Building a Successful 2024 Marketing Plan
As retail marketers start planning for 2024, data-driven analytics tools can help them determine the best performing channels to focus their efforts on. These tools make it easy for marketers to test and analyze the most effective channels for their business in real time. For example, a retailer that's thinking about putting more budget into social media from television can plug in the current spending and historical data from those channels to determine whether it’s a sound investment. Should it determine that social media will deliver higher return on investment and drive more future sales, then it can immediately shift its ad dollars and start reaping the benefits. By understanding which channels are most effective at that moment in time, marketers can shift their budgets accordingly, allowing them to maximize their spend and deliver short-term ROI.
Furthermore, analytics tools help retail marketers forecast high-impact channels and can identify changes in consumer behavior. A combination of historical data and predictive, prescriptive planning can help account for changes in the market, keeping marketers ahead of the curve by alerting them to potential roadblocks. For instance, if consumers are pulling back on spending on a certain brand of cereal, rival retailers can look to pivot their spend to channels where that brand’s customers frequent, helping them capitalize on lost market share. Similarly, if a retailer determines that digital coupons are more effective than print coupons in driving sales, it can pivot its coupon budget to digital only. While the retail market is improving, it can change in an instant. Therefore, possessing the ability to pivot can mean the difference between lost sales or earning a profit.
Analytics tools can also help marketers build on their brand equity in 2024. Brand equity is critical for retailers to keep their brand top of mind and can help protect against changes in consumer behavior. If consumers know they can trust a certain brand, they might be more willing to remain loyal to that brand while switching away from others. For instance, search data can help understand the customers that are on the fence about switching, enabling retail marketers to tailor their campaign strategies to keep these customers. It can also be utilized to see which customers of competitors are more likely to switch, meaning marketers can pivot spend to win over their business. This strategy ensures that retail brands can keep existing customers while winning over new ones in 2024.
Lastly, investing in high-performing marketing channels ensures that retailers can stay on track for long-term growth. Marketing is essential for bringing in new customers and growing a business, and choosing the channels that deliver the highest ROI can help retailers maintain a steady level of customer engagement. As inflation remains stubbornly high and consumers continue to be selective about where they’re spending their money, some retailers are being forced to cut back on spending. If cuts are necessary, consider cutting back on nonworking dollars, like agency fees or concept tests, that don’t have any short-term benefits. All cuts are painful, but cutting back on items that are nonessential for the time being will help in the long run and lead to a more successful year ahead.
By tapping into a data-driven approach for 2024 marketing planning, retailers will be better able to identify the channels that work best for them and can more effectively react to market changes in real time. This ensures that they’re optimizing their ad budgets and maintaining their existing customer base, while also setting themselves up for a strong 2024.
Greg Dolan is the CEO and co-founder of Keen Decision Systems, a company that offers real-time marketing insights to help you learn from what you've spent, pivot based on your goals, and predict the best path to create value.
