Positivity is an underrated virtue when it comes to embracing change. From swapping your old marketing channels for those that deliver real-time insights to taking a gamble on an emerging technology, an optimistic mindset can help businesses evolve. The Rise of Marketing Technologists, a January 2016 study conducted by Econsultancy and IBM Marketing Cloud, found that marketers in Australia and New Zealand understand this better than their counterparts around the world. Here, we take a closer look at the findings.
A willingness to embrace technology
Often, businesses can find themselves enslaved by the notion that technology erases creativity by replacing once-vital tasks. But the study, which surveyed more than 400 marketers from Australia and New Zealand, found that 89 per cent of agency marketers and 90 per cent of marketing professionals across the corporate sector believe that marketing technologists are becoming increasingly vital to businesses. It also found that only 18 per cent of marketers from companies and 26 per cent from agencies believe that technology was robbing them of creative satisfaction. Unsurprisingly enough, 81 per cent of company marketers thought that technology helped them make better decisions.
Ease of use high on marketers’ agenda
We know that marketing technology can empower marketers’ decision-making, but what about the tools and platforms that are difficult to use? The survey found that marketers put more money into technologies that were easier to work with – a finding that also makes sense in terms of training and implementation. This held true whether or not a technology was considered critical to running the business.
Marketing automation is a rising future investment
Although marketing automation was voted ‘critical’ by only 29 per cent of company marketers and 40 per cent of agency respondents, this has more to do with its fledgling Australian market presence than it does with the technology itself. Sixty-seven per cent of company marketers revealed that they plan to increase their investment in marketing automation in the next 12 months, and agencies followed suit.