Technology has revolutionized all industries, from construction to pharmaceutical and even retail. Therefore, it is no surprise that technology in sales and marketing has also transformed at a similar rate. Every business uses marketing techniques to bridge the gap between its services and consumers. For this reason, new technologies are constantly developed to increase revenue and boost marketing campaigns.
The biggest change is the transition from traditional to digital marketing. This is a reflection of how every aspect of our lives is gradually adapting to digitalization. More than 50% of the world’s population currently has access to mobile devices and internet connection. As a result, this has opened up new digital avenues to reach more audiences.
Technology over Creativity
Marketing has always been an industry that thrives on creativity. Ten years ago, the more creative or fun a marketing campaign was, the more reach it would have. Surely, you still remember some advertisements that are memorable and catchy, like Subway’s Five Dollar Footlong jingle which made its debut on TV in 2008. Today, a similar approach would not be as impactful because the way people relate to new information and products has changed.
Some experts believe that half of a marketing campaign’s success relies on creativity while the other half relies on technology. It doesn’t matter how much data you have if you don’t have the creativity to use it. Marketers have to gain at least a basic understanding of new technologies and different digital marketing and SEO tools in order to implement a successful campaign.
Some even use a white label SEO dashboard to get the bigger picture and use data for their next strategies. At the end of the day, it pays to have access to technology so marketers make more informed decisions.
Personalized Communication
The way businesses communicate with their customers is another aspect that has changed with new technologies. For example, chatbots are a growing trend in the last few years. Chatbots are an artificial intelligence-based technology that allows a customer to have a one-on-one chat with a program and get quick answers.
Let’s not forget augmented reality (AR) technology that many retail companies are already using. Sport and lifestyle giant Nike, for example, uses AR on its mobile app for customers to see in real-time how a pair of shoes or an outfit is going to look on them through their smartphone’s camera.
Where Clients Are
Previously, the most common way to reach an audience was through TV commercials, but now, online is the way to go for getting leads. Websites are a must for business ideas since that’s where most traffic goes and it’s a great medium for generating leads. Other than websites, social media is becoming the location for getting leads. A lot of people, especially the younger generation, don’t even watch broadcast TV anymore or don’t feel the need to browse through websites. With the launch of Netflix and other streaming services, TV commercials are no longer the most viable option for marketing in most countries.
The average person spends a significant number of hours either on their phone, laptop, or any other device. So it is only natural to find a way to tap into the potential clients there. Social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube can all be used for marketing purposes. In fact, most companies are already taking advantage of digital trends by launching marketing campaigns on these mediums.
This has also prompted a whole new type of marketing called “Influencer Marketing”, which sees businesses employing the services of influencers (famous people on social media) to promote their products. While the figure is unclear, this marketing style has proven to be highly effective in boosting sales for some companies.
Know Your Clients
Along with the growth of the digital world was the birth of big data. In the beginning, when the internet was starting to grow, we didn’t fully understand the amount and significance of the data we came to gather from further tech advancement. But now, thanks to artificial intelligence (AI) technology, computers can analyze big chunks of data and analyze patterns to describe behaviors, predict events, and much more.
This allows companies to get to know their clients like never before.
For example, just by using special tools, companies can tell at once how their clients are doing online just by doing a quick website audit. An example of how this applied on social media would be how AI can know certain information about a person just by looking at the number of likes a person gets on social media.
An AI model can use methods like tracking the accounts and location where these likes are coming from and then be able to predict the person’s ethnicity with a 98% accuracy. Such information can help businesses create customized marketing campaigns based on specific categories.
Knowing how to use technology to your advantage is an invaluable skill but you don’t have to become a data scientist to succeed in marketing, just knowing the basics will certainly help.