Digital marketing technology is reaching its absolute fever pitch. As if the year of 2023 wasn’t exciting enough, the year of 2024 promises to deliver technologies that will improve your customer experience and generate outstanding conversions in the process.

So, what are these exciting technological trends that can create awesome results for Aussie brands?

Let’s take a look below:

1. The proliferation of immersive experiences

   Immersive experiences with augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) have been something of a dormant digital giant in the past few years. However, we can soon expect that giant to fully awake, bringing with it some of the most mind blowing immersive experiences you may have thought unimaginable. AR/VR integrated physical and intangible technologies to produce a fully digital environment where users can explore online spaces and connect with people brands never before.

   Through AR/VR, brands can produce captivating immersive experiences, allowing customers to trial products and services before they actually buy them. For example, a real estate company can use VR to show detailed property viewings to prospective interstate buyers. This could then encourage the interstate buyer to visit the home in-person which could, consequently, seal the deal on the sale.

   Enlisting AR/VR can help brands set themselves apart in a crowded online marketplace. It does this through producing a unique experience for potential customers that their competitors may be yet to incorporate. What’s more, who doesn’t like the fun of testing something out in the virtual sphere? The fun that customers will enjoy with AR/VR is something that can easily lead to a sale. Therefore, brands that can capitalise on this enjoyment factor should never overlook AR/VR!

2. Marketing automation will increase efficiency

   Marketing automation will help business owners increase efficiency through the use of technology to automate repetitive tasks. This will include automated email campaigns, lead generation and social media posts (just to name a few). Through automation, businesses can save time and resources whilst reducing mistakes and optimising efficiency.

   This combination of software and technology will help businesses produce and schedule ongoing marketing campaigns, including social media posts and email content. This will help them save time and create an ongoing roster of high quality content that their audiences enjoy.

   Marketing automation will also help brands streamline lead generation and facilitate digital processes. Businesses will be able to use automated lead scoring and nurturing workflows to pinpoint and categorise leads based on their campaign engagement and online behaviour. This can help a business’s sales team focus on prospects that are more likely to make a purchase. Therefore, this can lead to greater conversion and sales rates.

   What’s more, marketing automation can offer businesses impressive new insights into campaign performance and customer behaviour. Through analysing campaign data, brands can retrieve insights into which content and promotions are the most efficient. This will help them refine their online campaigns and produce a higher return on investment (ROI).

   Marketing automation can help brands achieve greater marketing efficiency. This can be done whilst simultaneously improving the customer experience to generate more sales. Automating repetitive tasks will help businesses optimise their marketing strategy whilst freeing up time for other pressing tasks. This can all combine to give a brand a competitive edge in a busy online marketplace.

3. Leverage big data to better understand your customers

   Brands will be able to leverage big data to gain a better understanding of their audience’s behaviour. This refers to the advanced analysis of large swathes of customer data, including demographics, past purchases and online behaviour. This data can then be used to better understand customer behaviour and decisions.

   Big data can be utilised to provide a comprehensive customer understanding. This understanding can then be used to produce customer-specific marketing campaigns that seek to fully resonate with them. Brands will be able to analyse big data to understand customer purchase history and see which products are most desired amongst particular audience subgroups. They can then use this data to produce specialised campaigns and promotions that are tailored to each customer’s individual purchase preferences.

   Big data will also help business owners identify future behavioural patterns and trends that may be surfacing. They will be able to analyse web behaviour information to identify which products are most popular and which online channels are producing the greatest conversion rates.

   What’s more, big data can help brands optimise their marketing budget through pinpointing the most efficient marketing campaigns and channels. Through analysing large amounts of big data from various online channels, brands will be able to identify which channels create the best conversions. They will then easily be able to redirect their marketing budget towards those effective channels and gain greater conversions.

   This exciting new informational software will help brands gain a greater understanding of their customers and produce highly-targeted online campaigns. Through enlisting advanced data metrics, brands can increase conversions and sales whilst producing a better customer experience that their competitors are yet to leverage!

4. The integration of predictive analysis

   Business owners will be able to improve their audience targeting through predictive analysis. This is the use of data analytics and machine learning to pinpoint customer behaviour patterns and foresee future trends. Through harnessing predictive analysis, brands can gain a greater understanding of their audience and produce more targeted content campaigns that meet their behaviour and preferences.

   This technology can help business owners comprehend swathes of customer data, including audience demographics, online behaviour and past purchases, all of which will help predict trends. This data not only comprehends current behaviour, but can also be used to predict future online behaviour. This includes metrics like what products customers will likely purchase, which customers will most likely buy the product and which marketing channels will be the most efficient.

   Through utilising this technology, brands can produce more targeted marketing campaigns. This can generate improved conversion rates and, consequently, sales. They will be able to use predictive analysis to identify prospects who are most likely to make a product purchase and create discounts or other promotions that could ultimately lead to a sale.

   What’s more, this technology can help businesses improve their marketing strategies through identifying the most efficient marketing channels. This can produce more cost-efficient marketing campaigns whilst allowing business owners to preemptively forego campaigns that will likely fail to generate leads.

   This technology can (and likely will) provide business owners with one of the most imperative tools for preemptive marketing strategies. Therefore, this incredible technology can help business owners get a competitive and creative edge on their counterparts before they can identify emerging patterns and trends!

5. Voice assistants to streamline customer experience

   Voice assistants will be able to engage with customers and deliver marketing content. Smart speakers and virtual assistants continue to rise in popularity, and 2024 will likely see business owners integrate them into their own customer experiences. Brands will be able to leverage voice-activated actions or skills that customers can engage with and attain useful product information.

   The technology can also be used to deliver tailored content and tips based on the customer’s past-purchases and web behaviour. For example, a customer can return to an online clothing store where a voice assistant could say, for example, “if you love that winter jacket you purchased, we’re sure you’re going to enjoy these seasonal looks, too!” before providing a list of product recommendations.

   What’s more, business owners can enlist voice assistants to complete transactions and simplify the purchase process. For example, the same customer could use this voice assistance technology to quickly purchase one of the recommendations provided to them. This could even witness the traditional purchase page being bypassed for a much faster, more lucrative buying experience!

   Voice assistants in the online marketplace can provide a wonderful tool for facilitating customer relationships like never before. They can help streamline the customer experience whilst bypassing otherwise tedious purchase processes.

6. User-generated content for resonating with customers

   Customers want to resonate with companies. One of the best ways technology can help with this in 2024 is through user-generated content. This refers to technology leveraging customer photos, reviews and videos to produce an authentic story that other customers will love.

   Customers are an essential content provider for businesses. All you have to do is search a brand on Google My Business to see how pivotal a few good or bad customer reviews can be for a business’s success. Business owners should actively encourage happy customers to engage with their brand and help them tell a personalised story that resonates with other prospects.

   Business owners should incorporate user-generated content like reviews and social media posts into their own marketing campaigns. Prospects want to know that previous customers have had happy experiences with a brand. Therefore, incorporating previous user-generated content into your campaigns will help put prospects into previous customers’ shoes and themselves envision a positive purchase experience.

How many will you incorporate?

2024 will be another huge year in digital marketing technology. You can expect to witness stunning technological advancements that should be leveraged before your competitors. To do so, it is recommended that you enlist the digital experts to help you create these amazing experiences that your customers are sure to love!