New terms, and new usages for terms, are being thrown around as the technology behind marketing operations evolves, especially going into 2017. In this article we’re going to look at what these terms mean, how they compare, and how they fit together.
In the film Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, what kicks off with three traditionally allied superheroes initially pits them against one another, each existing in their respective silos of how they seek to administer justice. Compare that scenario to the silos existing in current organizations, and you can easily draw comparisons to the marketing, IT, and product development departments.
Marketing Technology (Martech), or, The Marketing Stack
The “marketing stack” has become a tall order for marketers in recent years as the need for technology explodes, along with the vendors to provide it. It’s also led companies to struggle with the politics and complexities of making the whole thing work.
First you have to have the support of the entire organization. That’s both executive support and in all of the marketing groups and IT. Without it, you’ll never break down the silos. The next thing is to have transparent access to everything that’s in use. If you can’t, you can build a stack, but it won’t get implemented. You’ll run around behind them trying to convince them that maybe MailChimp isn’t the best solution and maybe Marketo would be better.
Source: How Xerox Navigates the Challenges of Marketing Tech | Digital – AdAge
Marketing Automation for Inbound Leads
As I wrote about last week, marketing automation is critical for operationalizing the creation, sharing, attracting, and qualifying of leads through the use of technology to precision-based audiences with targeted messages.
What Is Inbound Marketing? Inbound marketing is about using marketing to bring potential customers to you, rather than having your marketing efforts fight for their attention. Sharing is caring and inbound marketing is about creating and sharing content with the world. By creating content specifically designed to appeal to your dream customers, inbound attracts qualified prospects to your business and keeps them coming back for more.
Source: HubSpot | What is Inbound Marketing?
Maximizing Talent for Marketing Automation within Your Marketing Stack
The best skills are great marketing skills, not great tech skills, believe it or not. Great marketing is a talent, it’s an intuition. Anyone with an open mind can learn the tech. If they have great marketing instincts, that’s No. 1. The tech is an easier skill to learn. Once you dive in, it really is like swimming. You realize how much fun it is. I just would love every proverbial agency person who is standing on the edge of the pool to just dive in.
Source: Why Marketers Are Intimidated by Marketing Technology | Digital – AdAge
Ironically, it’s these same heroes in the film who, when they come together, realize they’re fighting for a common goal. When disparate and siloed departments open transparency and join forces, the overall effect on your organization’s marketing goals and objectives aren’t cumulative but exponential.
As this series continues, we’ll delve deeper into actionable plans for building your marketing technology stack on a foundation of marketing automation.
