We often idealize the concept of planning for the future — and for good reason. The structure that comes from well-articulated goals and a defined point of direction can make a world of difference around how your customers interact with you.
If you’re unsure about what your goals should be you may find yourself relying on data analytics or trending strategies to provide you with some insight. You can also look at where technology's headed. We spoke with Chloe Addis, Head of Marketing at Headley Media, a B2B lead generation marketing agency for technology companies, who talked to us about the current and future state of marketing technology.
Here are the highlights:
Technology is a part of the human experience — and the pandemic amplified this
If you had to imagine a world without technology, just how far back in history would you have to go?
For many of us, it’s almost impossible to think about — especially given how much we rely on technology for even the most mundane things. Still, it’s clear that there’s been a major shift in how we currently depend on technology compared to our relationship with it in the past. Addis says our hyperfixation on technology has not happened accidentally.
“Large technology companies have deliberately designed our devices to appeal directly to the reward centers in our brains. We are now in a culture where we have forgotten how to be bored; rather than sit with our thoughts even for a short while, we will reach for a device because we are trained to do so, even if we have no immediate need to use it,” said Addis. “The forced move from in-person to digital interactions during the pandemic has only exacerbated this further; the technology is here to stay, the question is how we ensure it is always helpful and never harmful.”
Technology is increasingly becoming a normal part of our everyday lives, emphasizing the role a good user experience plays in digital marketing campaigns. Your customers are coming to you for a reason: they need help solving a pain point, they want to learn something new, they think highly of your brand. Whatever the reason, your customers want to feel good about their experience with you. A strong user experience through whatever technology they’re using to communicate with you will help.
The future of technology in marketing is customer-focused
Addis says the future of marketing will see a shift to mobile-first marketing, growth in the use of tailored video and audio content, and a huge increase in interactive content — all geared toward the user rather than a search engine. While these can each help promote feelings of strong customer loyalty, it’s only achievable if you focus on perfecting the user experience during every step of the customer journey.
“Rather than worry about hopping on a trend, businesses need to adopt new methods into their marketing strategies rather than risk being left behind by competitors. The key to adopting innovations successfully is to still remember the customer is the focus — the technology itself is the innovation. How it is used doesn’t have to be surprising and unusual, it just needs to work well and provide a seamless customer experience.”
So, what kind of innovations can help you keep your focus on customers? Artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily growing as a top contender for customer satisfaction and marketing success.
Technologies like Siri and Alexa are fan-favorites in the world of AI thanks to the level of ease and convenience they provide consumers. With technologies like these, the average person can use AI to do everything from ordering food to forecasting the weather in a split second.
Customer expectations have evolved to match the standard of excellence offered by AI, too. They are now expecting artificial intelligence and preferring quick responses over having to wait hours for a response from a human being. This doesn’t mean that AI is the answer to all of your marketing technology needs. Addis says there is still a delicate balance to be found between the benefits of AI and customers still being able to connect to a real human being when needed.
“A fast AI response may be appreciated, but if a customer has a more complex or specific query that the AI cannot resolve, there needs to be the ability for the technology to escalate to a person before the customer becomes frustrated,” said Addis.
Conversational marketing is a highly effective way to provide the instant responses and personalized experiences that can help. Fast responses are a priority, but as customers also want to feel valued, personalizing those responses is a necessity.
And again, it should all come back to focusing on the customer.
“Communication is key to good user experience (UX) and putting yourself in your customer’s shoes. It is far too easy to focus on visuals, creative content or search engine optimization (SEO) and forget that who you are trying to reach are human beings, and it is how you communicate with them that matters,” said Addis.
With rapidly changing modern technology, who knows exactly what the future will bring. Regardless, keeping your technology journey centered on your customers will help.
