How can marketers sieve through the noise to develop the right martech solutions that can meet the demands of an automated world and an audience that never stands still?
Gary Vaynerchuk once said, “Content is king but marketing is queen and runs the household.” Undoubtedly, most content or products, for that matter, fail to reap the maximum value without the right type or sufficient marketing. Such is the impact of marketing in our present times, where endless information flows fast and furious.
How can marketing be maximised to reach the targets and objectives in an increasingly digitised and automated world? Where can we find intel that can project budgets to create targeted campaigns that can yield the best results to enable results? Martech solutions such as software and tools help make this possible.
According to IDC’s latest Worldwide Semiannual Artificial Intelligence Tracker released last month, global revenues for the AI market including software, hardware and services are expected to grow by 15.2% each year in 2021 to a whopping $341.8 billion.
Such is the phenomenal impact of automation in the Martech sector that enables businesses to make informed decisions on user experience that can help sales growth projection as well as tailoring the way they cater to their potential partners and clientele.
Disruption is the name of the game, with businesses fighting to stay relevant through increased digitisation. The vast array of software and tools can either be a boon or a bane to an organisation’s marketing team. How can marketers sieve through the noise to develop the right martech solutions that can meet the demands of an automated world and an audience that never stands still?
Research, research and research
In the past, conventional research analysis through surveys or focus groups used to be the modus operandi for research. Now, technology is used to tap on consumer behaviour for intel such as demographics, types and patterns. Instead of street surveys, we have data science collating real-time market research that makes marketer’s jobs easier to understand their target audience more closely than in the past. Click on to watch a YouTube video and you have an AI-powered chatbot popping up to ask whether you have come across a specific brand in the past week. It is as simple as that. Marketers and related teams need to tap on the right type of research that can yield the right intel to facilitate the best decisions.
What do customers want or need?
All businesses serve customers. Putting the customer as the top priority bodes well for any organisation, be it a corner shop or a conglomerate. What does a customer want? What kind of products serve a customer best? Businesses need to undertake a needs-based approach to their customers, ensuring their product or service is deemed a ‘need’ rather than a ‘want’.
AI-backed A/B testing optimises marketers’ product recommendation strategy to customers – giving them what they want or, more precisely, through gauging audience reactions within seconds instead of days with the older versions. This is even more critical in recent times when downturns have led to decreased departmental budgets and the need to justify ROI spend is greater.
Future of AI in marketing
With all the automated tools and software platforms at our disposal, does this mean the days of marketers are numbered? It’s not that simple. With almost exacting budgets, AI-powered Martech has made businesses more efficient and has optimised their strategies for the best results. Nevertheless, human beings are still needed to power the data behind it or, more importantly, comprehend it without bias. The technology still needs to be monitored and fine-tuned by people to garner the best use of it for the greater good of the collective. In other words, we do need marketers to make AI work for us – in the right way, for the right purpose.
Marketers in the age of the disruption
The pandemic disrupted the way we work and play forever, forcing many into self-isolation out of choice and circumstance. Amidst constrained settings with travel restrictions, customers are craving unique, worthwhile and interesting experiences. Human-beings crave new experiences and customer expectations reflect this, especially with the advent of digital transformation.
A good way to manage this is to create a multi-fold approach of AI and ML-powered data-science. This approach should facilitate the right experience for customers to make them feel connected to others even when they are not.
We live in challenging and yet, interesting times. Nowhere in history has there been a time where knowledge can really serve mileage in our work and personal lives. Harnessing the power of technology has shifted how we work and live. As we pivot to the next normal, we can be confident of navigating the pitfalls and the potential of the challenges that we face both as businesses and consumers through undertaking the right decisions utilising knowledge gained – powered by innovative Martech solutions and platforms.
