Tis the season of goodwill, and this festive season Jess donned her Santa hat to volunteer at a local Southampton charity to ensure disadvantaged families receive a Christmas gift this year.

Joining the team of staff and other volunteers (socially distanced of course…) at SCRATCH charity, our Head of Client Services, Jess helped with packaging up collection of gifts including books, cuddly toys, craft activities and games and toys for children from newborn to teens, who had been referred to the charity.

Jess says “After such a difficult year for most people, I wanted to give back and help out where I could. When I heard about SCRATCH, and having two young children myself, I just had to get involved in their Christmas Complete project. The thought of any child waking up without a gift this Christmas was heartbreaking – I really enjoyed volunteering at this wonderful charity and hope to help out more in the future”

You can find out more about SCRATCH and their various projects here

The whole world at the moment is ever changing, and some things will change for good as a result of this terrible pandemic. If you’re a business, it is imperative to keep up with a lot of different things, whether it be the law, temporary restrictions, or just general behavioural changes in your industry. 

One thing refiine is here to help your business out with is the Marketing Trends predicted for 2021. We have analysed a host of reports from the likes of Deloitte, Warc and Mintel, etc. and put together using our own knowledge and experiences, what we think will be the most prominent trends for the next year.

1. Above all will be purpose. According to Deloitte, “flourishing brands will be those that know why they exist and who they are built to serve.” Essentially, this means knowing exactly who you are as a company and having a strong brand that flows internally as well as out. There are a lot of start-ups on the rise and an expected wave of innovation coming this way for 2021, and the way to stand out is to make sure your customer can grasp your brand as easily as you do.

2. Second of all, it is important to crack your conversational marketing. Talking to your clients and providing friendly and relational customer service is going to be a winner in 2021. “It’s the choice between taking a cheaper flight or a safer one; buying clothing with the fastest delivery or from the supplier with the most ethically designed supply chain.” Conversational marketing is more than just a live chat, it means being there and available whenever is convenient to your client, and being able to hold personal conservations. It’s also the perfect way to show off your brands personality and gain new and valuable insights about your customers.

3. We’ve all heard of AI. But what is it? It may sound scary at first, but artificial intelligence is literally just machine intelligence, which is not human, so therefore considered artificial! This will become more prominent in 2021, making processes smoother and costs cheaper, helping you save time and resources. AI is commonly used to make personalised recommendations by analyzing consumer data and push notifications to the right audiences. It can be used to filter chatbots and curate emails, all whilst increasing engagement, customer retention, and ultimately profits. Imagine being able to show visitors articles and posts that are relevant to them, based on topics they’ve looked at on your page. As this data driven approach is becoming more ingrained in our world, it doesn’t seem so artificial anymore.

4. Account based marketing is pretty much just targeted marketing towards specific accounts. Given the predictions of growing markets and competition expected in 2021, more targeted marketing may help personalise your approach and build a better initial relationship with new clients.

5. Influencer marketing. Isn’t this one obvious? Instagram has influencers coming out of its ears at the moment, and as smaller companies start adapting to this concept too, we have ended up with loads more ‘micro-influencers’. Who can you choose to suit your budget and brand to amplify your brand across social media? Influencer marketing is not all about the number of followers and likes, it is the engagement that matters. Micro influencers offer the perfect combination, reaching relevant content to highly engaged and loyal audiences. With everyone using social media these days, selecting a live brand persona and targeting your niche market has never been so easy.

6. If you haven’t noticed already that you have been spending more time on your phone since the world slowed down, or that everyone else around you has – then news flash: focus your advertising on mobiles. Above everything, mobiles are the way forward. Everybody uses them over desktops, especially on social media. So how can you make sure your campaign reaches a higher audience? Push it to mobiles and make sure it is fully mobile optimised!