN SEO

Right now, a lot of different changes are taking place in the search engine industry and updates are happening constantly. These changes in the search algorithms have profoundly affected the user’s search results.

Every new algorithm comes with different problems or benefits, depending on how you look at it. Ultimately, the goal of search engines is to help the user get specific results that answer their questions.

Therefore, you will see in 2020 and beyond that the quality of search results will improve dramatically.

11. Voice-Powered Search

As the growth in technology continues to increase rapidly, we will start to see more people using smartphones with voice assistants.

Features like Google, Siri, and Alexa are useful in digital marketing. Voice assistants can search for things, read text loudly, and even voice dictate text messages for you so that you can be hands-free.

Voice search is also essential when using it for your business. It’s helping in the growth of a mobile-friendly movement and adding value to local SEO. Voice search also boosts the use of Artificial Intelligence and prioritizes semantics of searches.

Tips for Power Search Optimization

a). Understand the Language: When people use search engines, many use long sentences with specific keywords. Therefore, to optimize the opportunity to be found in voice search results, use longer keywords and complete sentences(think of what someone would ask a friend about a specific product or service).

b). Be Conversational: When implementing voice search in your website, use an engaging conversational tone when creating the text but remember to use complete sentences and be grammatically correct.

c). Answer Questions: Most people use the internet to get information, whether they are researching a product or service that they need or are trying to Google an answer to try to cheat in a late-night trivia contest. Therefore, think about this when creating content for voice-powered searches. Include any questions that people may ask concerning your products and provide detailed answers.

12. More Focus on Customer Retention

In the coming years, companies will also start to divert their attention from acquiring new customers to retaining their existing ones.

These companies understand that it takes less money to keep existing customers happy and will channel more effort in the middle and last stages of the buyer’s journey. Because collecting better data and focusing on market segmentation helps save costs.

Retaining customers helps increase revenue because when you keep your existing customers then they tend to tell their friends and give you referrals. Loyal customers are also likely to be more direct and honest with you regarding any issues or problems, giving you a chance to improve your brand.

Need help in putting together a marketing strategy that meets the trends of the future? Then reach out to Meridian Solutions Inc offer you the best digital marketing services in Qatar and let us help you get your business to the forefront of your target market.