Short for Marketing Technology, MarTech is basically any technological tool that is used in marketing. Because online marketing is inherently technology-based, MarTech can encompass many tools and activities, from automation to publishing. Many marketers already use MarTech in varying degrees, but one significant trend that is coming into focus is the Artificial Intelligence, or AI.
Marketing AI tools such as IBM’s Watson uses customer data to drive decision-making for marketing. It uses cloud computing to generate useful insights into customer behaviour, allowing marketers to adjust their strategy based on analytics. There is a vast amount of data that can be made available through the use of marketing clouds. However, not everyone knows how to sift through the information. Oftentimes, an agency or analytics team needs to be brought on board to sift through, identify, and study the most relevant data.
What’s the difference with AdTech, or advertising technology? Advertising is more of a push mechanism, where decisions are about where and when to buy and place ads. MarTech, on the other hand, is about building campaigns and optimising results.
AI driven marketing is just in its infancy, and there will definitely be more exciting things to come in the next few years. The question is – are you positioned to make the most of MarTech now and in the future?