Putting it mildly, 2020 has been an unprecedented year. In the early 2000s, marketers were already facing huge changes and disruptions, the current global situation has simply been a catalyst for these changes. At our first-ever, 100% virtual conference – Blueshift Engage, Udacity CEO, Gabe Dalporto predicted that digital transformation has been catapulted forward by at least 10 years. The businesses (and marketing teams) that come out of these challenging times on top, will be those who adapt and innovate. So, what are those businesses that are looking stronger than ever doing differently in 2020?
Marketer vs. Martech: What 2020 Marketing Winners Are Doing Differently
THEY’RE USING AI, BUT NOT TO REPLACE MARKETERS
There’s a misconception that AI is going to eliminate most jobs — leaders agree that’s simply not accurate. AI will step in to complete the menial tasks that take up a good chunk of a marketing team’s day, and give marketers the ability to builder new campaigns, get creative, and enhance existing ideas. Top leaders suggest that all professionals, not just marketers, should be focusing on leveraging AI to let them focus on what they do best.
Winning businesses have already adopted this strategy, 81% of marketers using AI and machine learning reports exceeding revenue goals by over 30%. Rather than tying marketers down with repetitive tasks and guesswork, AI has automated the decisioning process so marketers are able to focus their energy on more important tasks. These marketers aren’t spending days figuring out who to target and what to send, they’re instead crafting their messaging and branding to better reach their high-value customers and drive engagement
THEY’RE REACHING CUSTOMERS ON A 1:1 LEVEL
Historically, many businesses had a siloed approach to their marketing teams. Each department had an email marketer, mobile, etc. This is fundamentally flawed because instead of a customer being messaged according to their own implicit preferences, they’d receive a message through every channel and with a completely different message. This ties back to a huge shift that’s happening in the business world: the shift from channel-centric marketing to customer-centric.
We know customers browse through multiple channels before making a purchasing decision, so no longer do disjointed views of customers work. Messaging isn’t consistent across channels and can result in lost customers. Winning brands realize the customer experience shouldn’t be defined by channels, it should be a fluid and cohesive experience that meets customers where they are in their journey. In fact, those brands that are exceeding revenue by +30% are collecting more types of data and using more channels to create personalized experiences for customers.
To survive in the age of digital transformation, brands must adjust their approach from a channel-centric one to a customer-centric one. Once that shift has been made, any innovation or drastic changes your business takes will have the customer at heart, and ultimately be more aligned with what consumers want.