A glimpse into the trends of the 6th Salesforce State of Marketing Report
Marketers have been put to test in the past few months, not only regarding innovation and staying front of their Customers’ minds, but also by the bigger challenges and adjustments that the pandemic brought to our society.
So how do we create engaging Customer experiences in a socially-distant world? This Summer, Salesforce released their 6th State of Marketing Report, collecting insights from over 7,000 marketers globally to bring you the latest trends and insights for marketing.
Let’s find out what else 2020 has in store for us.
The future is here
Innovation has been ranked by marketers worldwide as their #1 priority. Digital transformation is no longer a hyped-up buzzword but a must for every business, as shown by the changes and adjustments companies had to make recently.
Marketers have also identified data unification and activation among their top five challenges. In fact, marketing teams lament a misalignment with other departments key to innovation, such as IT. With more and more data available to marketers, it is vital for IT and marketing to be aligned and establish a data culture and governance at a company level.
The amount of marketing data available has increased, so how can we manage it effectively? We should join the 84% of marketers who reporting using Artificial Intelligence to manage data flows. AI is no longer futuristic but a reality for many marketers who have been using AI to back up their CRM and personalisation efforts to create effective and valuable campaigns.
One thing is clear, the rise of technology for a connected world such as 5G will undoubtedly open many marketers’ doors to other innovations that enhance their Customers’ experience such as virtual reality, Customer service AI and many more.
One-of-a-kind marketing
Personalisation has long been a staple in marketing trends but not only do B2C Customers want personalised experiences across channels, they also expect dynamic content across channels based on the actions they have been taking previously. Marketers need to seek new ways to engage Customers across digital touch points and use data for empathetic marketing, reflective of Customers’ behaviour on site.
Same goes for B2B Customers who now expect the same level of empathy and engagement which has led to the rise of account-based marketing (ABM). Adoption of ABM programs is quite recent, with 64% starting within the past five years and growing with the latest numbers accounting for 92% of B2B marketers using it.
Marketers are using ABM programs to build multiple, highly-personalised campaigns that connect with key accounts, with 68% using automation in their marketing mix for more sophisticated campaigns.
Whilst it’s true that we are facing unprecedented times and challenges, we can also safely say that challenge breeds innovation and creativity. Marketers are already finding new ways to engage Customers in a socially-distant world and innovations like work.com, Salesforce Anywhere, Feedback and Service Cloud Voice are already paving the way for more connected Customer experiences.
Find out more about how you can enhance your marketing efforts with a combination of next-gen tech and future-proof strategy with this year’s Salesforce State of Marketing by downloading the full report here.
