As another year closes, the predictions industry kicks into high gear. We’ll spare you the breathless forecasts about technologies that will “change everything” and instead share our grounded perspective on shifts we actually see happening.
These aren’t predictions pulled from thin air—they’re observations about trends already in motion that we expect to accelerate in 2023.
Efficiency Becomes Non-Negotiable
The growth-at-all-costs era is over. 2023 will see continued pressure on marketing to demonstrate efficiency:
What this means in practice:
- CAC payback periods under scrutiny
- Attribution and measurement investment increasing
- Marginal programs getting cut
- Headcount growth slowing or stopping
How to prepare:
Build your efficiency story now. Know your numbers. Be ready to defend investments with data. If you can’t measure something’s contribution, either fix that or question whether it should continue.
The Pendulum Swings Back to Brand
Paradoxically, the efficiency focus may increase brand investment. Performance marketing has become commoditized and expensive. The companies building brand—awareness, reputation, preference—have advantages in every downstream metric.
What this means in practice:
- Renewed interest in brand measurement
- Content and thought leadership investment
- Community building as strategic priority
- Long-term thinking alongside short-term efficiency
How to prepare:
Develop a narrative for how brand investment drives efficiency. Show connections between brand metrics and funnel performance. Frame brand as a competitive moat, not a vanity expense.
AI Enters the Marketing Toolkit
Generative AI tools have reached a threshold of usefulness that marketing teams can no longer ignore. Content creation, research, analysis, and creative work are all being augmented.
What this means in practice:
- Content production speeds up
- Quality bars rise as AI handles basics
- New questions about authenticity and disclosure
- Competitive dynamics shift
How to prepare:
Experiment with AI tools now. Understand capabilities and limitations. Develop guidelines for appropriate use. Think about how AI changes the value of human creativity and judgment on your team.
Community Becomes Infrastructure
Community-led growth has moved from buzzword to legitimate strategy. Companies that have built thriving communities are seeing compounding benefits. Others are recognizing the gap.
What this means in practice:
- Increased investment in community management
- Community metrics appearing in marketing dashboards
- Integration of community into customer journey
- Competition for community platform selection
How to prepare:
If you haven’t started community building, you’re behind but not too late. Start small. Focus on value creation. Think long-term—communities take years to mature.
Customer Marketing Gets Its Due
With acquisition harder and more expensive, existing customers represent disproportionate value. Customer marketing—often neglected—is getting strategic attention.
What this means in practice:
- Dedicated customer marketing roles
- Retention and expansion in marketing OKRs
- Customer content and advocacy programs scaling
- Integration with customer success deepening
How to prepare:
Audit your current customer marketing investment. Is it proportional to the revenue customers represent? If not, start building the case for rebalancing.
The Privacy Reckoning Continues
Cookie deprecation, iOS changes, and regulatory pressure continue to erode traditional tracking and targeting. First-party data and direct relationships become more valuable.
What this means in practice:
- Walled garden advertising grows
- First-party data strategy becomes essential
- Email and newsletter investment increases
- Attribution gets harder (again)
How to prepare:
Accelerate owned audience building. Invest in email and other first-party channels. Accept that measurement will be more approximate and plan accordingly.
Video Dominates More Channels
Short-form video has gone from TikTok curiosity to expected format across platforms. B2B brands that resist video are increasingly at a disadvantage.
What this means in practice:
- Video production capability becomes core
- LinkedIn video grows in importance
- Podcasts evolve to video formats
- More authentic, less polished expectations
How to prepare:
Build or acquire video capabilities. Start small—phone-quality video is often better than over-produced content. Focus on substance over production value initially.
Remote Work Reshapes Events
The hybrid event question isn’t new, but we’ll see more clarity on what works. The events industry is settling into new patterns.
What this means in practice:
- Fewer, more impactful in-person events
- Hybrid expectations as standard
- Regional events gaining share
- Virtual event fatigue persisting
How to prepare:
Evaluate your event portfolio ruthlessly. Are you doing too many mediocre events instead of fewer excellent ones? Consider the hybrid elements attendees now expect.
Integration and Consolidation
Marketing technology has fragmented into thousands of tools. Pressure to reduce spending and complexity is driving consolidation.
What this means in practice:
- Vendor consolidation continues
- Platform plays gain advantage
- Integration quality matters more
- Build vs. buy decisions under review
How to prepare:
Audit your martech stack for overlap and waste. Consider whether point solutions still justify their complexity. Evaluate migration to more consolidated platforms.
What Doesn’t Change
Amid all this evolution, fundamentals remain:
- Understanding your audience deeply
- Creating genuine value
- Building relationships that last
- Measuring what matters
- Adapting based on what you learn
The tactics change. The channels evolve. But marketing success still comes from doing the basics exceptionally well.
Looking Ahead
2023 will reward marketers who combine efficiency with effectiveness, who balance short-term performance with long-term brand building, and who adapt to new tools and channels without losing sight of fundamentals.
The environment is challenging, but challenges create opportunity for those prepared to meet them. Here’s to navigating what’s ahead with clarity and confidence.