The Value of Tailored Marketing Solutions

Consumers are continually evolving, and this includes how they make decisions, which is faster than ever before. Profoundly influenced by the opinions of others, complete strangers. We live in a global world, connected socially within seconds of how information is transmitted, and we participate in an active marketplace where the one-size-fits-all approach to marketing has never been less relevant. Marketers are being forced to employ a variety of nuances that mean each marketing campaign is subtly different from country to country and product to product. Only through tailoring them effectively, can a marketing campaign become successful and genuinely resonate with these increasingly savvy consumers.

Tailoring the technology that underpins a modern marketing campaign is equally important. However, many organizations are forced to compromise their strategies by making the most of the pre-determined marketing solutions that don’t consider their specific needs. While these might improve marketing efforts across some areas in the short-term, businesses will not reap all the benefits that they should.

However, the failings of not considering the specific needs of the business shouldn’t be targeted at the door of vendors, but at the marketers themselves. Often their motivations to implement technology comes from the wrong place. Rather than choosing a tool or platform to help them reach a new business goal, a narrow or short-term viewpoint is usually first at hand. For example, spend the budget provided.  Or technology investments, made at the departmental level are not considering the bigger picture.

The wrong puzzle

Such a laissez-faire attitude to purchasing technology solutions can lead to a siloed approach where you end up with a tangled mess of different software solutions that only work for each department but don’t fit together as a whole. Now there is an unnecessary overlap because just five pieces of the puzzle were required, yet eight obtained. Not only does this overlap and duplication creates confusion, but it also leads to having a muddled, disjointed message that reaches the marketplace. Moreover, it means you have spent more money than required, so much waste! Equally, it can lead to out of control martech budgets just to maintain so many systems.

It’s essential for marketers to take a step back and look at what business impact they want to make. Define the tactic(s) versus the strategy. The technology functionality you are considering is a tactic, yet there may be ten different tactics to execute for the right strategy, ensuring they can work in tandem.

Go back to school

Taking the time to investigate the right technology solutions that deliver highly-personalized, contextual customer experiences at every touchpoint will ultimately help marketers win market share and build a loyal customer base.

Marketers often worry that they may lack the technical knowledge, but that's fine since this isn’t their core skillset and nor should it be. Don’t get dazzled by flashy demos and promises of unrealistic Returns on Investment. Remember, the onus is on technology vendors and system integrators to be better at hand holding, partnering with marketers, helping them understand the business requirements and lead them to the solution that will meet their business goals. Vendors are accountable to the marketing leaders to assist them in making more informed decisions.

Take a step back

In today’s marketing climate, take action from time to time. Marketers need to see how their messages are delivered, and whether the campaign is conveyed correctly. Otherwise, it is impossible to respond dynamically.

The nature of today’s connected consumers requires marketers to deliver across a multitude of channels. However, if there are ten ways to absorb information, customers will only realistically choose three to five methods to do so. All channels will be different and very much dictated by the specific customer base and the market that has their attention. As a result, marketers must ensure that each avenue offers them the same level of messaging to boost engagement rates, loyalty, and finally conversion.

Technology has an increasingly vital role to play. The likes of a content marketing system (CMS) are key to ensuring assets are up to date, accessible and available to the relevant stakeholders, and appropriate for the campaign or target audience.

Avoid an early bath

Implementing a cookie-cutter marketing technology solution may be quick and straightforward, but its results will often be underwhelming. Today there is a lack of brand loyalty. The customers you wish to reach are savvier than ever before and can research your competitor's solutions with the click of a button. Without identifying and communicating correctly, a truly unique selling point, it will always come back down to competing on price leading to slim margins and a proverbial early bath.

A well-constructed marketing technology solution is always the best option as it helps maximize efficiency and productivity, while ensuring that you are getting the best-quality content to the right audience, without compromise. The proper use of marketing technologies can help trailblaze brands and innovate agencies who deliver engaging, multi-channel customer experiences that boost brands and win markets. But using the wrong technology means you're on the wrong side of the playing field. Not a good thing!