Photo credit: Julie Pixler
Nearly 100 marketing technology users, consultants, and strategists turned out for the 2018 MarTech Magnified, held at the modern Silverline Conference Center.
1. Forget content. Data is king.
“Content is king” has to be the most overused phrase since, well, content became a thing. And while content is still essential for driving organic search traffic, that’s not worth much of anything without any data backing your content’s performance.The line between sales and marketing is still there–but only barely.
2. Account-based marketing (ABM) is here to stay.
Whether you’re a marketer or a salesperson, ABM will be in your selling model for the foreseeable future. What is account based marketing? It’s a model in which a company or brand focuses on selling or marketing to an individual account, versus a singular industry, channel (such as Facebook, LinkedIn, or Google Adwords), or product/service. It’s an important selling model because consumers have an increasing number of options across any marketplace, with less interest on brand loyalty than on price. Due to this rapid commoditization, companies must use ABM to differentiate themselves as a quality product (or service) in the marketplace.
3. MarTech allows marketers to do their job (but it won’t do their job for them)
For those looking for a silver bullet, no amount of martech budget will get it done. The key to making marketing softwares work for companies is to understand the primary value of the application, and using it for that function. That may mean a lot of upfront work through education, configuration, and onboarding, but it’s the key to success for getting the most out of your investment.
4. Traditional marketing is making a comeback (how’s that for an oxymoron?)
At any point in time “traditional marketing” can mean any number of approaches. Direct mail and other printed materials are making a comeback, all thanks to data. Customizing mailers with information from your software means higher impact (and greater return) on your print marketing.
5. Event marketing is alive and well
Gone are the days when companies could spend thousands of dollars on tradeshows and conferences that didn’t show any value to bottom-line growth. But that doesn’t mean events are no longer a strong marketing tool. The key to making events impactful marketing tools lies in the consistent, data-driven follow up to people you met. Through personalization and automation, businesses can keep in touch with their networks more easily than ever, and prove the value of their event spends to their superiors.
6. B2C needs MarTech, too
While SaaS companies are often thought of as B2B enterprises, there are many important data applications for B2C as well. We learned about the value of customer tracking across metrics like purchase behaviors from Total Wine & More‘s Marketing Technology Director. By tracking customer behavioral trends, B2C companies can provide a highly personalized funnel experience, leading to quicker sales cycles and happy consumers.
7. Amazon EchoDots are all the rage!
SWAG is easy to come by, but Amazon Echos? Team Mighty won not one, but two Echo raffle items, including the Dot as well as the Spot, which has a video component. Many thanks to Natalie Robb, the organizer of MarTech Magnified as well as founder of the vibrant MarTech Meetup group. Be sure to join us for the next night of networking, education, and brainstorming on the March 21st!