It’s an exciting time for marketing, as we have entered a period where the advanced customer data management and personalization capabilities that marketers have sought for decades are finally achievable with a more reasonable expenditure of time, resources, and budget. The technology is evolving rapidly, and emerging paradigms will allow marketing, business, and IT leaders to manage customer data and deliver truly personalized customer experiences with a net positive ROI.
It’s not just talk anymore. These capabilities are being delivered by various new entrants and established players who are designing their systems from a data-first point of view. MarTech vendors now understand that integration with a company’s data warehouse and interoperability between systems are table stakes for any marketing technology. Marketers can strategically deploy these new technologies to gain control of their customer data and manage engagement across the entire customer journey from first touch to sales, service, and long-term loyalty.
There is great promise and incredible opportunity, but a massive amount of information — including wildly exaggerated claims — must be sifted through to understand what is possible and practical. Marketing and IT leaders are overwhelmed, exhausted, and need help figuring out where to start. With this in mind, I will begin investigating the MarTech ecosystem and break down the elements of this wonderful, various, and ever-expanding world that employs some of us and touches all of us.
The following are a few of the topics I’d like to dig into initially:
- Customer Data Platforms (CDP)
- Marketing Data Strategy
- Integrating Machine Learning & AI
- Personalization
Let me know your thoughts, frustrations, and fears. What drives you crazy about marketing, MarTech, and the latest hype cycles? What do you want to know more about?