• by Laurie Sullivan , Staff Writer @lauriesullivan, August 21, 2019

Top trends for 2019 and 2020 marketing strategies show that search is low on the scale of priorities, according to data released Wednesday.

Only 21% of the 1,000 creative and digital marketing decision-makers surveyed in Mondo’s report cited visual search as being important to their marketing strategy through 2020. And only 10% cited voice search.

The survey was conducted from May 14 through June 14 via email, by SurveyMonkey. 

On the other end of the spectrum, video marketing topped the list. Some 76% said video marketing will be important to their 2020 strategies. GDPR compliance followed at 55%, and artificial intelligence and machine learning tech or services came in at 41%. Experiential marketing ranked No. 4 with 38%, followed by reactive design at No. 5 with 31%, micro moments at No. 6 with 28%, and motion design at No. 7 with 24%.  

Voice search remains a low priority for digital marketers. Only 17% said they already have optimized their website or plan to optimize it for voice search within the next 12 months. The remainder do not.

For visual search, 35% have already optimized or plan to optimize their websites for visual search. The remainder do not.

Audience targeting at 86% tops the technologies that have supported search strategies most during the next year, followed by keywords at 83%, remarketing at 76%, video at 55%, interactive content at 41% and automation and artificial intelligence at 28%.

When it comes to website design, brands fall flat. Only 62% of surveyed companies, regardless of their size and employee count, have only between one and five design-focused roles.

Studies have been conducted that focus on the value of design. The report cites a McKinsey October 2018 study that tracked design practices of 300 publicly listed companies during a 5-year period to identify four themes that correlated with improved financial performance.

Analytical leadership, all-encompassing UX, cross-functional talent, and continuous iteration are the top four areas. Design teams at companies ranked highly across these four themes produce two times the rate of revenue and shareholder returns of their competitors, per the McKinsey study.

One thing is for sure -- remaining competitive takes change, continuous research, and investments.