I spend a lot of time studying what is happening in the world of business software technology, and a much of what I’ve been coming across recently is related to marketing automation. There are many promises of being able deliver the right content to each user by tracking interaction behavior and using various programmatic or algorithmic approaches to determine the best response – and now device makers are saying they can embed this type of technology directly into smart phones, tablets, next-gen televisions, etc.
OK, let’s just say that this kind of marketing automation technology can do much of what is being promised. Where does that leave the role of the Marketer? Well, to begin with, we haven’t reached the point where computers can interpret a marketing strategy and then determine the specific tactics and programs that meet an organization’s business objectives. For now at least, this is still the domain of people, and the marketing professional is responsible for figuring out how to best acquire, retain and develop a loyal set of customers (as well as how to counteract competitive threats because, let’s face it, there’s always someone trying to take away your customers). Implementing marketing automation technology without a strong team of Marketers to define and manage its usage is not going to provide any real benefit.
The role of automation technology does allow the Marketer to scale more personalized interactions with customers, but going back to the need for intelligent decisions to be made before jumping into automation, there is another important role that technology can play: assisting the Marketer to understand and interpret customer data. Marketing analytics can bring insight into large amounts of information coming from multiple channels (including automation systems) and looking across many time periods, allowing the Marketer to apply his/her expertise based on empirical knowledge instead of intuition or relying on what worked previously.
If you are interested in learning more about how analytics technology and Marketers can work together to make better decisions, PivotLink is hosting the next STORES Knowledge Series webinar on Weds, January 9. Register here to join us and hear from e-Commerce retailer Freshpair to learn how marketing analytics is assisting their Marketers to make better decisions.
