Feature
Christmas and the holiday season is here, and that means for some the smell of chocolate chip cookies, holiday movies and decorations. For others, like marketers, it may be time to reflect on what they want in their roles for next year.
We may think marketers want mugs, socks or shoes, but some marketers have their eyes on other things during this Christmas season. So we asked them: what in their professional roles as marketers do they want for Christmas?
How About Some Rest for Starters?
Kristine Thorndyke, founder of Test Prep Nerds, has been working hard in her role as company owner and in her marketing capacity. But just like any other marketer, it requires her constantly being attached to a computer. We know the feeling.
On Thorndyke’s Christmas list, she is asking for a vacation without her computer. She will not be checking emails, updating websites, listening to business podcasts or doing any other work housekeeping.
Thorndyke enjoys her job and considers herself fortunate to be able to pick up her computer and find an endless stream of tasks to complete that help her earn a living, but there is also a need for a hard reset, especially during the holiday season when she wants to be more present with her loved ones. Many marketers need a reset for Christmas. COVID-19 has affected marketers and their businesses in many over the last 20 or so months.
Related Article: Here's What B2B Marketers Really Want for Christmas
Catching up on Marketing Reading
For some marketers, a reset is nice but they’d also like to catch up on some reading that helps their jobs.
For Cathy Mills, director of strategy for Net Influencer, she has books on her Christmas list. “Nowadays,” she says, “information is power, so reading is one of the most enriching and at the same time relaxing activities there is.”
“Contagious: Why Things Catch On,” by Jonah Berger is a book that she has been wanting to read for a long time. This author covers numerous aspects of marketing that are not limited to commercials or content. He demonstrates how some items and businesses are more viral and successful than others. When she read the description, Mills realized it was a book she needed in her collection, especially this Christmas.
Gaining Trust of Customers
Relationships between customers and marketers are critical. Many individuals have grown increasingly wary of marketers and organizations, as seen by the widespread opposition to third-party cookies and trackers, the enormous popularity of AdBlock technologies, and the rise of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) and firms such as DuckDuckGo.
Paul Sherman, chief marketing officer of Olive, says trust between customers and marketers is eroded. It’s not made his job more difficult but made the customer’s search for what they need more difficult.
“If we marketers don’t have the information we need to create effective marketing campaigns, then we can’t inform customers about our product offerings,” Sherman says. As a result, this Christmas and in 2022, Sherman wishes to see this confidence restored, both for the sake of customers and for the benefit of marketers worldwide.
Related Article: The Cranky CMO's Holiday Wish List
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Developing More Personalized Experiences
Part of a marketer's ambition is to use demographics to develop distinctive tactics. Many marketers would like to be able to divide their audience into categories based on demographics and psychographics. When it comes to personalizing a communication strategy, knowing the pain points and gain points that individuals in their target audience are likely to experience can be beneficial.
This is the Christmas wishlist for Patrick Casey, director of growth marketing at Felix Health: to develop more personalized experiences.“This beats using a blanket messaging strategy, in which you may opt to use a templated messaging system to acquire leads,” Casey said. “Through segmentation, you can take your personalization beyond simply repeating the lead's name.”
Searching for Stability in 2022
Many marketers are pleading for a year of consistency. It's been a bumpy road with COVID-19 and major changes in client data protection, such as Apple's announcement of iOS 15.
Gavin Laugenie, head of content at dotdigital, said his Christmas wish is to have stability in 2022. “No more opens, no more location data, no more real email addresses? Cue panic,” he said. “Although we were able to adapt to the change, it would be nice if 2022 could be a year with nothing too major shaking things up.”
Laugenie wants to be able to meet consumers in person, return to events, and not rely on Zoom conversations to connect. Emails, SMS and live chat are all nice, but nothing beats a little face-to-face connection, he added.
Happy Holidays, Marketers
This is a special time of year for many of us, regardless of how we choose to celebrate it. It is a time for us all to unplug, spend meaningful time with friends and family, and for many of us to eat without thinking of calories.
A less frantic schedule may cause us to enjoy the things around us more, and, as a result, we may become more aware of the numerous ways in which businesses attempt to catch our thoughts and attention.
Happy holidays, marketers, and here's to a great 2022!
