Trends from the wish box

More data? Yes, where it makes sense and is affordable. More brand and values? Yes, because people are increasingly demanding it. More balance and customer centricity? Yes, because this is the only way to guarantee success.

Loosely based on the folk wisdom about statistics, "Don't trust any trend announcement that you haven't falsified with your own wishes." Digital gurus have been hyping Big Data, AI, targeting, marketing automation and performance marketing for years. Agencies and vendors repeat this prayerfully in hopes of a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Of course, digital channels are ubiquitous: better targeting through AI makes sense for large audiences and will catch on, including for e-commerce and the growing number of marketplaces in B2B.

In B2C markets, this has long been proven, but doubts are beginning to emerge about the promises of the digital trend gurus, at least as far as business success guarantees and favorable ROI of such measures are concerned. In B2C, the pendulum is swinging from a sole focus on technology to a return to other success-determining themes such as brand, values, emotionality and creativity. We hope that this realization will also prevail in B2B!

Value orientation helps create value

Good brand work brings success, even if it sometimes takes longer. The desire may well become reality because it picks up on social trends: even younger generations are looking for security and stability in a world where many certainties and trust in politics and institutions have been lost.

If a brand focuses on honesty, integrity, benefit, meaning, sustainability and stability and communicates this emotionally and unusually, it can win the trust and loyalty of decision-makers. Value orientation helps create value.

If the brand also meets the expectations of decision-makers for simple, fast business processes and relevant information, and anchors Customer Centricity as a fundamental attitude in the company as a whole, nothing more stands in the way of success. In tough times, business success is the core objective for marketing, which is why this trend will also prevail in B2B in 2020.