How are marketers failing with tech?
Digital technology is playing an increasingly important role in the world of marketing, which means that modern marketers are expected to have an increasingly large range of digital skills. According to the Digital Professional Institute in Chicago, US, 93% of marketing jobs in 2015 require at least one digital skill – which could be anything from SEO, to data analytics and web design.
So, with technical know-how becoming more of a requirement than ever, are marketers clued up about how to use technology? And are they embracing it at a high enough level?
A recent article on the CIO website spoke to Avi Levine, executive director at the Digital Professional Institute, for his thoughts on the most common tech-related mistakes that are currently being made by marketing professionals around the globe. In his view, these mistakes fall into three categories: a lack of Google Analytics knowledge; becoming too focused on superficial metrics; and not fully integrating marketing tech with CRM systems.
1. Google Analytics
Levine notes that a lot of marketers slip up with Google Analytics as they view it as an IT issue rather than something that can be implemented alongside marketing strategies.
While Analytics can gather a ton of information about a company's website and online activity, this will only be useful if they are able to then use that information to drive "actionable growth." Essentially, tracking everything without also connecting this data to actions will not give you enough insight – leading to missed SEO opportunities and poor lead generation.
2. Vanity metrics
So-called 'vanity metrics' include things such as the number of app downloads or Facebook followers a company has obtained. But while vanity metrics can give brands an added sense of credibility, as KPIs go they are largely superficial. For example, setting out to gain 200 new followers is only really beneficial if those users respond to or act on content, follow a link to your website or make a purchase.
As Levine explains, finding and tracking the right KPI is different for each individual business, but it is more useful to track things such as lead numbers and conversion rates – even if they don't sound as impressive to those at the top. The goal should be not only driving leads, but helping potential customers towards making a sale.
3. Not integrating with CRM
Without connecting sales and marketing teams, it will be near impossible to tell which strategies are proving effective and which aren't. And because technology means that there is now a single customer journey, making this as seamless as possible is the key to success.
This final responsibility is one that marketers truly need to take into their own hands, Levine adds. Therefore, it is up to marketing departments to "evolve into a leadership role," calling on sales and IT teams to work alongside them and ensure that each part of the customer journey is tracked, captured and attributed at the right moments, up until the final stages.
Do you agree with Levine's comments? Are there any other areas of tech where you think today's marketers are falling short?