At the start of the new year, we’re all invigorated by the concept of starting anew, forming positive habits, living out fresh dreams and leaving our baggage in the past. Most marketers start their year off with those same ambitions as they dream about the possibilities that a fresh calendar and replenished budgets provide.
Rather than talking about specific tactics that you should implement – because hey, every business has different needs and areas for improvement – let’s look at three principles that you can apply to any marketing plan, technology investment or specific advertising tactic in this new year.
Mantra 1 – Automate responsibly.
There are lots of shiny objects in the marketing world. Today, plenty of ad tech and mar tech vendors tout cool capabilities that rely specifically on AI and its promise to practically automate your marketing job in the matter of a few clicks. But common sense tells us, it’s never that easy. So should you focus on investing in tools that can leverage fresh data to connect with consumers more quickly? Of course. Just be sure not to be swept up in the allure of “AI automations” that could potentially start to leverage various data points irresponsibly in a biased manner. The result could be over segmentation of your users that becomes unwieldy and out of your control, especially possible if you are using suspect, out of date, or fragmented data.
Mantra 2 – Democratize access.
Everywhere you turn, teams are strapped for resources and seem to suffer from the all-too-common ailment of “My eyes are bigger than my stomach.” Yes, we as marketers have a lot on our plates, from managing strategy to regulations to technology to actually executing campaigns that drive the business forward. One way to ease your burdens would be to empower other teams across the organization – like the C-suite, product management and analytics teams – with access to the data they need.
As the old adage goes, “Give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. Teach a man how to fish and you feed him for a lifetime.” Fortunately, there are platforms out there that hit the sweet spot of giving people the right level of access to the right data to answer key business questions without absurd amounts of time spent in training. With the right data investments and processes set up in 2023, you can remove the information burden put on your team and empower the organization to move more quickly – together.
Mantra 3 – Connectivity rules.
“Noooo!!!”. This is usually the groan heard from most marketers when their manager says there is yet another tool to learn, vendor to manage or team silo being assembled. For 2023, consider this the year of connectivity. Any data, tool or media source you choose to invest in should be sure to connect with other data sources. And that includes both online AND offline data sources so that you can achieve a realistic view of your customer’s journey. If you make connectivity a requirement for any initiatives or investments in 2023, you will dramatically simplify your strategy. You’ll recognize redundancies. You’ll recognize which data and media sources you can trust to drive results. You’ll recognize which tools your team finds easiest to maximize the value of the investment.
So in 2023, taking these three mantras into the new year can help you – and your team – operate with the same vision. One that puts data and easy, responsible access at the center while also simplifying and streamlining your tech stack and overall list of responsibilities. Sounds like a win the whole way around.
Of course, if you’d love to chat further, the Speedeon team has a few pretty innovative ideas and solutions that check all these boxes – from our strategic growth platform to our audience data monitoring solutions. If you’d like to collaborate and learn more, you can book a meeting here.
