2020 has kicked open the door and crashed onto the scene in a flurry of fireworks, confetti, and lists of top marketing trends for the new year: “Make more videos! Make more live videos! (NOT the same thing.) The future is chatbots! Social messaging automation! Voice search now! Be a leader! Be good buddies with a leader! Automate! Upward momentum! Thrive to survive! With so many articles spouting off trends, it can be hard to know how your company should actually be marketing in the new year.

Some marketing advice: trend diets don’t work.

Even if that no-sugar, starve yourself, gluten-free, cold-turkey-keto diet shaves off a few pounds in the beginning, I guarantee that those pounds will eventually come crawling back. Our bodies’ biologies require a long-proven wellness plan for sustainable health. So, too, does your marketing strategy.

While deploying your chatbot armies, live-streaming your daily office routine (think bank camera footage…boring) and doing all of the things that the must-do marketing articles espouse, then sure, you might get more followers—maybe even a new lead or two. But sooner rather than later your “campaign button” will gather dust as you stretch your resources too thin. Or you’ll distract yourself from supporting your most loyal customers. Or worse yet, the commodity-driven bargain shoppers you pseudo-acquired will become liabilities instead of assets. Then, as shiny technology bells and whistles begin to dull, you’ll be back where you started… or worse.

Some of these trends can be helpful, but a successful marketing strategy needs more (…or maybe less?…pause for effect.) You won’t lose weight without understanding your body’s signals, then building a regular daily nutrition and movement plan (no matter what your expensive diet supplement claims.) You won’t gain and maintain market share without defining your target customer and building a genuine and sustainable relationship.

Understanding Your Target Audience

Ask yourself this question: What problem does my ideal customer face, and how does my product solve that problem? (fair enough, that’s 2 questions.) If you can take a step back and define your true value as your potential customer sees it then you can take that next step forward, toward the tool (and possibly the trend) that accelerates your solution.

As an example, let’s say that you market used car rentals to longer-stay business commuters in your area. Who is your ideal customer? How does he spend his time when he travels? Does he have a consistent routine? The more information you have, the more sound your marketing strategy becomes. If you understand how your ideal customer makes decisions, convincing her or him to buy into your product becomes much simpler.

Profiling a day in the life of your customer is much more effective than simply jumping onto the latest tech bandwagon. No doubt, it’s hard to get into the head of your ideal customer to understand how they’re wired, but the better you’re able to do so, the more your brand or solution will resonate with your customer as being viable and authentic. Authenticity is not a trend.

Relationship Marketing Resolutions

In 2020, your company’s marketing resolution shouldn’t focus on being “on trend.” Instead, focus on the heart of your business. With a whole lot of relationship marketing (and maybe a targeted trend here or there) your company is sure to trend toward stronger market share. Want to learn more about spotting your best customers and building relationships with them? Tune in for our next article.

Happy and Sustainable New Year from the Targa Media Team!