13 Marketing Trends for 2013

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Insight/ Market Research

13 Major Marketing Trends For 2013

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Market Research Trends Reporting Mobile Marketing Social Media Marketing

1. THE DIGITAL WALLET CREEPS FORWARD

So far, the long-promised digital wallet has lagged behind expectations. Google Wallet, Square, Apple, and others have introduced electronic payment, loyalty, and couponing systems, but there’s no single solution that works everywhere and all of the time. Don’t expect anything revolutionary in 2013, but, at the same time, marketing executives should keep their eye on the wallet. “We will see mobile payments trend upward in 2013,” said Amanda McArthur, a partner at marketing consulting firm BuzzFarmers, in an interview with CMO.com. The most enticing component of the digital wallet, she said, is transactional marketing—an area where Apple, in particular, is quietly making progress with its Passbook app. “There’s no reason why businesses should be handing out punch-out loyalty cards when they can use customer analytics to build a loyalty program that segments their best customers and markets to them individually based on past purchase history,” she added.

2. BIG DATA GETS REAL

The buzz over big data has been nothing short of deafening. It has beckoned with the promise of delivering a better understanding of customers and the overall business. Unfortunately, “There is still a lot of naivety and inexperience; a lot of companies are clueless about how to unlock the value that’s tucked away in their data,” noted M. Eric Johnson, director of the Center for Digital Technology at Dartmouth University, in an interview with CMO.com. However, better tools and greater knowledge about how to apply big data concepts means the landscape is changing rapidly. Organizations that tear down data silos and create more efficient ways to connect all of the dots will unlock exponential gains over the next few years....