MB - Trends in Marketing [LESSON]

Trends in Marketing

Marketers must be able to anticipate and adapt to future trends and technological advancements in order to stay ahead of the competition.

• Marketing managers must stay informed of technology trends so they can be part of the next big thing, rather than becoming outdated and suffering the consequences financially.
• Marketing managers must watch factors in the micro environment, such as supply availability, and other trends dealing with suppliers to ensure that product will be delivered to customers in the time frame required in order to maintain a strong customer relationship.
• Forecasting new trends has become increasingly important as marketers try to understand Americans by analyzing major life events and their need to be connected to their peers through social media outlets.

 

Marketing Innovation Trends

Innovation trends in marketing include mobile marketing, viral marketing, and more efficient usage of branding and targeting.
The newest trends in marketing are based on and around the use of new technologies. With the ever increasing use of cell phones around the globe - especially smart phones - one of the more popular current trends is mobile marketing.

Mobile Marketing

Marketers that utilize mobile marketing use interactive wireless media to provide customers with time and location sensitive, personalized information that promotes goods, services and ideas - thereby generating value for all stakeholders.

Mobile Marketing - 'Marketing on or with a mobile device'

The most popular forms of mobile marketing include:

SMS Marketing (Short Message Service)

Over the past few years, SMS marketing has become a legitimate advertising channel. On average, SMS messages are read within four minutes, making them highly convertible. SMS marketing services typically run off a short code. Short codes are five or six digit numbers that have been assigned by mobile operators for the use of brand campaigns and other consumer services. Short codes are priced high at $500 to $1000 per month.

MMS Marketing (Multimedia Message Service)

Mobile content can also be delivered via MMS. Nearly all new phones produced with a color screen are capable of sending and receiving standard MMS messages. MMS mobile marketing can contain a timed slideshow of images, text, audio, and video.

Push Notification

Push notifications were first introduced to smartphones by Apple in 2007. They were later further popularized with the Android operation system, where the notifications are shown on the top of the screen. It has helped application owners to communicate directly with their end users in a simple and effective way. It can be much cheaper when compared to SMS marketing in the long run, but it can become quite expensive initially because of the cost involved in application development.

QR Codes (Quick Response)

Also with the increase in smart phone usage, QR codes have become much more prevalent in marketing pieces both on and offline. Acting as a visual hyper-link to a page, QR codes make it easy for someone to reach a mobile optimized offer page. As such, they represent a very powerful tool for initiating consumer engagement at the time when the marketing piece is likely triggering its most emotional response. Their potential for tracking offline sources and delivering the types of analytics previously reserved for online tracking makes another powerful reason that marketers are flocking to QR codes in droves.

Mobile Marketing

Besides mobile marketing, there are other trends in online marketing.

• Viral marketing involves the exponential spread of a marketing messages by online word of mouth (sometimes referred to as "word of mouse"). A major component of viral communication is the meme - or a message that spreads virally and embeds itself in the collective consciousness. Viral marketing is closely tied to social media, since social media platforms and their sharing functionality are the main way that a message is able to "go viral" online.
• Branding and target marketing have also evolved in the online realm. More than ever before, brands are creating personas and identities around themselves, rather than the products they sell. The online space allows customers to interact and converse with the brand personally and directly. Target marketing can be extremely precise on the web. With the immense amount of personal and usage data currently available, targeting can be done automatically and extremely successfully. In a world where everything is social and shared, the consumer has a lot of power. Marketers foresee that they will need to hand more control over to customers, who want to engage on deeper and more significant levels with content. The trend may go so far as to let customers create marketing content, with agencies keeping oversight and steering from the sidelines. Also, with increasing mobility and shrinking size of technological devices, consumers will expect to have round-the-clock access to all of their data, regardless of where they are and what device they are using. There are many opportunities here for even more specific and user-relevant content. 

Career Highlight

Mobile Marketing

Marketing managers create plans to market products and services for a company. They often work long hours and earn over $100,000 a year. You will need a bachelors degree and some work experience in marketing to get a job. It is important for Marketing Managers to stay up to date on trends and pop culture.

Interview Skills

So you have been asked to interview for a job. Now what!?

Preparing for an interview

Now that you have an interview you need to get ready to make your best impression.

• Gather information about where the interview will be and who the interview will be with, what time you need to be there and if you need to bring anything with you.
• Learn about the company, look at the company website, and understand the company's vision and mission.
• Make sure to take something to take notes with, your resume and reference list and anything else the employer asked you to bring, like work samples.
• Dress smart for your interview, you don't have to wear a suit if the job you are applying for doesn't require a suit (like a cashier at Kroger) but it is nice to wear something one step nicer than your uniform calls for.
• Make sure you are clean and well groomed.
• Practice, practice, practice!
• Ask a friend or parent to help you with a mock interview. See the Interview Worksheet for interview question ideas.

The Interview

• Be honest and speak clearly during your interview. Maintain good eye contact and use specific examples when answering questions.
• You don't have to answer all questions! Questions about your gender, race, nationality, and religion are off limits!
• The skills employers are looking for are: communication skills, strong work ethic, team working skills, initiative, interpersonal skills, problem solving, analytical skills, adaptability, computer and technical skills. Be sure to touch on these areas when answering your questions.
• Be prepared to ask questions like, questions about the position or what the next step in the interview process is.
• Be general when asked questions about salary.
• Finish with confidence; restate why you want the job and why you would be the best fit.

Following up

• Write down the interviewer name and title.
• Send a thank you to the interviewer; re-emphasize your skills and ability or anything else you forgot to mention during the interview.

Marketing and Business REVIEW

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