The marketing landscape is rapidly evolving. Thanks to innovations in AI, shifting consumer behaviors, and increasingly fragmented markets, marketing in 2025 will look much different than the strategies and tactics you’ve grown accustomed to. To help your business stay ahead, here are Divining Point’s top 10 marketing recommendations for the year ahead.
1. AI Will Impact Marketing – Use It Wisely
AI continues to revolutionize marketing. Ever since ChatGPT hit the scene in late 2022, Artificial Intelligence has been the hottest buzzword of the moment. In 2024 it appeared we may be reaching the Peak of Inflated Expectations, but AI continues to evolve and amaze investors as each new breakthrough inspires the imaginations of techies.
But AI is not a cure-all, and it seems that businesses – not consumers – have been the quickest to adopt AI for a wide variety of use cases. With tighter budgets, higher expectations, and shorter timelines, business owners have clamored for any new AI tool that would keep them competitive. Expect more of the same in 2025.
Our advice is to use AI to automate repetitive tasks, analyze data, and speed up processes. However, avoid overreliance on AI for content creation or decision-making without human oversight. Balance efficiency with authenticity to keep your campaigns genuine.
2. Embrace a Multi-Channel Marketing Approach
It’s an understatement to say that the marketing landscape is fragmented. People consume media and discover information across a vast array of options. Gone are the days of myopic demographic targeting and reliable channels of information. 2025 is set to amplify this dissolution of standard marketing strategies.
Market fragmentation demands diversification. Relying solely on digital or traditional methods is no longer enough. Combine a multi-channel marketing approach with solid data gathering and personalization to break through noise.
B2B and B2C companies need to develop a sound marketing strategy and then consider how to reach their audience across multiple touchpoints. If that sounds overwhelming due to time and resource constraints, then skip down to the 10th recommendation now.
3. Personalization Is No Longer Optional
Generic marketing won’t cut it in 2025. Personalization – driven by segmentation of email lists, tailored messaging, and unique content – is essential. As the media landscape has fragmented, so have our wants and needs and emotional triggers that drive consumption. SMB Marketers can no longer take a “one size fits all” approach to marketing.
Understand your audience, create messaging that resonates with them, and use data to customize their experience at every touchpoint. That means developing different types of content for different audiences – and even different customers – as they travel through the funnel.
4. Adapt to Zero-Click Searches with an Updated SEO Strategy
From 2023 to 2024 we witnessed the search engine experience radically changing to deliver more information to users. The rise of AI summaries, which continue to expand, have produced “zero-click searches” whereby users receive an answer to their search query without clicking on a link to a website. As a consequence, marketers are already reporting a drop in Organic traffic.
The layout of the search engine results page has changed. It’s a deliberate attempt by search engines to become “knowledge engines” that keep the user engaged longer and thereby exposed to more advertising. Even ChatGPT has a search feature now, which can deliver better results with greater contextual relevance than a standard search engine.
Your SEO strategy must evolve in 2025. Focus on optimizing for voice search to take advantage of the growing use of smart speakers in homes and voice activated search on mobile devices. Develop a strategy to get featured in AI chat bots (like ChatGPT), which now show source links in their responses. Modify your content to be showcased in Google’s “People Also Ask” section.
Essentially, think beyond the standard SEO optimization for SERP results and take advantage of the new paradigm for organic link placements.
5. Double Down on Local Search for Small Businesses
For small businesses with physical locations, local SEO is critical. Despite the ubiquity of ecommerce and online ordering, people still visit local businesses for a myriad of services. Getting customers through your door requires a renewed focus on local search and online reviews.
Optimize your Google Business Profile, use location-based keywords, and encourage customer reviews to increase trust in your business. Our recommendation is to extend these practices to social media, where you can further enhance a customer’s experience with your brand and offer a richer behind the scenes look than the standard picture portfolio on your Google Business Profile.
Also, don’t forget: there are other business listings available online. Although Google Maps is still the king for directions, Apple Maps and Waze (among others) give you a deeper reach to other users. Expand your online listings to other touchpoints that guide shoppers to your store.
