Marketing & Selling

2020 looks set to be an epic fight for survival as numerous socio-economic factors come into play that will further challenge businesses and their ability to achieve greater levels of customer satisfaction in a bid to retain and grow their customer base – from a looming recession, abysmal economic growth figures, political uncertainty and a disastrous return of load shedding.

As more businesses face the technical realities of digital transformation and advance towards 4IR, the customer experience is always front-of-mind – and it is little wonder the call centre has emerged as the frontline of technology-driven, fully automated service delivery.

Terms like 'hyper personalisation' and 'micro moments' are more than just trendy buzzwords. Rather, they are important concepts set to disrupt and define digital marketing in 2020 and beyond. A closer look at these and other trends reveal where marketers need to be spending their time, effort and budget in the year ahead.

The retail sector is under increasing pressure as consumers have shrinking disposable income in a strained economy. Maintaining share of wallet is critical. Relying solely on a push route to market strategy from manufacturers into retailers is not enough to get consumers buying products.

In-house agencies are returning to the inner sanctums of companies. In recent years, many major corporate brands have brought content and marketing agency capabilities back into the fold, which resulted in the development of an in-house agency as part of improving the delivery and speed of marketing efforts.

Anyone who has worked in marketing for more than a decade will agree that we’ve entered a Golden Age of information. We know more about our consumers, their transactions, preferences, spending habits, income and demographics than ever before, freely surrendered by the consumers themselves as they shop, bank and socialise online.

Over the past five years, Black Friday and Cyber Monday has become big business in South Africa. And we are not talking about standing in insanely long queues for toilet paper; while South Africa has not embraced the same type of discounts that the US does when Black Friday officially opens the festive shopping season, South Africans are always up for a deal and want to be first in line to take advantage of this.

The Rugby World Cup hosted by Japan is almost coming to an end. The final will be played this Saturday at the International Stadium Yokohama. The Bokke have made it to the final and will be playing against our northern hemisphere rival, England.

With the Digital Revolution in full swing, data is to business what oxygen is to mankind. It is a crucial resource – one that enables companies, especially smaller ventures, to make better business decisions, grow their customer base, keep their competitive edge and secure funding.

On 10 October 2019, the Minister of Economic Development published second drafts of the Price Discrimination Regulations and Buyer Power Regulations (collectively, the 2019 Regulations) for public comment.