Gartner, Inc. recently revealed its top marketing predictions for 2021 and beyond during the Gartner Marketing Symposium/Xpo, held virtually in the Americas from December 1-3.
Major societal change, combined with a global pandemic, is redefining customer needs – most notably how customers find, buy and consume products and services.
“Meeting new expectations of stakeholders — not just shareholders — demands a reset of the marketing function,” said Andrew Frank, distinguished vice president analyst in the Gartner Marketing practice. “This starts with an understanding of what has changed, followed by a reassessment of how to respond to that change. Organizations’ appetite for risk will be a critical factor in reshaping brands in the years to come.”
By 2024, 30% of large organizations will identify content moderation services for user-generated content as a C-Suite priority.
Major social media and retailer platforms dependent on user-generated content to drive engagement and sales face a deluge of malicious content, ranging from fraudulent reviews and product listings to the misguided sharing of false or unverified content.
As a result, a growing number of content moderation service and tech providers have entered the market. As these technologies and services mature, organizations will start to employ them in greater volume and frequency, ultimately leading to increased spend over the next four years.
By 2022, 1/3 of publicity budgets dedicated to crisis communications will be used in response to employees speaking out against their organization.
Across all sectors and job types, employees are growing increasingly comfortable speaking up about their employer and working conditions – from calling out a lack of COVID-19 safety precautions, to racial bias and suspect business practices. In fact, 36% of employees report speaking out either for or against their company in the past year. This is not going unnoticed by executives, with legal, compliance and privacy leaders reporting employee activism among the top 15 concerns in 2020.
Organizations must combat the negative perception and reputational risks that come with employees speaking out. Organizations will need to dedicate resources to addressing negative employee commentary and staying abreast of discrepancies between what marketers are saying and what employees are experiencing.
By 2023, 25% of organizations will amalgamate marketing, sales and CX into a single function.
Seventy-seven percent of marketing leaders report they struggled to keep up with changes in customer needs, and 87% believe shifts in customer needs will become even more common over the next few years. This has forced many organizations to seek long-term collaborative solutions.
As a result, the area of overlap between customer experience (CX), sales and marketing functions is rapidly increasing. Where CX has always focused on building clear understanding of who the customer is and how interactions with the brand add to or detract value across their lifetime, so too are sales and marketing now focused on this objective. Organizations will formally combine sales and marketing and CX under a single leader who has clear and unambiguous accountability to maintain and grow customer lifetime value and profitability.
By 2023, 60% of businesses that pivoted to virtual events will incorporate real-time/real-space experiential elements into marketing experiences.
Consumers demonstrated just how quickly they could shift their behavior to new technologies and channels with the COVID-19 pandemic. B2C and B2B customers aren’t moving from analog to digital, they are moving away from a digital-analog binary towards hybrid/mixed-mode experiences.
Many brands have already begun to adopt more practical and convenient options for customers, such as curbside pickup and returns, or real-time store inventory availability. Expect to see more augmented reality apps that will offer more real space or face sense of tangibility, and experiential offerings such as drive-through pop ups and exclusive digital sensory experiences.
By 2025, consumers’ omnichannel buying behavior will drive 60% of B2C brands to move toward functional, rather than channel-based organization.
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated the blending of physical and digital commerce today. Leading B2C brands in this environment have proven the efficacy of blending digital and physical channels to support customers new preferred methods of shopping and fulfillment, rather than treating web and physical channels as separate entities.
However, this omnichannel blend is not often reflected in marketing organizational structures, with only 30% of B2C brands reporting they have functional organizational alignment. Brands hinging their future plans on e-commerce—and structuring teams accordingly—should think twice. Brands should take advantage of this time to reorient teams and objectives around a customer-first, channel-agnostic strategy.
By 2025, 20% of B2C revenue will be generated from recurring revenue models, resulting in profound shifts in marketing strategies, spend and channels.
2020 has seen a significant increase in subscription revenue amid the COVID-19 pandemic. This trend is only expected to increase, as consumers continue to benefit from the convenience of regular replenishment and zero-click purchases.
However, increased competition in this space will test consumer loyalty. Brands must plan for, and actively manage, customer churn. Successful subscription brands will need to be adept at anticipating consumers’ needs and augment offerings accordingly, understanding that what delights consumers today can become commoditized quickly.
