In today’s technology-infused era, technology and modern marketing go hand in hand. As a result of technology, businesses are inclining towards online marketing rather than offline marketing, to reach a wider audience. Marketing your business without the use of technology such as social media, smartphones, internet, CMS systems, etc, is almost impossible in today’s world. Technology is what facilitates communication, creation of relationships, and enhances the effectiveness of organization’s operations.
- 8 Benefits Of Technology In The Workplace
- Top 6 Indispensable Technology Skills in the Workplace Today
Owing to the importance of technology trees in marketing a business, marketers count it as an important factor in the growth and development of their business. It is an essential and strategic tool to stay in the competition and increase efficiency. Technological evolution in marketing started with a minor role and has gained the centre stage now.
How has technology transformed marketing?
Technology helps create more personalized and engaging campaigns for the target audience. It helps create targeted and integrated ecosystems for marketers. Moreover, not only has the interface between people and brands been transformed but technology has also transformed the system and infrastructure on which companies are built.
In 2019, the value of the global marketing technology industry was over $121 billion with a year-on-year growth of more than 22%. Marketing technology refers to the use of software, solutions, and systems that harness technology and delivery marketing objectives. The use of technology in marketing is growing significantly over the past few years which is evident from the above statistics.
The current trends influencing consumer behavior
The increasing use of technology in marketing can be understood from the below trends that are influencing consumer behavior:
- Mobile – Over 5 billion people have mobile devices out of which more than 50% own smartphones. Therefore, the total spending on mobile ads in 2019 was over $93 billion and $20 billion on TV. Moreover, by 2021, over 2.14 billion people are expected to buy online goods and services.
- Connectivity – With about 4 billion internet users, 50.8% of the population in the world is connected. India and China are expected to add to this number in the coming years to bring the number of internet users higher than the US.
- Entertainment – People spend almost one-third of their online activity in watching videos, with over 0.5 billion people watching Facebook videos daily. People send an average of 4 hours on their mobile phones every day on social media platforms.
How technology trees help in marketing your business?
Technology is an integral part of marketing as it helps identify the right marketing strategies, analyze the performance of the strategies, and modify your strategy as per the target audience. Here are a few ways technology helps in marketing a business:
- Tracks and analyzes data
Using marketing analysis and analytics technology such as Google Analytics helps you keep a tab on data. For instance, Google Analytics tracks the performance of different parts of a website and even identifies the searches that are driving the traffic on the website. Therefore, if the search for a certain product is higher you can focus on boosting marketing strategies for that particular product. The analytics also keeps an eye on social media ads and email marketing metrics. This helps you to control your spending according to the performance of the ads.
- Target marketing by capturing data
It is an utter waste of time and money if you are spending on different marketing strategies to cover all types of strategies. Technology helps in capturing the market data such as trends in the market, consumer spending and buying behavior, etc, to help businesses reach the target market. It helps businesses create customized campaigns based on the market data to make the products and services more suited to the target audience. For instance, your target audience may not be into print ads in magazines and catalogs and is more influenced by social media ads. With the uses of technology and tools, you can identify where your target media gets its information from and strategize your marketing plans on the same platforms to reach your customers.
- Automating tasks
Robotic process automation technology has also found its way in facilitating efficient marketing. RPA is a technology that leverages AI and machine learning to automate routine, repetitive, rule-based tasks. Automation programs in marketing your business help save on time and money. Marketing automation is an integral part of marketing strategies as it aids in better data on the performance of the campaign, better processes, and reducing time spent on repetitive tasks. Your manpower can focus on core operations while RPA handles the labor-intensive tasks.
- Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence has found an important place in various industries increasing the efficiency of business processes. In marketing, AI helps businesses gain insights on their customers and enhance customer experience through predictive, recommendation engines, Chatbots, etc. Businesses can solve customer queries instantly, understand customer requirements to personalize their services, and market themselves in a better way. Therefore, AI is not only beneficial for businesses but also for their customers.
- Cloud computing
The use of cloud computing technology across various business verticals has also been growing. The technology is expected to generate a revenue of over $411 billion by 2020. Cloud computing technology enables people to access, share, and manage data that is on the cloud. It aids in seamless communication and collaboration between people. In marketing, cloud computing helps businesses share information with overseas clients and helps different members of the team across different parts of the world communicate with each other as well as with clients.
- Virtual reality
Any customer would prefer experiencing a product before making a purchase. While that wasn’t possible earlier, businesses are now leveraging Virtual Reality to offer immersive experiences to their potential customers. For instance, one of the leading car brands, Audi is using VR to offer a real-time experience of driving the car. They use a giant virtual sandbox to provide this experience. Their innovative, and effective marketing strategy is significantly driving their sales. VR not only offers a real-time experience of the product but also attracts and intrigues more customers.
- Big data
Big data is all about computationally analyzing large data sets to identify trends and patterns especially in customer behavior and interactions with products and services. Therefore, the role of big data for all businesses is very significant. In marketing, about 44% of marketers leverage big data to improve the effectiveness of their marketing strategies. Marketers use the insights received from Big data to understand their users and their requirements. This data helps businesses to plan a successful marketing campaign that is targeted towards a particular class of customers. Therefore, Big data in marketing enhances the effectiveness and accuracy of marketing campaigns which leads to higher conversions and sales.
- Internet of Things
Another emerging technology that is finding significance in marketing is the Internet of Things. IoT is essentially a network of digital machines, physical devices, and other objects that enables a smooth data transfer without a real-time interaction, over the network. IoT is what keeps us connected with different devices, and is transforming our spaces into smart spaces. The global IoT market is expected to generate a revenue of over $7 trillion by 2020, covering all the industries.
In marketing, businesses are leveraging IoT to get insights into customer psychology and their purchasing process. Businesses use IoT technology to transmit their marketing message on optimal devices to reach customers at the right time. Over 50% of the leading marketers expect IoT to significantly alter the marketing field by 2020. Moreover, the total number of IoT devices will reach 13 billion by 2020.
The Bottom Line
The data and software provided by technology have made technology an integral part of marketing a business. Planning marketing strategies without the use of technology is no more a possibility. Moreover, technology and tools make marketing planning and sticking to budgets much easier. You can easily measure the impact of your marketing strategies and modifying the marketing campaign based on the data and knowledge of previous performances and other factors. However, when using technology trees in marketing your business, it is important to use the right technology tools based on the analysis market trends, customer behavior, and other such factors. This will help make a significant difference in your marketing plan and to reach your goals.