Tech Trends in Marketing

The Top 6 Mobile Trends in Sales & Marketing
Trending Now, 6 things you should know.
6 Major Trends to follow in Marketing
Majoring on the top 6 trends to follow in New Home Marketing
    
1. Mobile! Mobile! Mobile! just about sums up the marketing trends this year. It has finally hit the mainstream. So we are all familiar with the terms and even many of the gadgets associated with it. What we’re looking for now is how is it changing and how can we best utilize it in it’s current growing state.
    
According to StatCounter Global Stats, Mobile Traffic is growing at a rate of 1.5x per year and is likely to maintain that speed or accelerate. In Dec. of 2008 we were in a growth spurt of .9 percent; fast forward to Dec. 2013 and we were at 15 percent. In charting the steady steep incline year by year, the trajectory grid maps out that by Dec. 2014 we will be at or over 30 percent growth of Global Internet Traffic. In addition, the shared digital information has grown 9 times as fast in the last five years. Part of the reason behind this is mobile in general is getting easier by demand. We want apps and programs that intuitively read our minds, do our work for us, and keep it all in the same logical place. A back up system for our brain, if you will.

2. QR codes are more prevalent now than ever before. Scan and be scanned seems to be the phrase used for everything from prices, coupons, payments, notifications and even boarding passes. There are those who say the QR code is going away, but the data just doesn't support that statement. According to ScannLife the 2nd Quarter of 2013 saw 4 million new QR code scanners worldwide showing that as in the previous years, usage continues to go up! Users tend to scan QR codes 3 times per month, which is up 22% from the previous quarter. Tablets using scanning apps have increased by a whopping 1300% from just 1 year ago. Clearly, the use of QR codes used in marketing is not going away anytime soon.
    
Although print is not dead, it certainly is not the main way we do business, or research, or even share our knowledge anymore, that is especially true for the New Homes Market. As marketers and consumers we want to find the quickest, easiest, most reliable and cost-effective ways to market and purchase our goods, whether it’s a new home or just getting a pizza delivered. We want our information out there, fast and available for everyone to see and share instantly with anyone anywhere!  
    
3. We must realize the need to measure cost verses outcome. What is mobile costing us, and what are the returns on that dollar? The need to stretch the marketing dollar, has never been more competitive, so much so that we are pulling from our in house resources and consolidating our cost.
We need one system, in place of our previous 3 or 4 systems, to keep it simple, saving time and resources.
    
4. Pre-visualization, think of where your goals are now, verses where they are going, or should be going. There are companies out there with large teams dedicated to just that. So even if you are a small company, don’t overlook the need for vision. Get a plan to keep you on track to achieve overall growth. Always be thinking, what comes next, and where do go from here? Only you can answer those questions for your business and yourself.
    
5. Use social media, it’s a resource that allows smaller companies to leverage the playing field with their larger competitors. How do you communicate with your customers? How do you get them your content, and how do they know about your new products and services? Social Media, should be at least part of the answer to those questions.

Blogging is and will remain one of the best ways to generate new business. Have great content, and keep it updated. This will drive traffic back to your site and generate new leads.
    
6. Last but far from least, avoid the pitfalls of technology,  as good as it all is, we still need the personal touch, we need good customer service, and we need capable people on our teams, to best utilize, study and keep up the technology out there. People who take the knowledge and hand it to our customers and clients, in neat well thought out packages, making it easy for them to use.
    
This article is sponsored by one of the leading New Home marketers, Atlanta New Homes Directory, who realized early on the importance of mobile in selling new homes. They were the first to launch QR codes and mobile websites for individual new home communities. This has enabled anyone to walk up to a yard sign, or ad whether it’s at a physical location, or on their computer, scan the code or key in URL and get instant information on the home or even presale information. It provides a wealth of knowledge to the clients, such as, prices, photos, contacts, schools, community information, builder information, and much more. In addition, all the information can be linked to other sources such as a CRM system which can then generate reports for marketing directors and builders!
 
They also have had over 5,000 posts to their blog in the last 6 years, and utilize YouTube and Facebook as well.
Atlanta New Homes Directory has implemented all the above trends and speaks from experience that these trends are tried and true. For more information visit us on line at AtlantaNewHomesDirectory.com
    
    Written by Doris James
    Creative Director
    AtlantaNewHomesDirectory.com