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Organizations across the world need help with advertising and marketing in order to grow. In the United States, we have the largest advertising and marketing industry in the world, which is expected to spend over $217 billion in 2020. This industry covers several forms of advertising including print media, billboards, television, and radio. It also covers digital marketing which is expected to grow by $103 billion in the US in 2019.
If you're looking for an exciting franchise where there is always more to learn, marketing can include many different areas including content marketing, search engine optimization, paid media, social media marketing, analytics, and more for both mobile and desktop devices.
Here are six marketing trends that are expected to stand out in 2019:
1. Content marketing:
Content marketing has the distinct advantage of being able to provide communication throughout the entire customer lifecycle. This diversity allows it to be used across search, social media marketing, and email marketing.
2. Artificial intelligence:
Artificial intelligence shows promise in improving marketing automation and personalization. AI will be used to help marketing franchises better understand the behavior patterns that customers go through throughout the buyer’s lifecycle.
3. Marketing automation:
Marketing automation and email marketing can be used for both business-to-customer and business-to-business. Marketing automation will continue to improve with the use of AI that will allow for a more personalized user experience.
4. Chatbots:
As chatbots continue to evolve, they’re expected to save businesses billions of dollars per year. Currently, chatbots can be used to answer repetitive customer questions such as "What are your hours of operation?" or "What time is my appointment with Dr. X?" However, in marketing, these bots can also be used to schedule sales calls and parse warm from cold prospects.
5. Conversion rate optimization:
In addition to creating websites for companies, another common upsell for marketing franchises is conversion rate optimization and improving the customer website experience. Data-driven marketing automation will allow for continuous improvements as marketing departments test different factors to find out which ones increase conversion rates.
6. Account-based marketing:
In order to be successful, organizations need to improve the alignment between their marketing and sales departments. Doing so will help refine their activities for targeted accounts. According to Mary Gilbert of R2i, “ABM is not just a targeting strategy or set of technological tools. It’s a way of life for organizations that want to win by getting close, and staying close, to the opportunities that will drive growth for their business.” As the owner of an advertising and marketing franchise, you can be at the center of this growth.
Is an Advertising and Marketing Franchise Right for You?
If you’re looking for an interesting environment that frequently changes and gives you fascinating new technologies like marketing automation and artificial intelligence to play with on a daily basis, owning an advertising and marketing franchise might be right for you.
Susan Guillory is the President of Egg Marketing & Communications, a marketing firm specializing in content writing and social media management. She’s written three business books, including How to Get More Customers With Press Releases, and frequently blogs about small business and marketing on sites including Forbes, AllBusiness, The Marketing Eggspert Blog, and Tweak Your Biz. Follow her on Twitter @eggmarketing.