Marketing challenges in 2023: trends you can’t miss out on

Overcome the challenges of 2023 and make your marketing strategy successful now.

Every year marketers face new challenges. Whether it's current trends, world events or technology developments, the truth is that marketing strategies are often in a constant state of flux.

We have already seen how the pandemic of 2020 completely revolutionised the way we do digital marketing and target our users.

2022 was also impacted by different events, such as the war in Ukraine and this year saw the rise of technologies such as AI.

All these things affect the way we will do marketing over the next year! That's why you need to be aware of all the challenges and trends you will face doing marketing in 2023:

6 Challenges for marketing in 2023 

In 2023, marketing companies face a number of challenges, and there are undoubtedly many, many challenges facing marketing, but this time we will focus on 6 essential ones: 

1. The importance of social values in brands

Thanks to the scenarios that have unfolded in recent years (such as the pandemic, social problems and the war in Ukraine), consumers have begun to place value on the principles behind every product and service.

In other words, consumers are looking beyond the benefits that a product or service offers them and focusing on whether a brand has essential moral values, such as: empathy, solidarity, respect, humanity...

During this 2022 we could observe a growth in this social emphasis. And it will undoubtedly increase in 2023.

2. Less invasive advertising

Invasive advertising has its benefits and its disadvantages. Although invasive ads imprint brand identity in users' minds, there are many other negative effects.

The truth is that we all hate invasive and repetitive advertising, such as the kind that sometimes appears on YouTube. And in the end, we end up feeling a repulsion towards those brands that are affecting our experience on a particular platform.

Therefore, a good marketing strategy for 2023 is to try to advertise to users in a more user-friendly way.

The key is to send the right ad to the right person at the right time. And that's why we need to make more personalised strategies for users.

3. The growth of image search or visual search

Visual search is searching by entering a reference image instead of a keyword.

For example, if we are looking for a pair of shoes that we like, but we don't know their name, we can enter the image and get the pages that sell those shoes. Platforms such as Google allow us to perform this type of search.

From 2013 to 2018, the visual search market has had a growth of up to 9%, with the Global Visual Search Market estimated at 14,000 million dollars, according to a study by Report Consultant.

Millennials and generation Z search mainly through images, so it is an opportunity that we must take advantage of.

4. The importance of personalised service

Over the last few years we have seen how users increasingly value personalised treatment. Users are tired of the generalised treatment of infomercials and some brands. So they want something more direct and personalised.

Digital marketing has put a lot of emphasis in recent years on customer segmentation and personalisation of campaigns. And it doesn't look like it's going to end this year - it's only going to increase.

Users want businesses to remember their personal data to speed up the checkout process (with their consent, of course); they want services and campaigns that are more tailored to their personal needs, based on their search intentions.

5. Social media marketing

Social media has become increasingly valuable in recent years. Audiovisual content is very attractive, especially on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and Youtube. 

Besides our common efforts to rank on Google, we also have to create strategies to position our content organically on social networks, as they have a great potential to increase brand awareness and sales.

6. The opportunities of streaming platforms for marketing strategies

Thanks to the 2020 pandemic and the confinement in many countries, streaming platforms have become incredibly popular.

In fact, during the time of the pandemic we saw the birth and strengthening of several streaming platforms such as Disney+, HBO+, Amazon Prime and even Netflix itself.

However, as the confinement in several countries was reduced and people returned to their daily lives, many users started to unsubscribe from these platforms.

In fact, the Media Trends and Predictions 2023 report says that up to 23% of people will unsubscribe from these platforms by 2023. Especially as some platforms have removed account sharing and increased their monthly prices.

Netflix was one of the first platforms to take these measures and saw a steep decline in subscribers. And so, they have begun to explore the possibility of having a low subscription on their platform, but with advertising.

And it is in these advertisements where we have the opportunity to offer our products to new users.

3 trends for marketing in 2023 that you can't miss out on

In addition to the challenges, marketing should also consider the topics that are trending for 2023. It might not necessarily be to run a campaign that talks about these topics, as it depends very much on our company's niche.

However, trends create user behaviours. And these behaviours should be taken into account when preparing our strategies for 2023.

We have taken these trends from "The Marketer's Toolkit 2023: Global Trends Report", prepared by Warc. This report is based on a survey of 1,700 marketers worldwide, 13 marketing leaders and some relevant data from the consultancy.

