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By Jessica Heres – Technology and marketing have never had a close relationship. Passion has always been lacking. But they should be very much in love. Best friends at least. Why? Because technology, in our case marketing automation, can enable we marketers to be more effective and efficient in our strategy and campaigns. So, why do we not experience love at first sight?
According to Ronald Velten, Marketing Director Benelux at IBM “we as marketers are not raised with the use of technology in our business.” It seems that background and education are the two most important hurdles to use technology. We forget database segmentation and only focus on the creative part of our jobs to convince clients to buy our product or services. “There is a mind gap”, Ronald says, “and we need to close that gap”.
However, nowadays, as companies are forced to:
1. be more agile
2. tune into needs of their clients more efficiently
3. and innovate at greater speed in order to survive
The mind gap is closing, voluntarily or not. A changing market environment leaves us no choice. We need new ways of marketing, new tools and new skills in order to survive. This is not going to happen without struggle.
It is all about data
According to the latest IBM CMO study the market is changing rapidly and almost 75% of marketers claim not be prepared. It seems that we cannot handle the data explosion coming towards us via multiple channels. However, technology can help marketers obtain the right information from all the available data sources in order to improve campaign efficiency and effectiveness and to utilize more personalized strategies.
The Dutch B2B marketing Barometer of 2012 underlined the lack of engagement in the Netherlands. The results show that a lot of companies are still experimenting and exploring new ways of marketing to engage with their prospects and clients. With regard to social media and engagement, only 18% of participants claim to have developed a “thought through strategy”. Reg van Steen from TNS Nipo says: “Starting the dialogue with clients is the most common heard challenge of marketers. 2 out of 5 respondents have not begun to implement new ways of marketing. We need to start testing the waters. Just do it, step by step.” And this brings us back to the mind gap mentioned earlier.
You have to love technology
No love at first sight. That’s a fact. Maybe we need to talk more about a “forced love”, one that will bloom into a beautiful relationship. Whether you like it or not – the marketer of today has no choice. Furthermore, the pressure to justify your return on investment for every cent you spend continues to grow. Companies are no longer able to give marketing a carte blanche and let them do whatever they want without knowing what it will return. And why should we expect it to be any different? With the technology of today we are able to measure successes, engage with clients and react more quickly to the changes in the market. There is only one conclusion for a B2B marketer left: If you love marketing….you have to love technology.
Watch the CMO Talks video where Ronald Velten from IBM, Reg van Steen from TNS Nipo and Ingrid Archer from spotONvision share their vision on technology in B2B marketing.
Do you also want to experience the love for technology within marketing? spotONvision gives you the opportunity to follow a Master Class about this subject on November 29. Register now as we have limited seats!
Or request a no strings attached-Skype session with one of our B2B marketing experts if you want to learn more about marketing automation.