Throughout its history, humankind never developed in a linear way. Rather than steady, year-by-year progress, we see periods of fast development, with one innovation chasing the other. Then there are decades of consolidation and evolution of innovation.

The same is true for Marketing. After a couple of decades of steady growth and adoption of digital technologies, Marketing Technology is now set to help the human race take another quantum leap. Five years from now, leading organizations will have completed their digital transformation. Marketing technology will drive that change, and those who don’t invest now are likely to be left behind.

WHAT IS MARKETING TECHNOLOGY, ANYWAYS

Marketing technology — or MarTech — is the result of the interfacing and interaction of marketing and technology. It would be easy to argue that the two fields have been intertwined for centuries, with emerging technology creating new opportunities for marketers.

But never before have marketing and technology been integrated to this degree, where platforms, apps, and software are far more than a vehicle to transport a message. Today’s MarTech helps businesses curate and provide meaningful experiences for customers. Using it wisely can make or break your business over the next five to ten years.

In many ways, the digital transformation of all aspects of our lives started 40 years ago when IBM launched the first personal computers. However, the past two years have led to a critical difference between then and now. The coronavirus pandemic has accelerated the digital transformation dramatically.

A survey conducted by consulting firm McKinsey tells a clear story of a rapid shift in customer interactions towards digital channels. Globally, the adoption of digital technologies accelerated by an average of three years. Digital products and services leaped even further ahead, with a global average of seven years. Strikingly, developed parts of Asia moved ahead by more than ten years. A quantum leap indeed.

This quick adoption shows that customers were ready to embrace the use of technology. The next five years will show which organizations can best harness the power of MarTech.

THE MILESTONES

Marketing in its purest form dates back to the first century when farmers and traders praised their wares at local markets. Rhetoric and product quality became the main drivers of success for sellers until sales moved indoors and the first medieval shopping malls created destinations for shoppers.

That first quantum leap took twelve centuries, but the next one only took four: around the 17th century, the first mail-order catalog appeared. 200 years later — another quantum leap happens when a French paper introduces paid advertising. No sooner had other papers adapted the practice than they started worrying about metrics and reach.

Throughout the 20th century, the pace of innovation increased as did the use of technology in marketing: radio commercials, television commercials, and the first e-commerce transaction in 1994, when Dan Kohn a 21-year-old economics graduate — sold a CD to a friend who was 300 miles away are great examples.

But the most dramatic shift was yet to come: the transition to digitization picked up the pace at the beginning of this century, and the dominance of marketing technology will change the way marketers and CMOs make decisions forever.

Leading Marketing Technology Components

Thirty years ago, replying to customer inquiries by email may have set your company apart. Now, email is considered slow by many customers who have come to expect an immediate reply. Cue the advent of instant messaging and chatbots.

The point is, MarTech will change as it grows. The story of change will be driven by consumers rather than products. Your strategy needs to put the customer firmly in the center to be successful. Whilst each company has different requirements, five areas of MarTech are critical to most. They don’t work in a vacuum, separately from each other. For each element to reach its full potential, it must be integrated with the others.

1. Customer Data Platforms

Customer data platforms (CDP) are the place where integration happens. Like a spiderweb, they hold customer information gathered from various sources and create one single, unique customer profile.

As your organization gathers more data, your CDP needs to grow to accommodate it and make it available to all other elements of your MarTech stack. According to industry leaders asked by Statista, a solid CDP is the number one technology within their MarTech stack.

2. Personalized Experience

Gone are the days when one TV commercial helped a brand reach all its target audiences. Today’s customers have already come to expect brands to provide a personalized experience across their marketing channels. In today’s digital world online, offline, traditional, AI/ML all becomes digitized in one way or another to provide personalized experience to curate the customer experience and centricity.

In addition, the nature of the interaction has changed. Brands used to broadcast commercials and expect consumers to buy their products. Personalized marketing experiences now involve two-way conversations and interactions. Those interactions are at the heart of providing a truly personal experience.

On a large scale, they take effort and require investment in the first place. However, this is the approach that delivers better returns on investment in the long term.

3. Omnichannel Journey

Customer journeys used to be linear and relatively simple to describe. Over the past two decades, digital technology has turned this linear journey into a patchwork of sorts. Customers touch brands across a multitude of channels.

A true omnichannel customer journey is like a symphony. No matter which musical instrument may be taking the lead at a given time, they all play their part in creating a musical masterpiece. Compare that to a customer researching your brand on your website, followed by a few review websites, before sending an instant message to clarify aspects of a digital product. Eventually, the customer places an order over the phone. A few weeks later they leave a review on one of your social media platforms. If their experience has been consistent across each of the touchpoints, the review will be positive.

If there is discord between the channels, the customer may never place the order, or the review may not be positive. Blueshift CEO Vijay Chittoor has found that brands that get their omnichannel strategy right, benefit from nearly 90% customer retention compared to 33% for other brands.

4. Audience Management

Audience management refers to the art (or science?) of reaching the right person with the right message at the right time. To facilitate that, you want to know as much as possible about your target audience, especially when it comes to their intent to purchase.

Too many brands waste time and budget on showing customers products they have already bought. Keeping messages relevant and audiences engaged is only possible if you are gathering the right customer data.

5. Data Analytics

Every element of marketing technology is based on data gathering and data analytics. Gathering more data is only one part of understanding your customers better. Without meaningful metrics and analytics, the sheer amount of data can become overwhelming.

Gaining actionable insights relies on asking the right questions. Depending on your product and the stage of the customer journey an individual is on, understanding how customers interact with your brand is critical. As mentioned above, intent to purchase is equally crucial.

When it comes to repeat customers, data analytics helps identify patterns in customer behavior and makes it easier to engage at the right time. Do share your experience and thoughts on what do you think about these technologies.

‍

As an Industry Leader and Martech Professional serving clients from last more than 14 years, I as a MarTech/Operations leader I not only help brands sell more, although that’s where it starts. My contribution is to help the customer get brands to listen to what they want and need and do so within the context of their ever-changing, digitally driven, always connected world. I help define how brands can move from one size fits all to one to one personalized experience for customers by delivering data driven, insights based, measured analytics and customer relationship management based marketing solutions through competitive technology. How I do it ? It’s part art, part science, a lot of consulting and utilizing the best tools and technology. Bringing my passion towards data and customer experience everyday in my job, I reach challenging targets at the sublime level. Do let us know and we can help you transform your journey to curate meaningful experiences for your customers.