Marketing efforts have evolved immensely over the last few decades. From the days of "Mad Men" to the digital age, businesses looking to optimize their marketing efforts need to be sure they are leveraging the right channels and approaching their efforts with an open mind to the innovative technologies that continue to influence consumer trends.
With technology comes a responsibility to the customer, even if it is simply to offer support over Twitter. However, not all businesses utilize technology to its full potential in their operations, particularly with marketing. Forbes recently explored technology's essential role in marketing today, and how businesses can better leverage the tools at their disposal for maximal consumer reach and exposure.
Technology brings the customer closer – According to the news source, using technology in marketing allows firms to get closer to the customer and better understand what exactly it is they are looking for in their interactions with the business.
"Technology allows us to interact with our customers, talk to them, and engage them more than ever," Daniel Newman, a contributor to Forbes, wrote. "We can have one to one conversations through social media channels, and give our customers a more personalized experience in multiple way and with many devices. In fact, the basic role of technology in marketing boils down to helping marketers get a better grasp on customer preferences, their behavior and purchase trends, and to design the most effective marketing strategy based on this intelligence."
In fact, Newman predicts that marketers will be sought for their technology skills in the future, rather than just their understanding of PR and promotion.
Technology is core to marketing – In today's digital age, marketing without technology simply doesn't exist. Even physical advertising utilizes technology in a variety of ways, with ties to social media or other ways for consumers to interact with the brand. Software creates the building blocks for any campaign, be it the design of an ad or coordinating the campaign across multiple channels. This fact is bolstered by the incredible value that mobile offers to marketing campaigns. Companies that utilize mobile text marketing see significant growth over every other channel, with a 99 percent open rate, 90 percent click through rates and about 30 percent sales record directly tied to mobile.
Businesses are finding that mobile presents the strongest platform for their marketing efforts with the largest returns because it simplifies consumer interaction, not just the one-way sending of a marketing message. Billboards, web ads and TV spots don't provide the same interactivity that mobile and social strategies do, so firms should invest in a bulk SMS service that will help them deliver engaging, actionable text messages.
