The $22.6 billion marketing industry wasn’t front of mind for Bill Gates when he stated that “automation applied to an inefficient operation will magnify the inefficiency”, but it should still pay close attention.
The technology marketers are using has changed dramatically in the past five years, and many businesses are racing to implement these shiny new solutions as quickly as possible. However, when doing so, many of them don’t consider whether they have the right people and procedures in place to do so – which could lead to having poorly executed marketing initiatives providing disappointing results. As Gates stated, existing inefficiencies will be magnified, because root issues with faulty processes and misaligned skillsets have not been addressed.
Harmonise your marketing and IT
From conversations with fellow B2B marketing leaders, digital appears to have been a key focus for the industry in 2015, and I assume it will continue to be a top priority as we head towards 2016. This means that marketers will inevitably venture into IT territory, and vice versa. It’s therefore paramount that they are regularly speaking to CIOs outside the boardroom and join forces on the digital front. The IT department can be invaluable in providing technical support to help map the customer journey and every customer touchpoint, helping to make the end-to-end process seamless. As a result of implementing and supporting marketing technology (martech) in a more effective way, you will find yourself making cost savings as well as a better return on investment.
Think about your skillset
But it’s not just the barriers to IT you need to break down. To ensure you are making the most of your new marketing technology, you need to have the correct skillset in your own team to be able to use technology to its full potential. Logical, analytical thinking and the ability to tell stories with data are just as important as more traditional marketing skills such as being creative and producing good copy. However, most marketers admit they aren’t technology experts just yet. Recent research from Canon and analyst house Forrester revealed that only 26 per cent of us claim that half of our role involves the use of martech. The good news, though, is that marketers are increasingly aware of this issue. More than two thirds see technical obstacles as a top challenge in servicing customers on multiple channels, and as a result, are better positioned to address this skills gap.
One piece of the puzzle
By itself, technology is not going to solve all your marketing problems. However, if used as part of a wider marketing strategy, it can create big results. Your team may be excited to get started with martech straight away, but rather than risking your brand’s reputation, take the time to understand the technology tools and the data available to you. By putting processes in place and training your team first, you will be able to use your martech to its fullest capability.
By John Marks, UK marketing manager at Canon
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