How can marketers use what they learned this year to plan better campaigns for next year? What is one specific marketing lesson you learned this year that will help you plan better campaigns next year? Here is what 9 thought leaders have to say.
- Build Flexible Strategies
- Prioritize Authenticity Over Polished Content
- Leverage AI Tools for Efficiency and Creativity
- AI Tools for Efficiency and Creativity
- Balance AI with Human-Centric Marketing
- Identify Gaps from Previous Campaigns
- Data Collection to Build Long Term Results
- Understand Influences on Campaign Performance
- Listen To Your Audience Not Trends
Build Flexible Strategies
Marketers can use this year’s lessons to craft better campaigns by focusing on adaptability and data-driven decision making. One crucial lesson I’ve observed this year is the importance of deeply understanding customer behavior shifts, especially in a volatile market. For example, a client in the e-commerce space saw a significant drop in conversion rates mid-year. Using my years of experience and research, including insights from my study on 675 entrepreneurs, I guided them to pivot their approach. We analyzed customer feedback and found that buyers were hesitant due to unclear delivery timelines. By revamping their messaging to highlight transparency and reliability, paired with a dynamic retargeting campaign, the business saw an increase in sales within three months. This outcome highlighted how understanding the “why” behind customer hesitation is often more critical than chasing new leads blindly.
As someone with experience scaling businesses internationally, I’ve learned that agility combined with a strong foundation of data can transform campaigns. Next year, marketers should prioritize building flexible strategies that account for rapid changes, like shifts in economic conditions or consumer preferences.The key is to blend experience with constant learning to stay ahead of the curve.
Ronald Osborne, Founder, Ronald Osborne Business Coach
Prioritize Authenticity Over Polished Content
I learned that authenticity resonates more than perfectly polished content. In my recent social media campaign for a local coffee shop, our behind-the-scenes stories showing baristas crafting drinks and interacting with customers generated 3x more engagement than our professional product photos. This taught me that audiences crave genuine connections and real experiences. For next year’s campaigns, I’ll focus on creating more user-generated content and authentic storytelling rather than overly produced content, allowing our brand’s true personality to shine through and foster deeper customer relationships.
Abdullah Prem, Digital Marketer, Bloggersneed
Leverage AI Tools for Efficiency and Creativity
We were late adopters of AI marketing tools this year, and it held us back. Initially, our team was hesitant about integrating these technologies, but we quickly realized how much efficiency and creativity we were missing. By leveraging AI for visual content and campaign assets, we’ve transformed our global marketing approach – producing higher-quality materials faster and more consistently than ever before. Every time we received a new certification or launched a new project, our go-to marketing time for each announcement significantly reduced thanks to easy-to-deploy AI tools. Moving forward, these tools aren’t just an option; they’re a critical part of our strategy to scale content creation and maintain our competitive edge.
Ashwin Thapliyal, Head of Marketing, Exemplifi
Balance AI with Human-Centric Marketing
2024 was a year of rapid digital transformation, and one key lesson I learned was the importance of balancing AI-driven strategies with human-centric marketing. While AI can automate tasks and generate data-driven insights, it can’t replace the human touch that’s essential for fostering meaningful connections with your audience.
If you over rely on AI for your content creation, planning, etc. you run the risk of not developing a deep understanding of your product, its value, and your target market.
In 2025, I’ll focus on using AI to personalize marketing messages with a human touch and leverage AI-powered analytics to inform creative strategies.
Authentic storytelling investing in creating high-quality content that provides value and resonates with the target audience.
Strong brand building: Defining a unique value proposition and building a strong brand identity that reflects the brand’s values.
Abhishek Joshi, Digital Marketer, Dog with Blog
Identify Gaps from Previous Campaigns
Marketers can use the insights gained this year to plan better campaigns by analyzing what worked and what didn’t-whether it’s through reviewing performance metrics, customer feedback, or market trends. Reflecting on past campaigns helps identify successful strategies, gaps, and areas for improvement. One specific marketing lesson I learned this year is the importance of personalized content. Tailoring content to individual customer segments based on data-driven insights leads to better engagement and higher conversion rates. In planning for next year, I will focus on leveraging more advanced segmentation and personalization tactics to ensure campaigns resonate more deeply with targeted audiences.
Shreya Jha, Social Media Expert, Appy Pie
Data Collection to Build Long Term Results
This year taught us that much of the analytics data we’ve relied on in past years has become outdated due to shifts in privacy regulations and tracking limitations. Starting in 2025, it’s critical to prioritize accurate data collection and rebuild a reliable foundation for long-term marketing strategies. Integrating tools like customer data platforms (CDPs) ensures a more complete and actionable view of customer behavior. This allows marketers to adapt campaigns based on real insights rather than incomplete or outdated metrics, setting the stage for more innovative, more effective campaigns in the coming year.
Mike Zima, Chief Marketing Officer, Zima Media
Optimize Promotions Based on Search Trends
Review when people start searching for seasonal products you sell and also when they start buying. Typically, searches start earlier by 7-10 days (or longer for big ticket items).
Then use those dates to ramp up promotions and feature popular products by the time searches occur. Use upselling and cross-selling features on your website to maximize visibility on those items.
Also create email and social media campaigns to coincide with your new insights on when people search. Offer your best deals during the time you saw maximum sales of those items in past years.
Now is a great time to determine what products are fading in demand and which you may want to expand your offerings on. Wait to add to your inventory until after the tax cut-off if possible if you pay inventory taxes.
Gail Gardner, Small Business Marketing Strategist, GrowMap
Understand Influences on Campaign Performance
Understanding the ‘how’ and ‘why’ of a campaign’s performance is key to making adjustments in the new year. While it’s important to track efficacy and impact, knowing what has influenced the campaign is key to making it more effective. Based on your KPIs, review performance each quarter as well as year-over-year per quarter (if available) and weigh positive and negative factors—such as economics, social, political, normal buying cycles, pricing and offers—and how these types of influences moved the needle in any direction. Data-informed decisions, as well as transparency with leadership stakeholders, keep marketers employed in an economic landscape that promises to be tense in 2025.
Catherine Calame, Marketing and Communications Strategist
Listen To Your Audience Not Trends
Marketers should start by taking an honest look at what actually worked-not just the big wins but the small shifts that made a difference. Did a certain type of content get more engagement than expected? Did a specific platform surprise you with conversions? Pay attention to these details because they often hold the answers to what resonates with your audience.
The biggest takeaway? Don’t fall into the trap of chasing trends just because they’re “hot.” Trends fade, but understanding your audience’s behavior and adapting to it will always pay off. For next year, focus on consistency-whether that’s in your messaging, content creation, or the way you show up for your audience. It’s the steady, reliable presence that builds trust and drives results, not the flashy campaigns you launch and abandon.
This year, I learned the importance of leaving space for real-time adjustments. I used to plan campaigns down to the last detail, but I realized that flexibility is a marketer’s best friend. One campaign I ran started with a clear strategy, but halfway through, I noticed a particular post was getting a lot of unexpected attention. Instead of sticking rigidly to my original plan, I leaned into that momentum and created more content around the topic. The result? A 30% higher engagement rate than I had anticipated for the whole campaign.
Next year, I’m building more room for experimentation. Planning is critical, but staying open to what your audience is telling you in real time can turn a good campaign into a great one.
Michelle Merz, Marketing Consultant, Slantics
