Global Marketing Trends in the Dutch Market

In the Netherlands, across all industries, we’re witnessing these four trends alongside another: the rise of honest business and conscious consumerism. The Dutch Conscious Consumerism Report shows an increasing shift towards choosing brands based on the transparency of their sustainability efforts, although 60 per cent of consumers are not willing to pay extra for it. Consumers believe that change must come from the government and from companies themselves stepping up to enable conscious consumerism via more circular business models, for example.

Marketers must anticipate and respond to this behaviour, particularly evident in young consumers who believe ‘green’ must be quantifiable. There is already positive movement: 50 per cent of CMOs surveyed said they are focusing on improving sustainability in their internal marketing practices.

Another notable global trend playing out in the Netherlands is being driven by unprecedented complexity. Marketers are focusing more on balancing long-term engagement and short-term gain. To do this, they need to define a clear strategy for all the engagement channels available and make use of continuous innovation in technology to deliver it. The challenge is to find parity between omnichannel engagement with consumers and consistency in the collection of data, as well as the ability to capitalise on that data.

Let’s look at three industries experiencing these trends in the Dutch market.

Financial services industry

The diversity of banks’ clientele makes it challenging to serve all clients holistically, and the opportunities technology offers seems to add to the complexity. Choices on ‘where to focus’ and good insights on ‘how to be successful’ within the focus areas are needed to achieve consistency. Integrated marketing planning across the organization is helpful to align and focus all efforts in line with the choices made to deliver the aspired marketing success. Considering the limited growth potential from new client acquisition in the Netherlands, another clear trend is focusing more on existing customer bases.

The financial services industry is reviewing its ‘systems communication’ (customer communication generated automatically by standardised processes supported by systems). It’s also increasing its use of conversational commerce – via messaging, chat, voice and digital human technology – to enhance customer interactions. Supported by technology and data, customer communications can continue to mature and deliver on brand and commercial objectives.

This industry is also strongly considering the sustainability push. Deloitte is working with banks and insurance companies on strategies to meet ESG regulations – for example, tracking CO2 footprints and recasting mortgages as sustainable financial instruments. But with a lengthy value chain, it’s tricky to achieve full transparency. In addition, banks are torn between meeting business objectives on one hand, and, on the other, increasing complexity to help customers make better choices to foster sustainability.

Finally, the impending pension transformation will impact all financial services companies and require on-point communication, driven by data to make it relevant to customers. As we described in our white paper De reis naar een nieuw pensioen contract begint vandaag, many financial services organisations have already started their initiatives to be ready for the final deadline of the transition in 2027.

Consumer industry

Signs of creativity for growth and investments to counter market instability are evident in the Dutch consumer market. Companies have learned that investing in – and gaining insights from – technology, data and privacy creates a stable foundation for better engagement.

Creativity and great content are at the heart of successful customer engagement. Another invaluable tool is employing loyalty strategies/programmes and personalised services. Deloitte’s FMCG (fast-moving consumer goods) clients have seen significant success in complementing brand-led communications with consumer need-based communications, building long-term customer relationships. Recently, Deloitte helped a leading brand transform its marketing operating model to strengthen its consumer need-based communications by defining the moments that matter to customers and streamlining data consolidation.

Central to these efforts is data, which is becoming more important and consistent in FMCG companies and retail. At the core of any brand strategy should be coordinating technology that enables data to perform better. Marketers could also ask themselves: Is there a better way to monetise the data? An example might be improving the digital checkout experience.

Consumer brands have been early adopters of sustainability targets but have also faced accusations of ‘greenwashing’. They’re exercising more caution now, focusing on being more honest and transparent about what they’ve really achieved.

Media, telecommunications and technology industry

In this industry, CMOs will play a leading role in driving omnichannel marketing across the journey toward exceptional customer experience (CX). Data – and how to best leverage it for practical use – is a challenge here, too. How do you build a first-party data strategy, and how does it affect the brand? The ambitious discussion of these questions must transform into real action.

An outside-in perspective on partnerships and uses for data will be crucial. The successful transition to a cookie-less world requires more investment in an effective channel-based approach to reporting.

The adoption of emerging technologies for competitive advantage is gathering speed. Conversational commerce is vital to this industry, too. And the media industry is seeing a particular investment in a direct-to-consumer approach – the ability to extract data from streaming services, for example.

There’s a different dynamic at play in tech-based industries, some of which are seeing shifts from product businesses to service businesses. Again, this requires data, and marketers will find themselves being data miners and owners, feeding insights back into proposition development.

Global Marketing Trends 2022

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How can we help?

In the Netherlands, Deloitte has helped many CMOs navigate these complexities. We work closely with clients to truly understand the root cause of a challenge, or an opportunity for growth, and tailor a solution based on best practices – from initial advice to implementation. For more information, contact one of our experts.