The Top 5 Marketing Trends for 2021 according to Eduardo Sonoda

As Eduardo Sonoda, a marketing advisor and CEO of Eduardo Sonoda Advisory, states in his article on Forbes.com from December 22nd, 2020, the top 5 trends for 2021 are:

– Marketing becomes customer-centric instead of product-centric.

The first trend deals with customer experience management through a product-centric approach that examines what customers need, their preferences, and satisfaction concerning a company or brand’s products or services, whereas the second deals with focusing on the emotional connection between companies/brands and consumers by putting the people at the core of everything.

– Marketing efficiency is more critical than marketing effectiveness.

Instead of focusing on brand communication efforts that are not precisely focused on building awareness, companies should start concentrating on how effective these communication efforts are for the desired outcomes.

– Marketing becomes more predictive than just descriptive.

A lot is already known about consumer preferences and behaviors, but there’s so much more to learn. By using technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning, big data analytics, and predictive analytics can help marketers better forecast consumer needs so they can respond faster to what customers want or need, making them feel valued and thus increasing customer loyalty which leads us to our next trend.

– Marketing focuses on building a two-way relationship with consumers by being proactive.

Before, companies used to do marketing mainly through sales promotions and trying to win over customers who were already interested in their products. Still, they should engage all consumers and take advantage of the data and insights available to build a solid relationship through personalized experiences.

– Marketing has become much more transparent than before.

Transparency is critical nowadays as marketers can no longer keep secrets from customers about what they want or need. This will help them avoid embarrassing mistakes that could ruin a brand’s image instantly. Many companies have already embraced this trend by being very active on social media platforms such as Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, etc. People can read reviews from actual users of these brands to know if it is worth buying.

More information: https://www.crunchbase.com/person/eduardo-sonoda