Today’s marketers are under an enormous amount of pressure. They are required to deliver on high expectations from executives and boards while providing exceptionally personalized content to consumer audiences. With so many places to focus, it can be hard to plan and strategize for future growth and success, but the latest data-driven trends are making it possible for marketers to develop and execute high-impact campaigns.
Data-Driven Marketing Predictions
In the past, marketers had very limited resources to work with, but luckily times have change. There is now an incredible amount of consumer data available to marketers. Innovative technologies have made it possible to mine detailed insights out of this data to help inform campaigns and marketing content. These advancements also allow marketers to become completely proactive rather than reactive during campaign planning.
For example, instead of sending out a blanket incentive email to a massive consumer list, with little to no idea of how the messaging will impact conversion, marketers can now explicitly tailor individual messages to specific people. Every consumer is different, and marketers can now use these differences to their advantage instead of their detriment.
5 Essential Data-Driven Trends to Watch For
In such a constantly changing industry, marketers must continuously research and seek out opportunities to learn to ensure they’re ahead of the curve by staying up-to-date on the latest industry trends. Here are five data-driven marketing trends to watch for in the upcoming months.
1. Combining Data Science & Execution
The evolution of big data has truly been a catalyst for marketing transformation and change. Leveraging machine learning and Artificial Intelligence helps uncover hidden customer insights and trends. Marketers can then turn this data science on its head to proactively take action and increase productivity for maximum output and efficiency. The collection and analysis of consumer data fuels day-to-day marketing execution and conversion rates.
2. Analyzing Structured & Unstructured Data
As consumer audiences continue to evolve, new platforms and channels for marketing engagement are popping up. There seems to be a constant stream of new social apps and sites where consumers can research brands, ask questions, and engage with other consumers. Marketers must be able to manage and track all consumer interactions across these new and established platforms. AI solutions can analyze both structured data and unstructured, free-form data simultaneously, collecting every single consumer insight possible in one location.
3. Leveraging the ‘Next Big Thing’
Marketers are constantly on the look out for the ‘next big thing’ when it comes to technology and industry advancements. Just think, only a few years ago marketing automation was considered ‘the next big thing’, but now marketers rely on the machine power as a daily standard for campaign execution. Upcoming marketing trends include virtual reality and augmented reality, which offer exciting new opportunities to bridge the gap between in-store experiences and online engagement.
No matter where a consumer engages with a brand, VR and AR guarantee the experience is seamless and standardized. New marketing technologies on the horizon will only enhance content and make it easier for brands to deliver 1:1 personalized shopping experiences.
4. Going Mobile
Online shoppers are no longer stuck behind desktops or in brick-and-mortar stores. More and more shoppers are relying solely on mobile when it comes to e-commerce, which means marketers are starting to refocus initiatives and resources on the mobile platform. Marketers must ensure that every single aspect of their online sites, from the homepage to the checkout screens, is optimized for mobile.
Mobile marketing can also be a great way to create an omnichannel customer experience. Offering links to online content via in-store displays, or providing geolocation ads on social apps, can help build these cross-channel experiences, the need for which will only increase.
5. Gathering & Refocusing Metrics
Today’s marketers are already aware of the importance of tracking and measuring success via data and metrics to make informed business decisions. With the steady rise of AI, automation, and other emerging marketing solutions, marketers will have access to more data than ever before. These metrics will go a long way to inform future strategy and campaign focus. Data-driven marketing requires a clear focus, and looking back at past successful campaigns is what helps push a brand forward.
The Future of Data-Driven Marketing
Marketers looking to succeed with high-impact, personalized campaigns must leverage innovative technology and rely on data to make better business decisions. New trends and ideas in the industry will continue to bring change and growth, so marketers must stay on their toes and remain alert for the new advancements that will not only push strategy forward, but also make it easier to accomplish goals.
Marketing technology is supposed to make the marketer’s life easier, empowering them to focus more on strategy, creativity, and relationships. The role of the marketer is changing; it’s truly the beginning of the effortless marketing era.
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