It’s July and the fiscal year has just begun. But for some of us, we still just care about the calendar year. And we’re halfway done with 2019.

The marketing landscape changes so fast that we can re-examine trends at least twice yearly and still not keep up. Here’s what you need to focus on as a marketer for the rest of 2019 if you want to succeed.

1. Smarketing

Sales and marketing are now conjoined twins. If you’re a marketer, you’re in sales. Don’t worry, you can still remain pure and not be a slimy salesman.

Companies that wedded marketing and sales saw 208% more revenue than those who used traditional marketing tactics.

How does Smarketing work? Essentially, Smarketing is the process of injecting marketing content into your automated sales platform. Things like Instagram’s shopping platform help with this.

2. Brand Reputation Awareness

As you age, reputation and legacy become more important. You ask yourself, what do I want to be known for.

But companies are beginning to ask this question as well. If you look at the big players, they’re posturing to look favorable to consumers by connecting themselves to charity and social justice movements.

But small players can improve their reputation by simply gathering reviews and recommendations. Take the smaller Desmo Marketing for example. They’ve gathered and displayed their client’s reviews. This fosters a favorable impression in the minds of future clients leading them to possibly hire you.

3. Customer Personalization

I’ve seen other writers call this customer segmentation and I just can’t get behind that word. It recalls too much of the “separate but equal” vibe. Personalization is not segregation.

While, yes, you’re essentially breaking your leads into subsets and then marketing specifically to those subsets. You still have one set of leads. It’s just difficult to market to each individual as an individual. \endrant\

But the data you collect could help you personalize your campaigns. And this is something future clients expect. They want to be courted and they want their tastes appealed to.

Start creating smaller subsets. While this might be time consuming, it allows you to save money with more traditional marketing techniques such as email or direct mail.

4. All-In-One

This goes hand-in-hand with Smarketing. And all-in-one solutions allow the little guy to flourish. No longer do we need massive marketing departments and sales departments a la Mad Men.

Companies are looking to streamline operations. This created a host of solutions like Square which allow small businesses and solopreneurs to look even more professional in how they service their clients and customers.

Be on the lookout for more all-in-one marketing solutions.

5. All the Data is Yours

Will the big players have massive decks, you can hold the cards too. This means machine learning is in your pocket too.

You can derive value from data as a small business marketer. You can use this data to personalize and create better lead subsets. Investigate all-in-one data collection platforms.