[Posted by Erin Collins,
Marketing Intern, Neolane, Inc.]

With the massive adoption of social networks, a significant increase in the number of American smartphone users, and the subsequent changes in consumers’ receipt and ability to react to marketing messages, 2011 was an eventful year for marketers. As 2012 rapidly approaches, here are a few key trends that we expect to see impact the future of brands’ customer relationships:

Widespread Adoption of “Near Field Communications” (NFC)

The rise in NFC, which allows smartphones to interact with nearby devices to submit credit card payments, will enable consumers to quickly and easily complete payment transmissions. Research In Motion certified two phones (the BlackBerry Bold 9900 and the BlackBerry Curve 9360) for PayPass in 2011—the MasterCard NFC payment application. Currently, phones on the Android, Symbian and Bada operating systems also have the capacity to support NFC functions, and rumor has it that Apple and Windows plan to integrate these capabilities into future phones. If these rumors prove to be true, then the vast majority of smartphones will be NFC-enabled, making NFC technology a force to be reckoned with in 2012.

But, beyond the ease of payment transactions, how will marketers benefit?  This article from Mashable describes is well, saying “NFC’s promise is in allowing a merchant to build a better relationship with a customer through transactions on a smartphone. When consumers check out, they can connect their transaction to loyalty cards and programs and can get additional offers on in-store items. They can also check-in to locations using NFC as well to find deals and coupons. When tied into location-based offers, merchants can draw in nearby users for deals, which they can verify through NFC. That will help produce more qualified customers and allow merchants to shift their marketing dollars to more targeted mobile channels.”

Consumers Make Purchases Directly from Facebook

Facebook Brand Pages now have the ability to fully integrate with a Brand’s selling process, allowing consumers to make a purchase without ever leaving the social network. While some companies, such as Delta, have seized the opportunities that this innovation offers, most companies have yet to catch on.

In 2012, consumers will experience an increase in the number of opportunities to make purchases within the Facebook interface, and marketers should prepare for this opportunity by taking advantage of available social opt-in functionality that enables them to establish trusted, personalized one-to-one relationships with consumers on Facebook, while driving targeted, relevant offers to improve loyalty and sales potential.

Consumers Use Free Services to Manage Social Channels

Most consumers enjoy the experience of interacting with friends, family and the companies they do business with on social channels, but sometimes the maintenance and monitoring of these networks can be a full-time job. In 2012, consumers will increasingly turn to services like Bottlenose, which filters content that reaches users based on personal interests. Free services of this type will allow consumers to reduce the amount of “interruptive” marketing and force marketers to find a way to disseminate marketing messages that are relevant and of interest the consumer. Just like the challenges faced by email marketing professionals, cutting through the clutter and building and sustaining one-to-one dialogues with potential customers will become even more important to a company’s success.

These are our predictions, what do you think 2012 has in store for marketers seeking to transform customer relationships?