The Trend for 2012: Consumer Preference Marketing
Posted on Wed, Nov 16, 2011 @ 07:46 AM
By Bill McCarthy
The trend to watch for in marketing for 2012 is consumer preference marketing. On a daily basis consumers are bombarded with hundreds of messages through various communication channels. With each year consumers are able to find more ways of opting out of future messages.. Marketers are becoming more aware of the need for new marketing techniques. In an economy suffering from recession, a newfound respect for consumer preference is vital to keep the consumer happy and continuing their relationship with the marketer.
The Customer Experience
Undoubtedly the importance of the customer experience will become more important in 2012. While the customer has so many options in today’s market they have also become more cautious thanks to the recession period. Marketers in 2012 will face the task of taking the customer experience and setting and meeting their expectations. Marketers will first have to ensure that it is okay to contact the consumer then respect the consumer preference for frequency, channel, and marketing content. Marketers will also have to ensure they comply with consumer opt-outs. Marketers must understand what creates customer loyalty and why customers leave.
Social Media
The use of social media in consumer preference marketing will only grow in 2012 even though it is already the norm and in the mainstream. There are more social media platforms that also allow company and brand pages. For example: Google+ launched brand pages in November of 2011. Optimizing consumer preference techniques through social media will only work to benefit the marketer/company.
Cordarounds is a perfect example of social media working for a company. They credit the web with their success. Using social media such as Facebook and Twitter they heavily advertise to their customers. They launch new products on social media first to give their loyal customers a chance to buy the new product first. This in turn allows the company to know who are their loyal customers.
Multiple Channels to Reach Out
Being able to offer multiple channels to reach out to customers based on their permission will become a growing trend. At one time the only way to market to consumers was through direct mail, television advertising, and telemarketing. Now there is Internet advertising, e-mail marketing, and social media marketing. Also with the invention of smart-phones and the use of SMS messaging, the idea of mobile marketing has also become a growing trend in consumer preference marketing. Allowing a consumer to decide what channel they would like to be reached through will allow the consumer to feel more in control and keep their loyalty when they opt-in.
Data Analysis
The use of consumer data and data analysis in consumer preference marketing will also be a growing trend in 2012. As companies and marketers begin focusing more on consumer preference it will become absolutely vital for companies to compile data and evaluate that data to find new trends with their customer base and to improve targeting.
Summary
No matter what techniques marketers use, the growing use of consumer preference marketing cannot be ignored. Consumer preference marketing will only grow more popular in 2012 and the coming years as more and more consumers grow more vigilant to have their preferences respected. The most undeniable trend in 2012 will be letting the consumer have a voice by letting the consumer dictate how and when they be contacted via what marketing channel about the products/services they are interested in. Adhering to those consumer preferences will not only keep marketers compliant but create stronger, loyal customer relationships.
* Source: “Social Media Marketing Best Practices”, crmtrends, http://www.crmtrends.com/socialmedia.html Source: “CRM”, http://www.crmtrends.com/crm.html