According to the report, these are the most important marketing trends for 2023:

1. Economic downturn

Ninety-five percent of respondents indicated that the economic recession that may develop in 2023 will impact their marketing strategies. 

This is because with the economic downturn will come an increase in the cost of living and the purchasing power of users. And therefore, the investment that companies will make in marketing. 

2. Climate change

As many as 89% of respondents believe that sustainability and climate change issues will have a major impact on their marketing strategies. 

In fact, it has already had a major impact on strategies in recent years. Young consumers are willing to consume more environmentally friendly products. 

Therefore, we must focus on making products that are environmentally friendly. 

3. Ethical internet and data privacy

This has been an issue that has also been a hot topic in recent years. In particular, it has been boosted by Facebook's measures to change WhatsApp's privacy policies.

Users want their data to be used discreetly and privacy to be a fundamental point for marketing agencies. And above all, they want all their personal data to be used with their consent.

In fact, many brands are already asking for users' permission to use their data for marketing and advertising campaigns.

Therefore, this new year more than in previous years we have to consider data protection laws to make users' web browsing safe and ethical.

With this in mind, some companies are choosing to advertise on Google without using cookies.

5 Relevant technologies for 2023

The same survey also showed that technology companies are among those most likely to be affected by changes in 2023. In particular, due to the new technologies that are dominating the market. 

And therefore, their marketing strategies have to keep up with the development of these technologies. These are the technologies that will be most relevant in the coming year: 

1. Artificial Intelligence

AI is one of the technologies that has made the most progress this year and is already changing the way many technology companies work today.

For example, more and more marketers are using AI as a tool to create website content. While it is not intended to replace the work of copywriters, the results in terms of AI content are very good.

For this reason, many marketers are opting to reduce the number of content providers and pay an artificial intelligence to create texts with the right keywords, leaving the copywriters to edit or create more complex and personalised texts.

For this reason, marketing professionals need to be aware of how useful marketing can be for them and not lag behind in the use of this technology.

2. Metaverse

The metaverse saw growth of up to 19% by 2022 compared to 2021, and promises to have further growth in the future.

In fact, many technology companies are dabbling in the metaverse, considering that it offers a more personalised interaction that is very appealing to users.

In addition, some technology companies are also taking advantage of the rise of the metaverse by creating devices to navigate the metaverse.

3. Connected TV

Smart TVs that can connect to the internet have also increased in trend by 3% in 2022. And it will continue to grow in the following year. 

This trend can be very attractive for technology companies. Not only to create and design technologies or applications that can be used on these TVs, but also as an investment opportunity to reach more customers with advertising. 

4. 5G

5G as a high-speed connection continues to have many benefits for technology companies and for the marketing strategy of any business.

This technology plays a pivotal role in the digital transformation of businesses, connectivity of different devices and business opportunities.

Thus, 5G is a fundamental technology for remote working, for the implementation of artificial intelligence and augmented reality, for optimising processes and for improving communication between company members.

Furthermore, it has been shown that the higher the connection speed, the lower the bounce rate. And this connectivity increases the likelihood of video marketing, as the loading speed is higher.

5. IoT

The Internet of Things is a branch of technology that aims to connect different types of devices to the internet. Alexa and Google Home are an example of how various devices in the home are connected to each other through software.

According to Microsoft's IoT Signals report, 91% of companies in Europe see IoT solutions as critical to business success in the coming years.

IoT not only allows you to create internet-connected devices that meet the needs of your users, but it is also a perfect tool to better understand your users and present your offerings to them.

For example, geofencing is GPS intelligence that identifies nearby businesses and informs consumers of potential offers. So it is an opportunity that we have to take advantage of.

Create a marketing strategy in 2023 without giving in to the challenges and trends.

Your company's marketing department must strive to adapt to the changes and trends of the coming year if you want to stay relevant to users and stay alive in the competition.

However, it is unlikely that you will be able to adapt to all changes. Therefore, it is best to assess which challenges and trends directly affect your business in order to find the most effective solutions to stay relevant.

Take it one step at a time and focus on those things that are most relevant to your business.

We hope your marketing strategies will be effective in 2023!

Do you have a marketing challenge in mind that we missed in this article? If so, let us know in the comments.