For most companies, January is a month of planning, organizing and budgeting for the different action items in the coming year. In order to develop the most relevant and precise strategies, the key is anticipation and to do so, it is crucial to look back at what happened last year.

Here are four marketing trends to give you an overview of what needs to be addressed in the year ahead.

1)    High quality content and design are (still) kings

Though it may seem like it is mentioned every year, high quality content paired with great design will still assure you receive great feedback from customers and improve your credibility with prospects. It will help you develop a relationship with clients and encourage them to come back to check you out on a regular basis. Whether it is on a website, in a video or for an ad, creating valuable, appealing content will definitely give you a leg up.

2)    Mobile and multi-screen marketing

Mobile marketing was definitely on the rise last year, and it is going to keep growing. More and more mobile devices are coming to market and they are bringing more users with them. Brands that provide users with mobile content via apps and websites, smooth interactions between their different platforms and support customers by keeping them up-to-date on the latest developments will win loyalty, extra visibility through social media and, ultimately, more revenue.

3)    Big data + cloud services = informed decision making

Once again, the most important word tying all your marketing efforts together is data. And in order to be efficient when developing your marketing strategy, you need to collect and record this vital information using web-based tools. Quick and easy access to your data will help you manage all your marketing efforts, whether they are email campaigns, SEO actions, improved landing pages or even website analytics.

4)    Visualization

The web and the world are becoming much more visually oriented, so your marketing needs to become so as well. The skyrocketing popularity of both infographics and exhibition through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest is telling marketers that visuals are a key component of any communication strategy. Don’t let large blocks of text come between you and your audience; pretty it up and prepare for success.