The year 2019 was the first that Brambaly officially went from concept to reality. We took our close to two decades of experience in designing and marketing business websites for manufacturers, wholesalers, and distributors, and created our easy-to-use platform. We did it! And while a year in business is a significant milestone to celebrate, and we will celebrate it, we have to admit, we can’t be more exciting for an even MORE productive 2020!
Instead of doing a “year in review” type blog to finish out 2019, we figured we would collect some thoughts about what 2020 holds in terms of B2B marketing solutions and design trends to keep an eye on! We know that we will be implementing these on our end, and we hope you consider them too! If you read through this and have any questions about how Brambaly can help you with these marketing and design concepts- don’t hesitate to reach out to us right away by CLICKING HERE!
As social media and marketing, in general, continue to adapt and evolve, it is essential to remember the focal point of all of your campaigns: the people you are targeting. The customer experience and journey are crucial to consider in all of the choices you make and are something you can promote too. People are listening to other people like them before making purchases, putting opinions ahead of things like the cost or global presence of your brand. Make sure you deliver an efficient, friendly, and convenient experience to every customer, and don’t discourage them from sharing their opinion with the world via review site or testimonial you can publish on your own.
Media utilized in marketing is continuing to grow in curious new ways, and we’re sure that in another decade, many of today’s “go-to” media trends will be extinct. However, from all that we see and the way things have been going, we genuinely believe that the standard bases will still be there: audio and video. In the next ten years, video ads will likely include more “augmented reality” type content, and voice searches and smart speaker integration will continue to grow exponentially. Even if your business isn’t the most common search someone might do via a smart speaker, making sure your content is optimized for those longer, more conversational searches we ask Alexa or Siri is undoubtedly necessary.
Lastly, as we see that the experience and media supporting marketing goals will be moving in specific directions, your OVERALL strategy must as well. Marketing is no longer just one person or even a department’s “job”- it belongs to the company. And sure, your marketing people are still going to lead the charge but leveraging every angle from every employee is clutch. Your sales team should be asking customers questions about their experience and how they found you and funneling that to your marketing team. Your designers and operators on the floor should be taking progress photos to share on social. From top-down, your marketing should involve a little bit of everyone from every level and segment of your company. Not only that, but considering all of the different mediums within a marketing strategy, from online content to social media, email marketing, physical media, and much more- all of it leveraged the right way can impact every level. When developing a strategy, brainstorm with a team that includes minds other than your marketing department because, after all, it’s likely that not just marketing people will be buying from you- right?
As our devices are shrinking and shrinking, experts believe that the elements of the website itself should be as well. Gone are the 15-navigation links, paragraphs of text, and images present on a homepage, replaced, instead, with just a handful of items that get you to the crucial pages you need, fast. Consider how your site will look on a cell phone (is it mobile-friendly, like it would be on Brambaly?) or even a smartwatch when it comes to navigating. Less is more here, but you should still keep the main content around 350 words, if possible, so it ranks well in Google. This sense of minimalism also gives things like video and stunning photography an ability to tell a deep story.
Dark mode is all of the rage right now, and we are sure that will ride through 2020. Darker background colors and elements allow for the contents of your site to POP a bit more, are better for OLED screens, and are less draining on the battery of your phone. Not to mention, it also helps with eye strain, which we’re sure we could ALL use a little help with these days. Will Brambaly be releasing a unique dark mode design for 2020? You’ll have to keep checking back to see ;)
In what sounds like a bit of hypocrisy of the first point here on minimalism, we urge you to USE YOUR TEXT…just maybe not in overwhelming portions, all at once. More and more designs are integrating text as a visual component of their brand identity. Some logos these days are just so sleek, detailed, and visually appealing, that they don’t even need a supporting image, as they play both roles. Don’t be afraid to utilize some text in your visual branding, and experiment with exciting new ways to create memorable, and personable, visuals. A striking graphic of your company name can be just as gripping as the perfect photograph.
With that, from all of us at Brambaly, we wish you a Happy New Year, and thank you for a fabulous 2019! If you need help with any of the above business website design or marketing trends in 2020, make sure you contact us today by CLICKING HERE!