In 2017, chatbots and artificial intelligence were in the spotlight of all the tech, e-commerce and marketing media. So, where are we on the subject at the beginning of this year? What should we expect in 2018 going ahead? What are the customer experience and marketing trends? Here’s a look at the latest four customer engagement trends.
Conversation is the new marketing
The end of complex interfaces: Online trade was born more than 20 years ago. And for the past 20 years, we have been conducting research, we have been visiting various websites in order to compare product pages, we have been completing complex contact forms with several steps…. However there’s a change under way. Going ahead, this year will see the rise of intuitive and natural conversational experiences online, which will ensure that the consumer will not have to do any of the ‘heavy lifting’.
Messaging has become universal and in 2018, no company will be able to bypass this trend. Messaging apps account for more than five billion monthly users. Millennials as well as baby-boomers use them because they serve the primary form of communication and conversations.
Messaging to help advertising: At the end of 2017, major advertisers such as Mars and Lidl announced their intention to boycott YouTube after a Times Investigation claimed ads were being served against “inappropriate” and “exploitative” content. In late October, Procter & Gamble, the world’s largest advertiser, cut 40% of its online advertisement.
Marketers are increasingly questioning the display’s return on investment. Other critical parameters such as the user experience and brand image are now being taken into account.
At the same time, web users actively fight intrusive ads by massively installing adblockers (32% of US internet users use adblockers with a 34% increase each year). If we are not about to see the end of digital advertising in 2018, we should witness the rise of messaging, which encourages interactions that are more authentic and less intrusive. 2018 will see the rise of conversational formats!
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