Marketing is taking on a leading role in the digital transformation. Traditional campaign management has become worn out and is giving way to dynamic real-time communication. The Internet of Things opens up a number of new communication channels, contexts and data sources. Mobile marketing no longer only consists of mobile optimised measures but now also incorporates the context of use and location-based services. Traditional buyer-seller relationships between customer and company are becoming more complex and must be understood in a more differentiated way. artegic has identified the five most important trends which will shape the marketing of companies in 2018.

The digital transformation is led by a radical customer focus in marketing. Customer demand for of a best-in-class experience and personal appreciation can only be achieved in marketing in the context of an increasingly fierce competition. Marketing is becoming the driving force to push forward the factors necessary for customer-focussed user experiences, such as data availability, process automation and analytical intelligence. The high time-to-market pressures in this transformation will be accelerated by a market, where market entry barriers are lowered through digitalisation, new business models become possible and changes in value chains. The transformation will also be accelerated by the growing pressure on companies for profitability; by increasing demands of customers who are used to be mobile, always on, linked, social, prepared to switch and increasingly used to best-in-class user experiences. Marketing Engineering – the ability to achieve quick results in a complex digital transformation – will become a future challenge.

artegic has identified five elementary trends in this field which companies will have to face in the coming years.

  1. Customer-centric Experience – The Digital Dialogue Takes the Lead in the Transformation
  2. Responding to Behaviour in Real Time – From Campaign Management to Realtime Marketing Automation
  3. Smartwatches, Wearables & Internet of Things – New Terminal Devices, New Touchpoints, New Connections
  4. Geo-fencing, Beacons, Location-based – Mobile Contexts and Touchpoints Set the Time
  5. The End of Unilateral CRM – Taking Into Account The Complexity of Customer Relationships