6. PPC Strategies Are Now Essential for Visibility
Pay-Per-Click advertising is still one of the best ways to ensure premier visibility on search engine results pages. With organic reach becoming harder to achieve as mentioned above, PPC campaigns allow your business to appear right where your audience is looking after every search query.
For the moment, search engines still prioritize advertisements at the top of the page and throughout the search experience. This makes sense, since it drives their revenue and thus keeps them in business. Multiple industries are still thriving by capitalizing on PPC as a sales generator. Since search behavior has the highest intent, your PPC ads will reach users when they are actively searching for products and services.
We understand that PPC can be expensive and complicated, especially if you’re not using a data-driven approach to your campaign strategy. Many marketing managers don’t understand the intricacies and complexities of PPC advertising. As a result, Google now offers Performance Max as a means of capitalizing on this ignorance.
Performance Max (or PMax) aims to automate and simplify the PPC experience. It’s a sort of PPC for the layman. But be cautious. Google’s ultimate motive is to make money, and it hasn’t proven itself trustworthy with ad budgets. Many marketers report lackluster results with PMax driving actual revenue-generating conversions.
In lieu of trusting Google with your money, our advice is to hire a digital marketing agency partner that knows what they’re doing when it comes to PPC.
7. Branding Is More Important Than Ever
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Branding is more important now than ever before. Strong branding sets you apart in saturated marketplaces like search engines and social media – and in a fractured media landscape that makes it hard to stand out.
A clear, compelling brand identity helps customers discover and remember your company. It’s what encourages people to talk about your products and services, telling your story to their friends, family and colleagues. The good news is that there are countless ways to raise awareness of your brand at a fraction of the cost of more direct marketing methods.
Of course, it starts with a rock solid brand identity and story. Invest wisely in your brand and people will feel compelled to do your marketing for you.
8. Create Value-Driven Content That Speaks to Your Audience
In an economy where every dollar counts, content needs to do more than fill a blog or social feed. It needs to deliver real value. Instead of creating content solely to please algorithms, focus on addressing your audience’s needs, pain points, and aspirations.
Take a value-driven approach to marketing by highlighting how your product or service solves specific problems or enhances their lives. For B2B audiences, this could mean showcasing ROI through case studies or practical guides. For B2C customers, create engaging, relatable content that reinforces trust and loyalty, like how-to videos, testimonials, or behind-the-scenes stories.
The goal is simple: Shift the conversation from cost to value. When your audience understands the benefits of working with you, they’re far more likely to engage and convert. Quality, not quantity, wins every time.
9. Update Your Website for Modern Users
Your website is your digital storefront. In many cases it’s the first place where customers experience the full vision of your brand and its value. Your website is where you can have the biggest impact to convert visitors into customers.
It used to be the case that a company could design a website that would last 3-4 years or more. These days marketing moves at the speed of light, and what appealed to users two years ago has already fallen out of style. To complicate matters, as your company changes and pivots, so should your website.
Ensure your website is fast, mobile-friendly, and visually appealing. If you’re running PPC or SEO strategies, be sure that your website is set up to generate opportunities. Modern web users expect a seamless experience, so invest in intuitive navigation, engaging design, and clear calls-to-action to drive conversions.
10. Partner with Full-Service Marketing Agencies
In 2023 and 2024 we witnessed consolidation of specialized marketing agencies. PPC and SEO firms that engage in low cost / low service high volume models have been consumed by larger companies. Industry-siloed agencies have been devoured by CRM and data companies that offer marketing services as a value-add to their subscriptions.
As a result, many marketing agencies are moving away from specialization and toward full-service capabilities. This makes sense. As businesses struggle to make more with less, full service marketing partners allow companies to enjoy the marketing talents of a broader team without the associated overhead or HR distractions.
Partnering with an experienced team like Divining Point ensures that all aspects of your marketing strategy are integrated and cohesive. Whether you need web design, branding, PPC, SEO, or more, a full-service partner can help you achieve your goals more efficiently.
Ready, Set, Go: 2025 Is Yours for the Taking
2025 is poised to bring both opportunities and challenges to the marketing world. By embracing these 10 recommendations, your business can stay competitive, engage customers effectively, and achieve measurable results.
Ready to elevate your marketing strategy? Contact us today and let’s do something special together.