Digital Disruption from EX²

Content management systems were initially developed to help companies manage their digital presence. Early systems were hailed as another tool for empowering marketing efforts. Although it is true that a CMS provided a number of benefits that marketers would have lacked without the system, ECMS has evolved far beyond a mere repository for online content.

Data-driven marketing is a concept that starts at the highest levels and becomes an enterprise-wide initiative. Simply stated, it is leveraging the vast amount of data collected by the average company to reduce reliance on intuition as well as prevent "knee-jerk" reactions to what the competition may be doing.

The move to a digital enterprise has given marketers the opportunity to gain new insights into why customers react as they do making it easier to plan intelligent campaigns and determine effectiveness. However, many businesses have yet to realize that data-driven marketing helps foster customer loyalty and engagement, two critical factors for long-term, sustained growth. 

In October 2014, Forbes Insights surveyed a range of executives in various industries to determine how marketers perceived the impact of data-driven marketing on their organizations. The information uncovered by the survey can help demonstrate the importance of data-driven marketing.

Marketing technology is a huge niche. In fact, huge is an understatement. The number of software and applications targeted and utilized in marketing, from social media and event planning to analytics and marketing platforms, numbers in the several hundred. As options continue to expand, develop and grow, several categories of marketing technologies have emerged. Some, like infrastructure programs, have been around for years, but others, like marketing middleware, have just come to the fore. 

The number of choices might seem paralyzing, but the truth is that these technologies are building towards each other instead of in opposite directions. Foundational services include Internet marketing via Facebook, Google, Twitter or similar apps, while infrastructure programs like databases and cloud computing form the necessary data “brain” of many marketing efforts. Marketing backbone platforms like CRM, marketing automation and e-commerce are vital structures in marketing efforts. Middleware, like cloud connectors, API services and DMPs, help bridge the gap between foundational technologies and marketing experiences and operations. Marketing experiences include specialized technologies affecting customers, in a manner of “front office” marketing. Marketing operations, on the other hand, manage the “back office” in marketing, including analytics and agile marketing.

After the pizza giant’s recipe re-launch in 2009 introduced the world to a "better, more flavorful" pizza, the Domino’s Pizza franchise began enjoying a steady rise to the top of the pizza heap. This came about after customer service surveys repeatedly praised Domino’s for their speed and efficiency -- just not their pizza. The franchise is now enjoying having all three to customer satisfaction, but only because they have made sure to continue offering top-notch service. To make sure their speed and efficiency ratings stayed high, Domino’s embraced the  opportunities offered by new technology to get their pizzas to hungry customers faster and better: the Domino’s Pizza ordering app.

Real-time data can provide many benefits to businesses as well as their customers. In the past, data warehouses could only provide information on past events, with the age of the data dependent upon the frequency with which the warehouse was updated. Real-time processing means that the data warehouse is updated continuously. Although this provides a more current picture of the data, real-time processing presents a variety of issues for data warehouse management. Following certain best practices -- in addition to following the routine steps for ensuring successful deployment of any new technology -- can help meet the challenges associated with updating data in real-time.

Perhaps you have recently concluded that a mobile app is absolutely necessary if you want to drive revenue and engage your customers. Perhaps you have staff in the field who could do their jobs more efficiently with the right mobile solution. Whatever your motivations, you are wondering whether custom mobile app development is the best option to meet your needs. Choosing to have a custom app developed requires you to weigh the benefits and disadvantages of this option as well as review other options that might be better for your specific needs. First, however, you will need to define the type of app you will need.

To be successful, marketers need robust, accurate and timely analytics. Advances in technology have helped empower marketing by providing an ever-increasing number of tools for measuring performance. Two excellent tools are Google Analytics and Sitecore DMS. Both do their job very well -- but they do not do the same job. Deciding when to use one or the other -- or whether to use both -- requires evaluating each.

In the modern world, technology is never stagnant. Each new innovation opens the possibilities for additional innovations. In IT, more powerful hardware allows for more powerful software. Smaller components allow the development of new products. New devices require applications developed specifically for them. During the past few years, the IT/tech world has changed substantially. Although predicting what the future holds is always a risky proposition, as 2014 draws to a close, it is only natural to try to predict what 2015 holds in store.