Data-driven marketing in 2023: these are the 13 trends you don’t want to miss

Direct mail proves to be particularly effective, so it is returning quickly. Marketers are rediscovering the channel as a supplement to the rest of the marketing mix. Research figures show that mail attracts attention and is good for conversions.

Physical mail requires maximum relevance and the smart use of data. Segmentation and personalized folder packages achieve the best results. The Postfilter is also primarily an opportunity for marketers. It increases the desirability of direct mail, thus the chance of conversion. Data-driven optimization increases relevance, thereby contributing to the acceptance and ultimate success of this entire channel.

The culture of experimentation is commonplace within large organizations. That data-driven trend is expanding to a much larger group of companies in 2023. Experimenting is becoming easier, thanks to the CRO tools available and the data they provide. Combined with AI and machine learning, there are opportunities to further improve experience design step by step.

At the same time, testing is moving to server-side to guarantee security. The field is maturing. Organizations use User Testing, Analytics, Heatmaps, and A/B testing combined to improve the reliability of results and the data resulting from the experiments.

An important data trend for marketers is the ease with which AI can be applied. Deep technical knowledge is no longer required for that. Models such as DALL-E, Imagen, and of course ChatGPT show that everyone can get started with it. Moreover, the applications prove themselves across the board, for content, graphic, and other marketers who want to work with data.

In 2023, new ways to apply AI will emerge. It will be about ethics and governance, but just as much about practical methods to work faster, more efficiently, and more creatively. As new AI models emerge, data-driven marketers will embrace them en masse to serve their organization or agency clients.

Artificial Intelligence is changing the way data-driven marketers handle content. That content remains king and requires unique work by copywriters. Especially the preparatory work is changing, so it is the marketers who notice it the most.

Voice Search seems to be a thing of the past and the Last Click attribution model can also be discarded. Moreover, third-party cookies are disappearing, so the landscape in 2023 looks completely different. Unique content receives even more attention, in the form of video, images, reviews, FAQs, and copy.

AI helps create unique copy and makes suggestions for other forms of content. Marketers who draw up briefings or map out strategy have a new teammate in AI. Data-driven desk research replaces the much-needed field research, because much more information is available from data about what is really going on with the target audience.

Finally, AI is changing the role of email, now that the privacy-first era has definitively arrived. Tools help write the most effective subject lines and calls-to-action, so that marketers can finally rely on data for that. Moreover, AI and machine learning make much more possible in the field of specific personalization.

On the other hand, the privacy-first movement is growing. Led by Apple, the way of measuring success in email campaigns is changing. Third-party cookies are disappearing, so email becomes a crucial source of zero- and first-party data. Moreover, email becomes an even more important channel for building a relationship with customers.

Smaller organizations have a backlog to catch up on when it comes to first-party data. For a long time, they could rely on third-party cookies. Now that these are increasingly disappearing, the need for other forms of data and insights is growing. Omnichannel personalization requires sufficient insight into the target audience and data points to base decisions on.

Smaller to medium-sized organizations in particular will be catching up in 2023. Data collection and data sharing will become important themes for data-driven marketers in 2023. Only in this way can the insights and applications that are now possible based on third-party cookies be created.

Google has introduced Google Analytics 4 (GA4). Organizations must migrate from Google Universal Analytics, as it will no longer be supported starting this summer. It offers opportunities to unlock data in the cloud and run analyses there from now on. Privacy in particular is still a major challenge for many organizations.

Data-driven marketers are also looking at alternative analysis tools available in 2023. These include Snowplow and Piwik, for example. Analysts are specializing in specific themes in some cases, while the overall focus on analytics and data insights grows.

The social landscape is changing, just as the major players seem to have secured their positions. The chance of acquisitions is decreasing because the big names have become more evenly matched. At the same time, BeReal suddenly appeared in 2022. Mastodon is growing fast and Reddit is trying to seize its chance with marketers looking for a new channel.

Short video content is the main focus for many data-driven marketers. At the same time, visuals also perform well, for example on a traditional platform like Twitter. Advertisers are becoming more critical of ads and the return on investment, especially as the possibilities continue to increase. In particular, paid versions such as Twitter Blue and Snapchat+ seem worth following in 2023.

Influencers continue to play an important role in the marketing field, although this is more often focused on the long term. A one-off collaboration often turns out not to make the impact that brands would like. Long-term collaborations, on the other hand, do seem worthwhile, because they succeed in getting target audiences moving.

Meanwhile, regulations for social media and influencers seem to be becoming clearer. As uncertainty decreases, more brands will enter because the risks become smaller. Influencer marketing seems to be maturing, something to which the Kijkwijzer icons also contribute.

Field marketing and telemarketing seem set to benefit strongly from the emphasis on data-driven approaches. On the one hand, it is much needed to remain relevant, prevent consumer irritation, and arrive at valuable insights.

On the other hand, the possibilities for this are greater than ever. Both the media and politics are watching critically, so an ideal landscape seems to have emerged to do things differently in 2023. The tight labor market makes it difficult to recruit new talent. Data-driven approaches that lead to more satisfaction due to innovative segmentation therefore seem to have the best chance of success.

Finally, marketers seem to be becoming the connectors of the future. A data-driven approach in 2023 requires the collaboration of customers and their organizations. And of technical development departments and marketers, together with others within the organization who look outward.

Organizations will have to develop their marketers broadly, so that they can speak with the various departments and all stakeholders. Only in this way is it possible to create integrated plans, aimed at the broad target audience that expects a complete story. Data-driven marketing in 2023 is developing broadly, so with marketers as the new connectors, the greatest opportunities for success arise.