Marketing software increases competitiveness
Whereas IT managers used to be the decision-makers when it came to purchasing any software in the company, today, thanks to the cloud and the importance of the customer experience, it is increasingly marketing managers who have the budget to do so.
The software landscape is presented in a super graphic every year. In May 2018, this graphic already contained 6829 tools! In this article, we want to take a closer look at this. At the end of the article, you will also find an interview conducted at Inbound18 with Scott Brinker, the author of the annually published MarTech Supergraphics, was conducted.
Highly dynamic development in digital marketing
A lot is being written about the new customer journey and how marketing is having an ever greater influence on purchasing decisions. In the past, the influence of the marketing department was only 25%, today it is over 75%. Accordingly, the share of the sales department has fallen from 75% to 25%.
In order for the marketing department to achieve better results with digital marketing measures, it needs the right software. In fact, a complete MarTech stack is needed today to manage the many channels and data well. You can also use artificial intelligence, machine learning and predictive analytics. More about the right choice of MarTech Stack read in this guide.
Ideal customer journey - golden rule 7
In the past, the golden rule of 7 was taught, which states that a future customer needs at least 7 touchpoints before a sale is made. With today's digital possibilities, this has changed dramatically.
It's more about micro-engagements and you can already read that a sale requires between 14 and 20 touchpoints. Not only was Hubspot's new Flywheel presented in Boston, but also Lieberman's Cyclonic Buyer Journey. He has defined eight phases through which customers move relatively chaotically - like in a whirlwind: they range from cold contact (pre-awareness) to delivery and recommendation.
Integrations are crucial
In order to achieve a good customer experience, the most important functions must be integrated. The MarTech stack must work well together. If this is not the case, the possibilities are severely limited and the full potential is not exploited.
With simple automation, an email can be sent repeatedly until, for example, registration for the corresponding event has taken place. However, if such a process is not automated, errors can occur and the person registering can become confused because they have already registered. This problem is certainly familiar to anyone who is affected by frequently repeated invitations, some of which are confusing.
Marketing Automation a quintessential software
As in our last article on inbound as already mentioned, according to Scott Brinker, marketing automation is quintessential software because it orchestrates the customer journey. It tracks and personalizes the various channels. Just like CRM, it is part of the foundation of every business.
Marketing automation technology is not new; it has been around since the 1990s. However, it is worth mentioning that the strong growth only began when the first providers moved to the cloud. Today, most marketing automation technologies are installed in the cloud, where they are constantly evolving and have open API interfaces. Hubspot's example with an ecosystem of 200 integrated apps is a good example of how, in the future, marketing managers will be able to expand their MarTech stack at the touch of a plug'n'play button.
Suitable marketing automation software
The possibilities in the cloud and the ease of scaling with providers such as Amazon allow many start-ups to solve customer problems quickly and efficiently, without the need for servers. The number of start-ups in this area is enormous.
However, in order to manage the challenge of finding the right software, you need to know a lot more these days and also examine new developments closely. It may well be that an ideal tool that promises a clear competitive advantage is waiting out there! You can read more about making the right choice in this Blog article about the right marketing automation system.
At Inbound18, I was able to interview Scott Brinker and ask him what he recommends to SMEs. You can watch the interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwYegwET0H0
* Alex Schöpf is an independent marketing automation expert, CEO of MAtech, author and lecturer. He has worked on the customer side for over 20 years and now supports SMEs in the rapid implementation of marketing technology. As a graduate engineer ETH NDS in economics, he has been working with marketing automation systems since these tools have been around. In addition to his proven expert knowledge of marketing automation, he has a great deal of experience in the field of digitalization and is highly practice-oriented. His latest, recently published Marketing Automation book is called "More corporate success with marketing automation 2018".
