Wray Ward’s Insights team uses data to determine brand essence and audience persona, develop brand statements and map the customer’s journey. This type of thorough planning helps brands identify and set the right goals for reaching the right audience at the right time.

During our work in 2013, we started to see trends emerge that we believe will be the "next big thing" in 2014.

Shifting Focus on Experience Mapping

Savvy marketers will shift their current focus on the "customer purchase journey" to a broader perspective of "experience mapping." Experience mapping helps brands better understand the entire experience a customer has with their brand across a multitude of interactions, media and influencers. It also gives us a more complete picture of a consumer’s experience with a brand, giving us keen insight into new ways and times to reach consumers and turn them into brand advocates.

Big Data Wha--?

These days, it’s easier to develop a 300-slide presentation full of data than it is to create a single clear and actionable insight. Many savvy marketers and managers will stop panicking about Big Data in 2014 and will focus on doing a better job with the information they already have. Big Data, while very real and extremely valuable to many companies, has been extremely over-hyped and is not an appropriate investment for every organization. What is necessary is an evidence-based culture that is adept at extracting insights from and supporting operating and marketing decisions with data it already has or can readily access.

What other trends, products or techniques do you expect to see this year? Share your thoughts in the comments below.