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Most marketing advice online sounds good in theory, but falls apart in real execution. Over the years, working with different brands and clients through I’ve noticed that the strategies that consistently drive growth are usually not the “viral hacks” people talk about on social media. Instead, they’re practical marketing pillars that improve positioning, customer experience, trust and long-term visibility.

From market research and AI integration to app-based customer experiences, reviews and industry positioning, these are the marketing strategies I believe more businesses should start paying attention to before their competitors do.

1. Start with researching the market

One of the biggest mistakes I see companies make is jumping straight into execution before fully understanding the market they’re entering. Before we start working with any client, I usually spend a few hours doing basic market research, even when the client doesn’t have the budget for a deeper research process. I’d rather understand the audience, competitors and buying behavior first instead of shooting in the dark and hoping something sticks.

What’s interesting is that this shift is happening across the entire industry. According to , 87% of market researchers worldwide say that at least half of their qualitative research is now done remotely or online, which shows how much easier it has become for brands to gather insights quickly before making decisions. In many cases, a few hours of proper research can save months of wasted marketing effort later.

2. Do SEO with AI optimization in mind

According to , Google AI Overviews appeared in around 18% of all Google searches in 2025, while searches that triggered AI Overviews saw click-through rate declines between 15% and 30%. Because of this shift, more businesses are starting to pay attention to AI Optimization (AIO) and how their brands appear inside AI systems like ChatGPT, Perplexity, Gemini and Copilot.

At the same time, I think there’s a misconception that companies now need completely separate strategies, teams and budgets for SEO and AI optimization. In reality, the two are heavily connected. AI optimization still relies on many of the same foundations as SEO, which means businesses can often combine both approaches into one strategy instead of treating them separately. This not only saves time and resources but also helps brands build stronger visibility across both traditional search engines and AI-driven discovery platforms.

For example, when building backlinks, it’s becoming more valuable to focus on natural brand mentions, positive sentiment and placements inside high-quality list articles where AI systems are more likely to pull recommendations from. The same mindset also applies to reviews, digital PR and topical authority.

3. Create an app as a marketing strategy

A lot of companies still see apps only as products, but in many cases, they can become one of the strongest marketing assets a brand has. Recently, we worked with a well-known personal trainer who built his entire business around his personal brand and online coaching. Instead of focusing only on content and ads, we helped create an app where clients could upload photos of their meals, track calories automatically and receive direct feedback on their training and nutrition. The app itself became part of the customer experience and made people interact with the brand daily instead of occasionally watching content on social media.

That’s why I believe almost every industry can find an angle for an app if the goal is to create a more useful and engaging experience around the brand. According to , app conversion rates are three times higher than mobile websites, while apps account for more than 70% of mobile sales for retailers that operate both. Once people install your app, you stop relying entirely on algorithms because your brand already has a direct place in the customer’s everyday routine.

4. Enhance your employees with AI instead of replacing them

Right now, a lot of companies are treating AI like an excuse to cut staff, but I think the smarter approach is to use it to make your existing team faster and more effective. We use AI internally as well, mostly to help with research, structuring ideas, analyzing data and handling repetitive tasks that normally waste hours every week. That gives the team more time to focus on strategy, communication and creative work instead of busywork.

In practice, AI often allows one skilled employee to do the work that previously required multiple people. According to , AI tools improve individual task-level productivity by 40% to 66% and can reduce completion times by as much as 80%. The companies seeing the biggest gains from AI are usually not the ones trying to remove humans from the process completely, but the ones finding between automation and human expertise.

5. Position your business around fast-growing industries

One marketing strategy that I believe more companies should think about is positioning themselves around fast-growing industries instead of competing in stagnant markets. Timing matters a lot in business, and sometimes being connected to the right trend can completely change how people perceive your brand.

We saw this clearly during the AI boom that started after the launch of OpenAI’s ChatGPT in 2022. Many companies suddenly tried to add “AI” to their branding, but the businesses that benefited the most were often the ones already building products or infrastructure connected to the industry before the hype exploded.

NVIDIA is probably one of the best examples. According to , NVIDIA stock was trading around $18 in 2022 and is now above $200 based on five-year market performance data, largely because AI systems rely heavily on the computing infrastructure the company provides.

Inside our own digital marketing agency, Create & Grow, we also adapted our services around this shift by building new offers connected to the AI boom, including AI optimization (AIO) services focused on improving visibility in large language models like ChatGPT, Perplexity and Copilot. As more people start using AI systems to discover brands, products and recommendations, we saw an opportunity early and decided to position ourselves around that trend instead of waiting for the market to become overcrowded.

I think this is something many businesses still underestimate. The companies that move early around fast-growing industries usually have a much easier time building authority and demand while everyone else is still trying to catch up.

6. Optimize your reviews for hyperlocal marketing

Optimizing reviews has become one of the most underrated marketing strategies, especially for local businesses. Reviews are no longer important only because potential customers read them manually. Now AI systems and large language models also analyze reviews, ratings and customer sentiment when recommending businesses to users, which makes them even more valuable.

We pay attention to reviews for every client we work with, but when it comes to local businesses, reviews become a major priority in our strategy because they can directly influence trust, conversions and visibility. We always look for ways to improve the review profile, encourage more authentic customer feedback and strengthen the overall reputation of the business online.

According to , 71% of consumers always or regularly read reviews when searching for a local business, and honestly, I think the real influence is probably even bigger now because reviews are shaping not only customer decisions but also how AI systems evaluate and recommend brands.

7. Use expert agencies for niches you don’t fully understand

One thing I’ve learned in marketing is that trying to do everything yourself usually slows growth down. If a client needs something outside your expertise, it’s often smarter to bring in specialists instead of pretending you know the niche deeply enough.

We recently had a client on a monthly SEO retainer where we were handling content, backlinks and digital PR, but they also wanted help with email marketing and Klaviyo campaigns because they already trusted our agency. Instead of trying to learn everything from scratch and risking poor execution, we partnered with an agency that specialized in email marketing. It helped the client get better results faster, while we also learned a lot from working closely with experts in that niche.

According to , email marketing retainers can range from $500 to $5,000 per month, with Klaviyo setup fees sometimes reaching another $1,000 to $5,000, so it makes sense to work with people who already understand the space deeply. I think many agencies hurt themselves by trying to appear good at everything instead of building strong partnerships with experts who have already spent years mastering specific channels.

At the end of the day, marketing is still about understanding people, building trust and staying visible where attention is moving. The platforms, algorithms and technologies will continue to change, but businesses that adapt early and focus on long-term positioning usually put themselves in a much stronger position than competitors who react too late.

Most of these strategies are not about chasing trends. They’re about building a stronger brand, improving customer experience and creating visibility across multiple channels at the same time. Companies that start thinking this way now will likely have a much easier time growing in the years ahead.