Ten predictions for marketing in 2023. Buckle up.
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AI-Driven Marketing Growth - Account-based, product-led marketing powered by AI will surge by at least 20%. Everyone will claim they were early.
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Analytics Over Research - Customer-centric marketers will spend excessive time analyzing dashboards rather than conducting actual market research. The map will be mistaken for the territory.
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Channel Obsession - More than half the industry’s efforts will go toward discovering the next trendy marketing channel. The current channels work fine; nobody wants to hear that.
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Brand Purpose Irrelevance - Customer purchasing decisions will remain disconnected from a brand’s stated values or mission. Shocking, I know.
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Category Creation Strategy - Desperate CMOs will continue pursuing “new category creation” as their go-to board-impressing tactic. Most categories don’t need creating.
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Legacy Channel Decline - TV, email, SMS, and blogs will slowly fade while remaining functional. Blogs especially - written off repeatedly, still here.
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VC Obsession - Journalists will disproportionately cover venture-backed startups over profitable small businesses. Revenue is boring; fundraising is news.
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Product Page Over Product - Marketers will refactor messaging instead of improving actual product differentiation. The copy will be better than the thing it describes.
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Rational Over Emotional - Emotional customer needs will be overlooked in favor of rational considerations. Spreadsheets don’t capture feelings.
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Demand Creation Myth - Marketers will persist in believing they “create demand” rather than connecting to existing customer desires. You’re not a wizard.
Most of these will age fine. I hope I’m wrong about at least three of them.