What's next in the digital transformation of marketing?

Digital transformation projects have created new ways of working and serving customers and communities for organisations of all types and sizes. I’ve enjoyed a front row seat as my own team expand the boundaries of possibility with powerful new digital tools.

With our cloud-based marketing solution, we’ve been able to bring our customer data together into a single, integrated platform. This allows us to be even more customer-centric – from marketing all the way to sales, support and analysis. Ultimately, that’s meant a more detailed understanding of who our customers are and what makes them tick.

At the same time, our marketing automation platform helps us engage audiences with tailored multi-channel campaigns. Across email, web, video and mobile, we can deliver an new level of personalisation, connecting prospects and customers with relevant messages at just the right moment in the buying cycle – while collecting real-time data insights.

Both despite and because of the success we’ve experienced with tools like this, innovation will continue. Dreamers, analysts and developers will keep chipping away at our working paradigms, finding new ways to take working experiences to new places.

So what will we find at the next stop on our digital transformation journey?

Next Generation Decisioning

There’s been a lot of talk about the rise of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the workplace, with much of it seemingly preoccupied with stoking fears of large-scale human unemployment. In fact, AI promises to serve a far more complementary role – with machine learning serving as an early example. It gives computers the ability to learn and adapt without being explicitly programmed to do so.

Journey Orchestration Engineering (JOE)

JOE's work by looking at the types of engagement tactics most effective at turning prospects into customers, before recommending or undertaking those actions autonomously. With the incredible volume of customer data now available to marketing teams like ours, we’ll soon be able to go from providing personalised journeys to a personalised that adapts with learned, real-time intelligence.

Where does it all lead?

Before long, I’m certain we’ll get our hands on the long-time Holy Grail of marketing: true omni-channel visibility; i.e., a single, joined-up view of the customer. AI is bringing us closer, doing the heavy data lifting and crunching that humans simply can’t do as quickly or efficiently. We will get there.

When this does come, how do we make the most of the opportunity?

It’s all about staying focused on the customer and continuing to build and refine experiences around them. (Not getting caught up in the commercial potential of a given service or solution.)

Just as we hope to have a complete picture of our customer’s behaviours, needs and dreams, we know our customers are demanding interactions with brands and essential services that are free of barriers and move fluidly between channels.

Digital transformation will always offer up new platforms, and as many challenges as opportunities. We’ll have to stay agile, adapt to new processes, and there may be a false start or two along the way. But if it helps us connect with customers better (and there’s a chance I get to cut down on data entry), I’m in.

One thing is for sure though: tech will continue to shape the delivery of smarter, more effective marketing strategies. And we’ll be there to tell you all about it.